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The Dartmouth
June 22, 2026
The Dartmouth
Opinion
Opinion

Verbum Ultimum: Safety and Accountability

By The Dartmouth Editorial Board | February 25, 2016

On Tuesday morning, Student Assembly sent out its working draft of a student Bill of Rights in a campus wide email. Along with a link to a website that presents the Bill in detail, the Assembly invited students to a town hall meeting on Thursday evening. Although we recognize the fact that the Bill is a working document that can and probably will change before it sees any kind of ratification, the form in which it exists now highlights some important aspects of the student relationship with Safety and Security. This document reflects the broad mistrust of Safety and Security among the student body.

Opinion

Szuhaj: The Tragedy of Comedy

By Ben Szuhaj | February 25, 2016

After going on Reddit this past week to promote “The Nightly Show,” Larry Wilmore, who occupies the time-slot once filled by Stephen Colbert, was bombarded by angry Redditors. One third of the comments focused on a segment from September wherein host Wilmore and a panel of comedians cracked jokes at the expense of celebrity scientist Bill Nye. In response to one Redditor’s accusation that “The Nightly Show” “has done nothing but pander to the lowest common racial tensions denominator,” Wilmore emphasized his desire of he and his staff to focus on issues of “race, class and gender.”

Opinion

Hsu: Gluten-Free Isn't the Answer

By Caroline Hsu | February 24, 2016

Nowadays, the term “gluten-free” is thrown around all the time. Health gurus swear that a gluten-free diet is the key to a long and healthy life and “foodies” avoid gluten-heavy foods at all costs. Huge corporations have been milking this trend and capitalizing on the opportunity to boost their profits. Since 2008, General Mills has added 600 gluten-free products to its inventory. Clearly, companies like General Mills are catering to a growing market. Over the past four years, sales of gluten-free foods in the United States have increased from $11.5 billion to more than $23 billion.

Opinion

Ghavri: Misguided Foreign Policy

By Anmol Ghavri | February 24, 2016

The race for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination is reaching a fever pitch with March looming right around the corner. Donald Trump won the Nevada caucus two days ago and leads the GOP primary delegate count, although establishment support is beginning to coalesce around Marco Rubio. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has dropped out while Sen. Ted Cruz is still in the race. The candidates’ vague policies on a whole range of issues have warranted criticism on many fronts. Republican foreign policy stances in particular have revealed the candidates’ delusional world views and national security stances. Specifically, the GOP presidential candidates advocate for the repetition of uninformed, jingoistic and unilateral national security and Middle East policies that have failed in the past and sowed the seeds of present day instability.

Opinion

Bach: Tweeted Folly

By Jinsung Bach | February 23, 2016

On Feb. 9, one of the supposed great champions of the internet struck a terrible blow to free speech. Twitter announced the adoption of a Trust and Safety Council to, in its own words, “ensure that people feel safe expressing themselves on Twitter.” Twitter empowered this body with the role of not only overseeing Twitter’s products and policies, but also enforcing them for the sake of creating what they no doubt believe to be a better Twitter. It seeks to set guidelines for language or commentary that might be considered hateful and potentially purge them from Twitter altogether.

Opinion

Beechert: Cry Out for the Future

By Michael Beechert | February 23, 2016

One of the most beautiful aspects of this beautiful school is something often given little thought. The College’s motto — “Vox clamantis in deserto,” or “a voice crying out in the wilderness” — naturally holds meaning with respect to Hanover’s geographical location; everyone visiting Dartmouth for the first time, provided that he or she hails from actual civilization, is immediately struck by the seemingly never-ending sea of trees that surrounds campus. But we cheat ourselves by believing that this motto, which has roots in the Gospels, is simply a literal reference to the College’s place in the vast northern woods. It should serve, rather, as a poignant reminder that we have a duty as students to use our intellectual capabilities, as expressed by our literal and figurative voices, to speak out in times that demand the presence of forceful and well-reasoned opinions to protest an unacceptable status quo.

Opinion

Fishbein: The Importance of You Time

By Dan Fishbein | February 22, 2016

This term has been rough. As a ’19, a lot of upperclassmen have told me that while freshman fall is all fun and games, things get serious come winter. Now, as a Massachusetts native, the cold weather hasn’t really bothered me (although I wish there were more snow so I could actually use the ski equipment I rented). I’m doing well in all my classes, so that’s not the issue either. They can stress me out to the extreme, but I’ve been able to cope with that pretty effectively.

Opinion

Chun: Carpe Domus

By Steven Chun | February 21, 2016

I recently ate dinner with an ’84. During out dinner, he hearkened back to older, less regulated times. One comment stuck out in our conversation. Back then, he told me, dorms had their own identities. There was no freshman housing, and people rarely moved around. Intramural sports had a Greek league and a dorm league whose champions played each other. Dorms had the power and funding from the College to host their own parties. Freshmen knew the sophomores, juniors and seniors in their dorms and dorms existed alongside a vibrant Greek scene. In many ways, it was exactly what the new house system intends to create.

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.

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