Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism.
The Dartmouth
April 18, 2026
The Dartmouth
Opinion
Opinion

Verbum Ultimum: An Open Door to New Ideas

By The Dartmouth Editorial Board | February 18, 2016

Next Friday, students will receive their house membership letters. The assignments come as part of the College’s effort to revamp its current housing system. Next fall, students will live in one of six communities: Allen House, East Wheelock House, North Park House, School House, South House and West House. Living and learning communities will also remain a viable housing option for students. While the College’s plan to sort students into houses may call to mind scenes from “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” (2001), Dartmouth isn’t Hogwarts, and unfortunately, the administration doesn’t seem to be as savvy as the Sorting Hat.

Opinion

Chin: Pop Politics

By Clara Chin | February 17, 2016

While much of the Grammy Awards consists of music mashups, cheesy acceptance speeches and minor upsets, something else came to the fore this year — politics. Both big winners at this year’s ceremony, Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar, have become political figures in the public eye. But, they’re not alone. Through their performances and speeches, pop musicians have become increasingly engaged in politics. In some ways, musicians have become pop culture activists. While the politicization of music might be conducive to highlighting important issues, there is a catch. At times, the intersection of music and politics oversimplifies the big picture and discourages deep thought about current events.

Opinion

Solomon: Follow the Money Trail

By Ioana Solomon | February 17, 2016

Campaign finance reform has been hotly contested this election season. Perhaps this issue has been widely discussed in previous election cycles, and I, as a young person, was not aware of it. Bernie Sanders’ promise of a political revolution relies heavily on this criticism. He consistently denounces our current political system as being corrupt and proudly touts the fact that the majority of his donations come from “average Americans.” Sanders has created a very distinct correlation in the minds of his voters between the origins of political contributions and a candidate’s integrity. Hillary Clinton, who, not long ago was thought to be almost guaranteed the Democratic nomination, has seemingly lost support because of the contributions she has received from Wall Street. Throughout this election season, it seems that voters have been less concerned with candidates’ foreign policy knowledge, political expertise or the feasibility of their promised reforms. Instead, they have focused on rough sketches of candidates’ characters. Indeed, perhaps the most common question among voters has been: Where is the money coming from?

Opinion

Peters: Why I Voted for Bernie

By William Peters | February 16, 2016

An unhappy electorate is a dangerous electorate — at least for establishment candidates. The Feb. 9 New Hampshire primary was won by two anti-establishment candidates — real estate mogul and reality television star Donald Trump and the democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders left New Hampshire with the most votes ever in the state’s primary, beating previous record holder, Sen. John McCain, and besting Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by 22 points. How is it in a state that gives President Barack Obama a 90 percent approval rating, a state with the lowest poverty and murders rates, where unemployment is hovering around 3.1 percent, two political outsiders walked away with such big wins? I can’t speak for the thousands of voters that turned out, but I can speak for myself and why I voted for Bernie.

Opinion

Feingold: Losing the Greek War

By Avery Feingold | February 16, 2016

Last week, The Dartmouth published two opinion pieces lamenting the recent crackdown on Greek houses that committed policy violations and decrying what their authors perceive to be the malicious administration’s latest attempt to cancel all fun and ensure that not a single underage human drinks a sip of alcohol. While Michelle Gil’s and Annika Park’s intentions are noble in condemning what they and others perceive as an affront to cherished traditions and friendships built at Dartmouth, their arguments betray a lack of critical thought all too common in defenses of the Greek system.

Opinion

Qu: Environment in the Balance

By Dorothy Qu | February 15, 2016

That is, if the plan goes through. Last Thursday, the Supreme Court voted to delay the plan’s enforcement. The vote was 5-4, with Scalia voting against the plan. As decisions had yet to be formally written, Scalia’s unfortunate passing made the vote 4-4. Now, the chances of the plan being struck down are now incredibly miniscule. This tie will probably lead to an affirmation of the lower court opinion, which was in favor of the CPP.

Opinion

Hsu: Mandatory Attendance

By Caroline Hsu | February 15, 2016

From elementary to high school, students are expected to regularly attend classes. “Roll call,” the process of taking attendance and penalizing students who are absent without a legitimate reason, is a common occurrence. This is a far cry from the classroom dynamic of higher education. In classes with over a hundred students, it is difficult and often unfeasible for professors to take attendance regularly. This unfortunately can lead to students skipping class. Oftentimes, large classes will see attendance steadily dwindle as the term progresses. Although students may not think that physically going to class is critical to their academic experience, they are actually doing themselves a disservice when they fail to attend lectures.

Opinion

Sharma: Rethinking Cultural Appropriation

By Hansa Sharma | February 14, 2016

When Coldplay and Beyoncé released the music video for their new single “Hymn for the Weekend,” they were immediately accused of cultural appropriation. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, cultural appropriation entails the taking over of creative or artistic forms, themes, or practices by one cultural group from another. Generally, we use it to describe Western appropriation of non?Western or non?white culture. The music video, shot in Varanasi and Mumbai during the spring festival of Holi, has been criticized for exoticizing India.

Opinion

Szuhaj: The Problem With Pink

By Ben Szuhaj | February 14, 2016

For those of you who haven’t yet heard of the Pink Tax, prepare yourselves. A study by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs found that, on average, the “female” version of a product costs seven percent more than its “male” counterpart. The most well-documented examples of this inequity are found in health and beauty products. There’s the pink razor that costs more than the blue razor and the women’s shampoo that costs more than the men’s, despite being made of essentially the same ingredients. For the most part, there is no discernible reason — other than marketing — for the difference in price.

Opinion

Verbum Ultimum: Not Just Student Activists

By The Dartmouth Editorial Board | February 11, 2016

Much ink has been spilled about student activism and the role it should have in policy discourse both on campuses and on a national level. From the coverage of the Dimensions of Dartmouth protests in 2013 to the media explosion surrounding the Black Lives Matter protests this past fall, Dartmouth has been one of the colleges at the center of the conversation about student activism. The discourse about the merits and methods of these actions and others is incredibly important, and it’s one that we hope can continue to exist in a constructive way. However, a discussion about another form of activism, the effects of which are equally as important and arguably longer lasting than that of the student variety, seldom takes place. Although it rarely comes up, we cannot ignore the importance of the role of faculty activism on campus and beyond. Between their continuous presence at the College over the years and the power and influence their positions afford them, faculty members can have a huge impact. As students we must recognize the role of faculty in activism and ensure that we do our part to help create an environment in which faculty members are comfortable publicly voicing their beliefs.

Opinion

Bach: Trigger Warning

By Jinsung Bach | February 11, 2016

In the jungles of the strange wilderness known as the internet resides the very vocal, temperamental species that the media has christened the “Social Justice Warrior.” Indeed, they are all too happy to liken themselves to activists in the image of Susan B. Anthony or Rosa Parks. Ideology is their battlefield, the hashtag their weapon of choice. Their rallying cry echoes amidst the wastelands of the world wide web, from atop the soapboxes they call Facebook and Tumblr. They scream, they beat their chests, they raise a deafening yell before the final battle. Onwards, for social justice!

Opinion

Ghavri: Experience Is Everything

By Anmol Ghavri | February 10, 2016

The current Republican presidential race features two first-term senators running for the most powerful office in the world. Are they really prepared for the position of commander in chief? Both Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are highly intelligent people, but they have not had to make a single consequential decision from an executive position. Moreover, their time in office has been short and without significant accomplishments. The same 2008 GOP concerns over then Barack Obama’s lack of executive experience and lack of time spent in Washington cultivating relationships apply to both Rubio and Cruz. Both candidates’ non-existent executive experience and short history of holding office means they would have a difficult time bringing people together and would most certainly struggle in the White House.

Opinion

Park: Pillaging the Greeks

By Annika Park | February 10, 2016

Walking around this week, I’ve seen more people wearing their Greek letters than usual. Despite some dismissing the wearing of letters as too passive a mode of protest, it was a reminder to many of us of the news that broke last week: the suspension and subsequent derecognition of the historic Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

Opinion

Larkin: Voting for Justice

By Megan Larkin | February 9, 2016

The 2016 presidential campaign is critical for mitigating climate change and preventing the loss of human lives, both in the future and the present. With growing public awareness, environmental issues have become a central focus on the campaign trail. Now that these issues have been brought into the conversation, we all have a responsibility to vote for a better future, today.

Opinion

Beechert: Unnecessary Hostility

By Michael Beechert | February 9, 2016

On Feb. 5, The Dartmouth Review published a response to articles written by myself and Matthew Goldstein criticizing the state of news at the College. On the whole, it was a fair defense of some of the Review’s current practices and displayed an admirable sense of mission. Although I believe that a couple elements of my piece were mischaracterized — the conservative image and spirit of the Review, I feel, are of central importance to the paper’s efficacy but should not rely on inflammatory invocations of the Indian symbol — it is encouraging to see that someone on this campus is thinking seriously about how to properly do journalism. I am happy to have helped spark such thinking, and I am sure that Goldstein feels similarly.

Opinion

Letter to the Editor: The Mensch Mayor of Burlington

By Barbara and Bud James | February 8, 2016

No one doubts, at least no Democrats doubt, that Hillary Clinton is one of the most qualified presidential candidates today. As a lawyer, community service worker, first lady during the Clinton administration, United States senator from New York and most recently Secretary of State for four years, she definitely fits the bill to be the first woman president of the United States.

Trending
The Dartmouth