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The Dartmouth
April 17, 2026
The Dartmouth
Opinion
Opinion

Reprehensible Rapprochement

By Sarah Perez | March 30, 2016

Last Monday,Obama made history by becoming the first sitting United States president to visit Cuba since 1928. The momentousness of the occasion was not lost, except maybe on Cuba’s current president Raúl Castro. While politicians and members of the press hailed Obama’s trip to the island as a historic triumph, the Cuban dictator apparently thought otherwise. Indeed, he did not even bother to greet the first family at the airport. Instead, the Obamas were received by a number of the regime’s dignitaries, including Cuban foreign minister Bruno Rodriguez and Cuban ambassador to the U.S. Jose Cabanas. White House staff quickly came to Castro’s defense, claiming it was “never contemplated or discussed” that he would attend the landing of Air Force One at Jose Martí International Airport.

Opinion

Beauty Required

By Clara Chin | March 30, 2016

Last week I saw “Whisky Tango Foxtrot,” a movie based on the story of journalist Kim Barker’s war reporting in Afghanistan. Something about the movie struck me as unusual. Unlike many heroines in action movies, she was unabashedly portrayed as naïve and uncool at the beginning of the movie. Unlike beautiful fellow journalist Tanya Vanderpoel, Barker did not know how to navigate parties or find her way around Afghanistan. But despite her initial struggle and, according to her peers, her lack of beauty, she was the winning protagonist. I realized that the movie seemed unusual because female heroines on screen are almost always effortlessly beautiful and, therefore, cool. The explicit importance of heroines’ beauty in movies, compared to the insignificance of the appearance of male heroes perpetuates the idea that true validation for an onscreen (and sadly, sometimes off-screen) heroine lies in her beauty.

Opinion

The ‘Biden Rule’

By Dorothy Qu | March 30, 2016

The debate over nominating a new Supreme Court justice has brought out the worst in political party leaders. Republican leaders have vowed to not give any of the Obama administration’s nominees a hearing. Ted Cruz even promised to filibuster any of Obama’s nominees.

Opinion

Caplan: Inclusivity in the DOC

By Michaela Caplan | March 7, 2016

To simply laud the inclusive aspects of the DOC is to perpetuate the stark reality of culturally embedded exclusion that exists in the DOC’s shadows. Despite efforts — rooted in dialogue and removing economic obstacles — to change, the DOC primarily consists of white, upper middle class students.

Opinion

Curtis: On the Right Side of History

By John Curtis | March 7, 2016

I just divested myself of any stock I owned in companies which produce or burn fossil fuels. I thought it might be useful to share with the Dartmouth community how I came to that decision. You would think that an ’81 who bought his first position not long after graduating, then went to Harvard Business School and forged a business career would never ditch the attractive yields in the oil and energy sectors. It has a lot to do with becoming a the parent of a ’14 and thinking ahead to the day when I could become a grandparent of a ’34.

Opinion

Sharma: Financial Literacy and DDS

By Hansa Sharma | March 6, 2016

Last term, I consistently used a quarter of my weekly meal swipes. Regularly skipping breakfast and lunch, I quickly finished off my DBA as a result of my newfound KAF addiction. As a result, I made the switch to the Convenience 45 plan, with a weekly allotment of five swipes. With more than $900 in DBA, I had full faith in my ability to manage my KAF addiction while still using meal swipes at other dining locations.

Opinion

Chun: #12 (Tied)

By Steven Chun | March 6, 2016

U.S. News and World Report’s college rankings are constantly critiqued, decried and loudly dismissed. But in the hearts of prospective students and college officials, they hold a secret power. They held a power over me during my own college search not long ago and play a role in my younger sister’s, which is just beginning. With no familial or athletic connection to any one particular university and parents who simply attended local colleges, our search had to start somewhere. To even admit the credence, I, as a junior and senior in high school, gave to the rankings feels wrong. The myriad of college rankings reflect, perhaps poorly, the state of higher education. But what I find most interesting is the dichotomy between universities and liberal arts colleges. It’s a dichotomy that Dartmouth doesn’t fit into. Yet, this division dictates a list that ­ — despite universal criticism — holds incredible sway over prospective students’ decisions.

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