Gov't must limit aid, speaker says

Long-term solutions to the federal budget crisis will only be found in politically unpopular reforms of Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, Keith Hennessey, research fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, said in a lecture in the Rockefeller Center on Thursday. The massive growth in government spending stems from the three programs that comprise 47 percent of spending Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security according to Hennessey. "The big three entitlements are growing so fast that they are completely overwhelming everything else government does," he said. Drastic reforms to entitlement programs are inevitable if the country is to stay fiscally functional, Hennessey said. "The numbers are going to force us," he said.

Professor discusses political activism

In an effort to gain the right to sit on juries, women "in coats and high heels" disrupted legislatures across the country between 1920 when the federal government granted women the right to vote and the early 1970s, Holly McCammon, sociology professor at Vanderbilt University, said in a lecture about political activism in Silsby Hall on Monday. "Most people think that once women won the right to vote, they won the right to sit on juries too," McCammon said.

‘HIMYM' goes kitschy for Valentine's episode

Valentine's Day is a hard holiday for singles, and it doesn't help when traditionally escapist TV shows air themed Valentine's Day episodes. Such was the case with last Monday's episode of "How I Met Your Mother," a popular CBS sitcom currently in its sixth season.

Pillar analyzes trends in Middle Eastern tensions

The recent political turmoil in the Middle East may be a "wonderful blow to the future of international terrorism," Paul Pillar '69, director of the Security Studies Program at Georgetown University, said in a lecture on Monday in the Haldeman Center. The current lack of political and economic freedom for Middle Eastern citizens contributes to a strong association with international terrorism, according to Pillar.

College to offer Georgian this spring

As part of a research project aimed at improving the methodology of teaching Georgian to non-native speakers, Ramaz Kurdadze, chair of the modern Georgian department at Tbilisi State University in Tbilisi, Georgia, will offer Georgian language instruction at the College this Spring term. Kurdadze, who is visiting the College as a fellow of the Open Society Institute an international organization that encourages cross-border alliances through various programs said the techniques required to teach Georgian differ substantially from those required to instruct students who grew up speaking the language. Kurdadze, who has been on campus since the beginning of Winter term, will remain at the College through June to work with students who will study Georgian as an independent study in linguistics.

Congressional plans to alter financial aid

Two recent proposals by President Barack Obama and Republicans in the United States House of Representatives to cut federal funding for university financial aid programs during fiscal year 2012 would significantly impact aid at the College, according to Director of Financial Aid Virginia Hazen.

Dong's Top Ten

For today's column you will be taking a pop quiz. Please answer the following questions: Who has slugged the most career home runs in Major League Baseball?

Five students share personal stories

/ The Dartmouth Staff Correction appended### The inaugural People of Dartmouth panel featured testimonies from five students who spoke about their experiences at the College and encouraged listeners to reevaluate the role of community at Dartmouth as well as their individual roles within their own smaller communities.

Wrapping up road schedule, men's hockey fails to deliver

The 16th-ranked Dartmouth men's hockey team hit the road this weekend, playing its final regular-season away games.

Touch the Fire 2011-02-21

Water flea offers key scientific info.

Despite its size, Daphnia pulex a crustacean less than a few millimeters in length may revolutionize scientists' understanding of the relationship between genes and the environment, according to a paper written by members of the Daphnia Genomics Consortium, an international group that includes Dartmouth researchers.

Women's squash falls at Howe Cup

In a disappointing season end, the Dartmouth women's squash team fell to Yale University the University of Pennsylvania and Cornell University at the Howe Cup this weekend.