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The Dartmouth
April 17, 2026
The Dartmouth
Opinion
Opinion

Couture: Perpetuating Partisan Rhetoric

By Amy Couture | May 8, 2012

In his recent column comparing President Barack Obama's slogans "Change" and "Forward" to Mitt Romney's "pathetic" catchphrase "Believe in America," Benjamin Schwartz uses overtly biased language and damaging assumptions to incorrectly characterize Romney's campaign and personal character ("What's in a Slogan?" May 7). Schwartz relates Romney's motto to the "birther movement," arguing that it taps into some of his supporters' racist and xenophobic sentiments as part of a larger intentional strategy calling on voters to "fear Obama's foreignness." By doing so, Schwartz contributes to the exact extremism he refutes, perpetuating the partisan rhetoric that runs rampant in our increasingly superficial political culture. It is outlandish to deduce such a hostile meaning from a phrase as generic as "Believe in America." Schwartz may be right to argue that Romney's slogan is unoriginal or mundane.

Opinion

Blair: Modern Malaise

By Peter Blair | May 8, 2012

On the whole, if we know what a person thinks about any one given political issue, we can usually guess where he or she stands on most other issues.

Opinion

Brooks: Learning from Tragedies

By David Brooks | May 7, 2012

On May 2, Junior Seau took his own life with a gunshot to the chest. His was the third in a string of suicides by former NFL players, and his death brought national attention to the subject of traumatic brain injury in football. I grew up on the border of California in the town of Yuma, Ariz.

Opinion

Yang: Performing Gender

By Lorelei Yang | May 7, 2012

We are categorized into a gender before we are even born, squeezed and confined into tightly defined conceptual boxes for the sake of easy identification.

Opinion

Chang: Disgraceful Disparity

By Lulu Chang | May 6, 2012

As a 19-year-old, I don't claim to have the skills necessary to fix the world's problems. In all honesty, as I get older, it becomes increasingly difficult even to address my own.

Opinion

Casler: A Timely Trip

By Don Casler | May 3, 2012

President Barack Obama's surprise visit to Afghanistan on Tuesday was a well orchestrated and ostensibly nonpartisan move in advance of what is sure to be a bitter general election fight against presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney.

Opinion

Verbum Ultimum: Expanded Options for All

Last week, the Housing Office announced that it would expand gender-neutral housing next fall to include Mid-Massachusetts Hall, the Lodge and sections of New Hampshire Hall ("College to expand gender-neutral housing options in fall," April 26). This change marks a positive step toward increasing housing flexibility, giving students the option to live with whomever they want in a wider variety of rooms without committing to the programming required of the affinity housing program in Fahey-McLane Hall. Increasing gender-neutral housing options has been one of the primary desires of Dartmouth's LGBT community and of other students involved with gender and sexuality issues on campus.

Opinion

Miller: Scapegoating Webster Avenue

By Zack Miller | May 2, 2012

In her recent column, Dani Valdes takes a shortsighted and illogical stance against Greek life on campus ("Letting Go of a Broken Past," April 30). Valdes displays a fundamental disconnect from reality by naively encouraging our college to commit budgetary suicide in order to appease a vocal minority who want to abolish the Greek system, as many of the alumni who donate consistently to the College are proudly Greek.

Opinion

Feiger: The Power of Collective Voice

By Leah Feiger | May 2, 2012

Jennifer Tyrrel is an engaged, passionate and caring mother. She was the den leader of her son's Tiger Cub Scout group and performed community service work with the boys for soup kitchens, the local Salvation Army and local environmental groups.

Opinion

Talwai: What D Shouldn't Call Me

By Aaditya Talwai | May 1, 2012

Recently, a friend pointed me to the Tumblr blog "What Should D' Call Me," specifically to a short clip of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, wearing an expression on his face that I find hard to describe.

Opinion

Francfort: Putting Country Over Party

By Kevin Francfort | May 1, 2012

It's no secret that the political climate in the United States is currently tense. Conflict between Republicans and Democrats seems to affect nearly every big issue this election cycle, from President Barack Obama's decision to put off authorization of the Keystone XL Pipeline until after the elections in November to the House Republicans' repeated attempts to repeal key provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Americans have been disappointed in policymakers' inability to reach compromises.

Opinion

Vox Clamantis

By Helen Damon-Moore | May 1, 2012

To the Editor, While Lulu Chang highlighted an important issue in her recent column about education in the Upper Valley ("Inequity in Our Backyard," April 24), her broad generalizations about school quality with respect to socioeconomics missed the mark in some significant ways.

Opinion

Valdes: Letting Go of a Broken Past

By Dani Valdes | April 29, 2012

I spent the weekend of Dimensions of Dartmouth collecting signatures for a petition articulating the concerns that many prospective students and their parents have regarding Greek life on campus ("Petition circulates to prospective students," April 24). As I collected signatures, I had the opportunity to speak with parents of prospective students, who overwhelmingly expressed serious concerns about Greek life.

Opinion

Zeveloff: A Golden Kopportunity

By Dennis Zeveloff | April 26, 2012

The College announced yesterday that Wendy Kopp is the Class of 2012's Commencement speaker. I believe she is a speaker worthy of Dartmouth. In the past 20 years, Kopp has become the midwife of modern education reform.

Opinion

Vox Clamantis

By Chris O'Connell '13 | April 26, 2012

To the Editor: On Wednesday evening, I attended the performance of "Undue Influence" presented by the Hopkins Center, the theater department, the Office of the President and the Sexual Abuse Awareness Program and found the show to be a thought-provoking way to raise awareness about the pervasive issue of sexual assault on Dartmouth's campus. In recent months, senior administrators and student leaders have emphasized that sexual assault is an issue that extends beyond the Greek system it is a community-wide concern that requires all members of this campus to work together if we are to successfully address it.

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