Mobley: Do It For the Pancakes
(02/18/22 5:00am)
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This term, students walking through the library have been met with a jarring sight: Usually bustling with energy, First Floor Berry has been a ghost town. The space, which has been closed since the start of the winter in response to low mask compliance during the fall, is slated to remain closed until the indoor mask mandate is lifted. This measure, however, has shown itself to be utterly ineffective. Without access to a key group study space, students looking to hit the books have simply moved to less supervised areas of the library, leading to overcrowding and, if anything, aggravating the problem of mask non-compliance.
Rapid antigen tests are having something of a moment. In December, demand for the tests surged, reflecting a widespread desire to test before visiting relatives over the holidays. Last month, the Biden administration premiered its website to allow every household to order four free rapid tests. On campus, we’ve presumably administered thousands of such tests over the past weeks as people have tested out of quarantine.
It is the start of a new academic term: Students log onto the Canvas pages for their courses, click on their syllabi and scroll. There, lying in wait, are two words that inspire dread: “Required Readings.” Occasionally, there may be a disclaimer noting that all of the required readings are available on Canvas. Most of the time, however, students will see a jarring list of books that their professor expects them to have access to, often in physical form.
This editorial is featured in the 2022 Winter Carnival special issue.
This cartoon is featured in the 2022 Winter Carnival special issue.
This cartoon is featured in the 2022 Winter Carnival special issue.
This article is featured in the 2022 Winter Carnival special issue.
This article is featured in the 2022 Winter Carnival special issue.
This article is featured in the 2022 Winter Carnival special issue.
There are benchmarks for everything now. When you are young, these benchmarks measure when you learn to walk, talk and read to determine whether you are on track in your development. As you grow older, people begin to measure not merely what you are able to do but how well you do it. In grade school, there are standardized tests and percentile calculations, then high school brings a combination of GPA, ACT and SAT. Even in college, it does not stop. We are constantly graded and assessed, our performance mapped and recorded.
In a world where technology is an increasingly present aspect of our lives, hiding behind our screens is becoming more and more convenient. We no longer need to talk to people one-on-one when we don’t feel like it; we can simply stay in our dorms and shoot our message out into the void that is the internet. Click, clack, boom. Just like that, with a few touches of our keyboard, the job is done.
Something is different about this year’s Winter Olympics. Sure, the general aura of the Games is the same as it has always been — athletes fill the streets of Beijing, broadcasting crews aim their cameras at ski slopes and ice rinks and millions of viewers around the world tune into the opening ceremony. But amid the sharpening of skis, the final polishing of figure skating routines and the hanging of just over 200 flags, constant discourse surrounding China’s treatment of the Uyghurs prevails. For years now, the Asian superpower has been systematically forcing the Muslim minority group into concentration camps in the western province of Xinjiang. The response from the United States has evolved from condemnation to economic sanctions to, now, as the latest tap on China’s wrist, withdrawal of American diplomatic presence from the Beijing Olympics.
Re “Verbum Ultimum: Build it Anyway” (Feb. 4, 2022)
Last month, the College announced plans to construct apartment-style undergraduate residences on Lyme Road. The new dormitory will house roughly 300 students and, by creating more supply, allow the College to renovate “approximately 60% of existing undergraduate residence halls over the coming decade,” starting with the mold-ridden Andres and Zimmerman Halls and Brace Commons this summer.
For most people, the term wilderness evokes images of vast, untamed tracts of land rife with danger and mystery, such as the Wild West or the Amazon rainforest. To the more scientifically inclined, it is a natural, often terrestrial environment that is relatively undisturbed by humans. But wilderness represents so much more to those who have experienced it. Wilderness is the myriad stars flickering above like embers from an ancient fire. It is a herd of bison on the prairie, the sound of their hooves rolling like distant thunder. Wilderness is beautiful and sacred, capricious and beguiling.
“The Dartmouth reported on Jan. 28 that the College would not voluntarily recognize the Student Worker Collective at Dartmouth, which is seeking to form a union of student dining workers. SWCD claims that 80% of student dining workers support their unionization effort, but the College argues that an election moderated by the National Labor Relations Board “ensures a full airing of points of view on unionization, which we believe students deserve.” Importantly, the decision to not voluntarily recognize the union also extends the process of formalizing the union. (The College has agreed to negotiate with the SWCD to “streamline” the election process.) What is your opinion on Dartmouth’s decision to not recognize the union and how should the College and students proceed going forward?”
