noparentswoo. 2008-02-06

Death to the Penalty

American machismo, in all of its zeal, has had quite a few shining moments. An example would be, say, dumping all that tea into Boston Harbor, or winning those two World Wars.

See You in Hell

It has been a few months at least since I've been driven to the point of passion about a religious topic or incident.

Daily Debriefing

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education has launched a pilot program to quantify schools' sustainability initiatives, according to Inside Higher Ed.

Sacerdote, Zidar '08 study rhetoric

Economics professor Bruce Sacerdote and Owen Zidar '08 found that the frequency with which politicians use certain words is indicative of themes and rhetorical styles of their speeches in a study that examined the word content of each speech delivered by the 2008 presidential candidates in the past two years.

Two professors win CAREER awards

Correction appended. Fabio Pellacini, a professor of computer science at the College and Reza Olfati-Saber, a professor at the Thayer School of Engineering, have been awarded grants for five-year research projects by the National Science Foundation as part of the Faculty Early Career Development program CAREER awards.

College discontinues Dartmouth Wireless

Computing Services deactivated the Kiewit Wireless network Tuesday morning in the final step of a campus-wide switch to the encrypted wireless network, Dartmouth Secure.

Seniors elect 12 students to SEC

The deans of Dartmouth's Class of 2008 announced the results of the election for the Senior Executive Committee, the primary governing body for the class following graduation, on Tuesday.

The Glove

This Winter Carnival, I will not participate in any ski races (cross country or alpine), nor will be I partake in the human dogsled.

Buzz Fightyear 2008-02-05

Sucka' Punchline 2008-02-05

Alston screens 'Family Name," explores southern family identity

Homosexuality, racism, religion, murder -- it seems as if Macky Alston has never found a touchy subject he didn't like. After attending the screening and discussion of his award-winning documentary "Family Name" (1997) at the Tucker Foundation, however, it becomes clear that Alston's subject matter is chosen precisely for the discomfort it evokes. In "Family Name," Alston returns home to the deep south from New York City to examine a quandary that has haunted him since his youth -- the relationship between black and white Alstons in the area. "Is something a secret if everyone knows it but nobody talks about it?" Alton asks in the film. Clearly racism was a source of unease in his hometown of Durham, N.C., and Alston was completely aware of the stigma associated with this topic. "I think the fascinating thing is that those things that we have never talked about, those things that we are taught not to talk about, breed a lot of fear," Alston wrote on the documentary's website. Winner of the 1997 Sundance Freedom of Expression Award, "Family Name" is certainly more a dark horse than a flashy fan favorite.

Daily Debriefing

There is a growing disparity between the endowments of a small group of America's wealthiest universities and all other institutions of higher education, according to The New York Times.

Graduates oversee technical services

While Student Assembly is planning to expand its web team and launch additional computer-related services, members of the Kiewit Computing Services staff are interested in streamlining the maintainance of the Assembly-created resources that already exist.

College motion to end lawsuit fails

The Association of Alumni's lawsuit against Dartmouth will go to trial following the failure of the College's motion to dismiss the case.

Students weigh social impact of AKA's return

Plans to re-establish the Dartmouth chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., an African-American organization, have raised questions about the impact the sorority will have on diversity in the Greek system and whether or not it will alter the balance between male and female social spaces on campus. The Xi Lambda chapter of AKA, established at the College in 1983 and active until 2003, will begin recruiting new members in spring or fall 2008.