the dartmouth green key issue: class and money

05.15.2015Shuoqi Chen/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

CLASS AND MONEY

GREEN KEY 2015 Friday, May 15, 2015The DartmouthPage GK2

WEIJIA TANG/The Dartmouth Staff

EMILY ALBRECHT, Opinion Editor

CARSON HELE, Opinion Editor

MADDIE BROWN, Mirror Editor

CHARLIE RAFKIN, Mirror Editor

HENRY ARNDT, Sports Editor

JOE CLYNE, Sports Editor

KATIE JARRETT, Assistant Sports Editor

JOSHUA KOENIG, Arts Editor

AMELIA ROSCH, Arts Editor

CHRIS LEECH, Dartbeat Editor

JESSICA ZISCHKE, Dartbeat Editor

KATELYN JONES, Photography Editor

KATE HERRINGTON, Assistant Photography Editor

ANNIE DUNCAN, Assistant Photography Editor

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ISSU

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Table of Contents

REBECCA ASOULIN, Issue EditorMICHAEL QIAN, Issue Editor

For this year’s Green Key issue, we chose to focus on class and money. As students, we recognize that the College environment can artifi cially insulate students away from the grittier, often uncomfortable truths of the world that lie beyond this hill. But the current cultural momentum — a push toward recognizing social inequalities and privi-leges — penetrates even our Big Green bubble, and so we challenge our readers to refl ect on these topics. This type of note can hardly be complete without noting our own socioeconomic back-grounds. Michael, a sophomore from suburban Maryland, considers his fi nancial background as upper-middle class. Rebecca, a sophomore from a coastal suburban Southern California city, identifi es her socioeconomic class as upper-middle class as well. We recognize both the privilege of this background and the complexities buried beneath this label. Class is often an invisible part of our identity and thus gets pushed to the fringes or com-pletely out of our daily conversations. We urge our readers to refl ect on the fact that every individual is made up of many parts — both visible and invisible. What we each struggle with, celebrate and value about ourselves does not all come across when we say hello to a peer in class or chat with a fl oormate from down the hall. Class and money are enormous and complex issues that deserve millions of words written about them. With its page limitations, this paper can only capture small slices of the overall story. Nonetheless, we think this edition of The Dartmouth comes at a salient moment. In it, you will fi nd a deeper exploration into a sometimes-invisible identity and a chance to refl ect on the complexities of your own identities. We hope you enjoy this issue.

Thank you,

Experts and students discuss effects of socioeconomic class

Financial aid and admissions

Greek organizations and fi nancial accessibility Institutional support and student groups

Undergraduate Finance Committee

Photo essay: student employees

O’Donoghue: Deserving More from DDS Peters: Being Poor at Dartmouth

Student employee profi les

Student survey on class and money Careers after Dartmouth

Ivy League athletics

The invisibility of class Cheng: Through the Looking Glass

Editor’s Note3

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GREEN KEY 2015 Friday, May 15, 2015The Dartmouth Page GK3

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Experts and students discuss effects of socioeconomic status

A recent increase in the national dialogue regarding socioeconomic class offers common themes on the experiences of college students from traditionally underrepresented so-cioeconomic backgrounds, but does not always reflect the individual complexities expressed by students interviewed by The Dartmouth. Sociology professor Janice McCabe, whose work focuses on educational inequalities, said that socioeconomic class affects students even before they get to college, as it often influences to which type of colleges they apply, gain entrance and ultimately can attend. “There’s more of a perception that a public university is for every-one, whereas there is a perception that more elite colleges have more socioeconomically advanced stu-dents,” McCabe said. “That leads to a perception among students of more disadvantaged backgrounds that there isn’t a place for them.” Cecilia Torres ’18 credited her smooth transition to Dartmouth to various on-campus resources in-cluding Dartmouth Quest Scholars and First-Year Student Enrichment

By ESTEPHENIE AQUINO andKELSEY FLOWERThe Dartmouth Staff

Program. Torres, a QuestBridge scholar and the social chair for DQS, said that without these or-ganizations she would not have “adapted to Dartmouth as easily.”

DQS is the campus extension of QuestBridge, an organization that helps high-achieving, low-income students as they apply to college. Cesar Rufino ’18, another Quest-Bridge Scholar, said that every in-dividual from an underrepresented socioeconomic background at a higher education institution has a unique situation and story.

“‘Underrepresented’ and ‘un-derprivileged’ serve as an umbrella term,” Rufino said. “Not everyone who falls under this category nec-essarily goes through the same struggles.” The often-messy financial aid process can exacerbate a student’s college application efforts, McCabe said, because students who do not know what type of aid package they will receive may not know to which institutions they can apply. Socioeconomic status continues to affect student experiences once individuals matriculate, she added. “More disadvantaged students often feel invisible on campuses re-gardless of whether you are talking about more elite campuses or large research universities,” McCabe said. McCabe does research on stu-dent friendship networks and how they affect student experience on college campuses. She has found that often class is hidden, even among friends, and that can be a barrier for low-income students. Both Torres and Rufino said that they experienced a culture shock when classes first began in the fall term. Torres said that she attended a public high school in Dallas, Texas,

prior to attending Dartmouth. At her high school, the majority of people in the community identified as members of the lower-middle class. “Talking about socioeconomic

issues or status was common be-cause we all knew that we came from similar backgrounds, so it was easy to talk about it,” Torres said. Both Torres and Rufino said that they eagerly share their stories with the Dartmouth community because they want to inspire conversation that promotes the diversity in socio-economic experiences on campus.

Still, McCabe noted that “there are identity pressures to fit in,” which could lead to “ill ease rather than social belonging.” A crucial element of this issue is that class can often be a difficult subject to discuss, she said. “Part of it is a stigma that if you are disadvantaged, there is some-thing wrong with you,” McCabe said. McCabe said that more open discussion on class background and inequality could help students real-ize the range of experiences of their peers. She noted the importance of educating oneself about structural disadvantages and patterns of in-equality through academic courses or other means. Rufino said that he chose to participate in the Dartmouth Class Confessions project, a campaign that aims to increase visibility of students from lower socioeconomic classes, because he wanted to ad-dress and debunk a misconception that low-income equates with underprivileged. He noted that although he attended a rigorous public high school and felt prepared for college, all students share the difficulty of transitioning to college

SEE EXPERTS PAGE GK15

“More disadvantaged students often feel invisbile on campuses regardless of whether you are talking about more elite campuses or large research universities.”

-janice mccabe, sociology professor

“‘Underrepresented’ and ‘underprivileged’ serve as an umbrella term. not everyone who falls under this category necessarily goes through the same struggles.”

-cesar rufino ’18, a questbridge scholar


Family situations, outside support affect financial aid

Although 15 percent of the College’s undergraduates receive need-based financial aid, students’ experiences with aid — shaped by unique circumstances — still vary. Ilenna Jones ’15, a Dartmouth Quest Scholars liaison, said she has had a straightforward experience with financial aid. She said that this is due to the fact that Erin Clark, senior assistant director of the financial aid office, acts as the point person for Quest Schol-ars. “It’s been easy for me because we have additional resources,” she said. Meredith Alaback ’18, however, said she did not anticipate the day-to-day process of working with the financial aid office to be as complicated as it turned out to be. Alaback said that having divorced parents who make con-siderably different incomes upsets the process. While the financial aid hand-book states that both parents will be evaluated separately to deter-mine individual contributions, Alaback said that, in her experi-ence, the financial aid office has

By EMILIA BALDWINThe Dartmouth Staff

not been accommodating to her family’s situation. “I didn’t think it would be such an issue going into the process,” she said. Alaback’s mother, a stay-at-home mom until her divorce, began working out of the house eight years ago, Alaback said. “My mom’s sort of starting out all over again,” Alaback said. “She’s in the place most people are when they’re 25.” After working several jobs, her mother finally started her own therapy practice three years ago. Alaback said that her mother finances her private practice out of pocket, paying for the upkeep of the building where she works. “My mom spends a lot of money just maintaining her practice,” she said. Despite the difference between her mother and father’s incomes, the financial aid office requires both to pay equal amounts, she said. “My mom has called financial aid several times, and they haven’t been very accommodating of her request to change the amount of tuition she pays,” Alaback said. She noted that she is lucky to have parents who are cordial with

one another, because the complex-ity of the financial aid process would be further confounded without parental communication. “I can’t imagine what it must be like for families with parents who can’t even be in the same room,” she said. Virginia Hazen, dean of finan-cial aid at the College, said that the office has limitations to how much they can act as an “intermediary” between parents. She noted that non-custodial parents usually present the most difficulties in terms of completing forms and being cooperative. “We don’t assume a good rela-tionship between parents,” Hazen said. “When parents get divorced, they divorce each other, not the kid, so it’s really not up to us to assume that sort of thing.” Hazen said that ultimately the responsibility falls on the students to ensure parents are on top of providing forms and information to the office. She said that the office must assess the finances of both parents, even though that often complicates the process. Hazen said that, to be fair to all students applying for financial aid, each individual must include tax returns that represent

their complete financial resources. In the case of divorced parents, this means that both parents must be involved in the process, she said. “It’s not really up to us to figure out that arrangement,” Hazen said. “We can help by talking to the parents, but that’s out of our hands.” She said that she regrets not looking at the financial aid pack-age offered to her by Columbia University. All institutions in the Ivy League have an agreement to match the most generous financial aid package given to the student. Alaback added that she and her parents work for months to com-plete the various required financial aid forms, which include Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms as well as Dartmouth specific ones. Hazen said that people often face difficulties completing the forms because they do not leave enough time to fill out the forms. “We send the notice out in December or January, and I think people think, ‘Oh, I’ll get to it eventually,’ and they don’t start the process early enough,” Hazen said. Hazen said that the financial aid office faces various problems each year. This year, she said that parents were not able to upload documents after the office transitioned to a new online service. The office ended up receiving many poor quality documents, and the service did not communicate to parents that documents had been success-fully uploaded, Hazen said. As a result, some parents submitted documents multiple times. While Jones said that she had an

easy experience with the financial aid component, she thinks that the College could do more to help integrate students of lower socio-economic class, especially in the classroom. Jones, a neuroscience major on the pre-medical track, said that teachers often assume students come from “good high schools.” “Especially in STEM classes, there’s an assumption that you took [Advanced Placement] chem-istry or physics, and professors sometimes don’t realize that not everyone went to a high school that offered APs or the IB curriculum,” she said. She noted that many initia-tives to help integrate low-income students are fairly recent and that she suspects institutional support is higher than when she matriculated at the College. Paul Sunde, director of admis-sions at the College, said that the admissions office encourages stu-dents of low-income backgrounds to apply to Dartmouth. “Whether it be by on campus programs like QuestBridge, or by admissions officers going to schools in low-income areas, every admis-sions officer takes out time to get these kids to think about applying to a place like Dartmouth,” he said. Sunde said that the College pays for low-income, high-performing high school students to come to Hanover through the Dartmouth Bound program. Alaback said that ultimately she is grateful for the aid given to her by the College. “I probably wouldn’t be able to attend this school without the aid they’ve given me,” she said.


Greek organizations expand � nancial aid, discuss inclusivity

Average dues for affi liated stu-dents were over $300 for both men and women in the fall of 2014. While the number may seem small compared to the $67,044 net cost of Dartmouth , it poses a fi nancial burden for many students. In recent years, both student groups and administrators have placed increased pressure on Greek organizations to provide fi nancial aid for members. The “Greek Proposal” released last November included a state-ment of com-mitment from Greek organiza-tions to increase fi nancial inclu-sivity. Campus dia-logue has also begun to focus more on issues related to socio-economic class. D a r t m o u t h Class Confes-sions, a Face-book page creat-ed in early May, describes itself as “an open space for students of all socioeconomic backgrounds to share their campus experiences.” The page’s second post – on May 3 – detailed the story of an anonymous woman who went in-active in her sorority for fi nancial reasons, which a fellow member of her sorority claimed was “never” a factor in members’ decisions to go inactive. “We exist in the sorority. We exist in the Greek system. We exist at Dartmouth,” she wrote. “Please

By PARKER RICHARDSThe Dartmouth Staff

do not assume my socioeconomic status.” Membership costs at Greek houses vary dramatically. While the Greek Letter Organizations and Societies offi ce does not provide a per-house breakdown for fraterni-ties or gender-inclusive houses, it does for sororities. The data, current from winter 2013, shows a range in cost of dues from $235 at Epsilon Kappa Theta to $395 at Alpha Xi Delta. Across houses, dues for the fi rst time of affi liation, known as new member dues, are the most expensive.

Alpha Phi sorority has dues of $300 for each full mem-ber and $586.41 for each new member; Alpha Xi Delta soror-ity, $395 for full members and $635 for new members; Delta Delta Delta so-rority, $295 and $550; Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority, $235 and $335, with s e c o n d a n d

third term member dues set at $310 to $325; Kappa Delta sorority has dues of $310 for fall term, $262 for winter term, $325 for spring term, $250 for summer term and $425 for new member dues; Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority has dues of $330 for full members and $380 for new members; Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, $250 for full members and $647 for new members; and Sigma Delta sorority, $325 for full members and $365 for new members. New member dues at local so-

rorities – EKT, KDE and Sigma Delt – are substantially lower than those of national sororities, but the full member dues are comparable at each set of houses. Panhellenic Council vice presi-dent for public relations Allison Chou ’17 said that Panhell has com-mitted itself to meeting 100 percent of the demonstrated fi nancial need of members, up from the current 80 percent of need that is met. “I can’t say how major of a factor [fi nancial barriers to membership] are, but Panhell recognizes it as a potential barrier for women who would like to join the Panhellenic community,” she said, adding that the group strives to maximize fi nan-cial inclusivity. Chou said that Panhell is set to open a fund that can be used to support the individual fi nancial aid programs of member houses and potentially receive donations from alumni to support current students. The fund would initially be set up through the College, she said. “The very existence of such a fund would, we hope, contribute to outside donors contributing their own donations to the fund which, we would hope, would relieve any fi nancial strain that might place on Panhell or the houses themselves,” she said. Chou said that the “gears [are] moving” for the fund to be set up by the fall term, but added that its launch depends upon external fac-tors outside of Panhell’s control. Panhell is not alone amongst Greek organizations on campus

pus helps to reduce socioeconomic burdens on students, since they can participate without paying costs. “The Dartmouth Greek scene divides in lots of ways — some of which we may like, may not like — but I’ve certainly never seen it as something that exacerbates any existing social cleavage,” Wheelan said. The Gender-Inclusive Greek Council already meets 100 percent of the need of its members through a unique optional dues system, GIGC president Veri di Suvero ’16 said. “At every house, your dues are optional,” she said. “In that way, it gets at the socioeconomic inclusivity idea that people who don’t want to pay or can’t pay don’t pay.” Members simply approach their house offi cers and request not to pay dues or a portion thereof, and all requests are granted. Di Suvero said that the GIGC has more fl exibility with fi nancial aid since all of its members are local organizations, while both Panhell and the IFC have numerous national organizations as members. “That’s a huge asset in letting us determine our own fi nancial poli-cies,” she said. The policy has not harmed the solvency of GIGC houses, di Suvero said. Since the houses typically have fewer members, their costs are lower and they can make do without the full dues from each member, she said. Todd Heatherton , a psychology professor, said that people tend to

in attempting to address issues of fi nancial inclusivity. In the “Greek Proposal,” the Inter-Fraternity Council committed itself to elimi-nating the “working for dues” policies that had previously allowed members to pay off their dues through additional housework. Additionally, the IFC committed 15 percent of the social and pro-gramming budgets of each house to fi nancial aid.

Economics professor Charles Wheelan, who is a member of the Class of 1988, said that he does not believe individual houses differ greatly in terms of socioeconomic demographics. “You absolutely, positively do not want to have a situation where out-of-pocket spending is a screen for your social involvement on campus,” Wheelan said. He also said that the fact that most Greek parties are open to cam-

Data for this graph were taken from 696 responses to a survey sent out by The Dartmouth from May 4 to 8.

“Do you believe economic-based discrimination is present in the Greek system?”

MICHAEL QIAN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

“We exist in the sorority. We exist in the Greek system. We exist at Dartmouth. Please do not assume my socioeconomic status.”

-ANONYMOUS, FROM DARTMOUTH CLASS CONFESSIONS

“From a psychological perspective, we know that people want to belong to groups that help their social identity.”

-TODD HEATHERTON, PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR

SEE GREEK PAGE GK19


Institutional support for low-income students is fairly recent

For Brenden Stinson ’17 the different socioeconomic worlds that exist outside of the College collide once he steps foot on campus. Stinson said that many people are not aware of the potential im-pact that arriving at the College can have on students of lower socioeco-nomic class. These students often require more institutional support to help ease their transition. “Some people don’t really un-derstand it, or are not really aware of it, or are in such a beneficial position that they do not feel concerned by it,” he said. “When you’re in different classes, you live in different worlds, but when you’re here at Dartmouth, those worlds combine.” Fifty-nine percent of students come from families with incomes of $200,000 or above , while the U.S. Census records that only six percent of U.S. families earn that level of income. Comparatively, 11 percent of the student body at Dartmouth comes from the bottom 40 percent of U.S. households. Stinson serves as the treasurer of Dartmouth Quest Scholars, a group that serves as the campus

By NOAH GOLDSTEIN andKATIE RAFTERThe Dartmouth Staff

extension of QuestBridge. Quest-Bridge, a national organization that helps high-achieving low-income students as they apply for college, matches two or three students with the College and other partner in-stitutions annually. Emily Chan ’16 , the co-director of DQS said that their aims go beyond just working with Quest-Bridge. Instead, the group seeks to increase socioeconomic awareness on campus through dinner discus-sions and other programming, she said. The group, which focuses on raising awareness about class-related issues, is inclusive to anyone on campus, Stinson said. Beyond operating as a support group for Dartmouth QuestBridge finalists and scholars, the DQS chapter also acts as a support group for low-income students, Chan said. Chan said that they seek to act as a support group for any low-income students, due to the lack of such or-ganizations on campus. She noted that the First-Year Student Enrich-ment Program somewhat serves this function but does not work with the entire range of students from low-income backgrounds. Associate dean of the College Elizabeth Agosto said she hopes

that programming for students of lower socioeconomic backgrounds increases. She said she expects both students and the Office of Pluralism and Leadership to work toward this goal, which will educate families about the financial aid process. Agosto said there is always more that the College could do for students in need, but establishing a structure to meet such needs can be challenging. Chan said that DQS hopes to implement a mentorship program to match incoming freshmen with upperclassmen at the College. “Having socioeconomic diver-sity on campus and having more awareness of that is just another element that I think is very valuable for anybody’s learning experience on campus,” Chan said. Stinson and Chan said that they want to focus on raising awareness for the widespread economic gap in the campus community, and also increase support for their group. Some members of DQS recently launched a public Facebook page, Dartmouth Class Confessions, which features anonymous as well as open student testimonies about socioeconomic class on campus. Stinson said that the College lacks accessible yet meaningful

discussions around issues relating to socioeconomic difference. He said that an event similar to Sex Signals, a “comical, yet logical and truthful” show about sexual assault held during freshmen orientation, could bring more understanding. Agosto said that Dartmouth students often do not discuss issues

surrounding class and money, add-ing that the process of requesting financial aid can be difficult for students as it requires disclosing sensitive information. “Asking for financial help is chal-lenging,” she said. “I know it was for me, and I know it is for many of the students I work with.”

Stinson noted that DQS — recognized in 2011, when the first group of QuestBridge scholars matriculated — is about to gradu-ate its first class, which will help develop an alumni network outside of the College. Similarly, FYSEP director Jay Davis said that the group is cur-rently collecting data from the first graduating FYSEP class — the class of 2014 — about post-graduation life. This initiative aims to foster a sense of community and create a larger network outside Dartmouth for first-generation students at the College. Davis said FYSEP — a support group for first generation students — is designed to foster relationships between and among freshmen and upperclassmen mentors. FYSEP also helps students navigate avail-able resources on campus and provides a sense of community to an underrepresented demographic, he said. “FYSEP provides a very im-portant sense of community and belong to a traditionally under represented population on Ivy League campuses,” Davis said. Davis said that there is always more that FYSEP could be doing

SEE SUPPORT PAGE GK18

“Asking for financial help is challenging. I know it was for me and I know it is for many of the students I work with.”

-ELIZABETH AGOSTO, ASSOCIATE DEAN OF THE COLLEGE

“Have you ever been discriminated against or felt marginalized because of your economic status?”

Data for these graphs were compiled from the results of a survey sent out by The Dartmouth from May 4 to 8. The Dartmouth received 696 responses from students.

“What percentage of students at Dartmouth do you think have experienced class- or economic-based discrimination?”



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SEE UFC PAGE GK16

Undergraduate Finance Committee funding explained

The Undergraduate Finance Committee found itself at the center of campus discussion when it sanctioned Student Assembly in the fall for misuse of funds, but few students fully understand how the UFC works. UFC sanctioned the Assembly in the fall after the group spent $1,876 of UFC allocated funds on custom-ized apparel for 23 individuals and $966.28 on an invite-only lunch event, as well as a formal that was later cancelled. In the Assembly presidential and vice presidential debate this April, both of the candidates for president discussed the role of the UFC and its relationship with SA. They also pointed out that most students do not understand exactly how this funding body works. The UFC distributes funds to nine campus organizations: Col-lis Governing Board, Council on Class Offi cers, Council on Student Organizations, Elections Planning and Advisory Committee, Greek Leadership Council, Programming Board, Student Assembly, Special Programs and Events Committee and Green Key Society.

By LAUREN BUDDThe Dartmouth Staff

UFC’s budget comes from the student activities fee charged to each student’s tuition every term, currently an $83 charge, UFC chair Carolyn Parrish ’16 said. The fees are combined and allocated to the nine groups every spring. This year, the funds totalled up to $1.08 mil-lion, Parrish said. Reilly Johnson ’16 , Student As-sembly press chair, said that the UFC allocated less money than previous years this term. The funds changed from a term to term budget to a lump sum for the 2014-2015 year. She said that this was likely a result of the budgetary problems the Assembly had faced in the past year. UFC allocated $40,000 to the Assembly for the 2014-2015 year which was considerably less than the $70,500 the Assembly hads requested. In 2013-2014, the UFC allocated the Assembly $58,000, in 2012-2012, $69,500 and in 2011-2012, $76,250. Overall, Parrish said each funded body tends to have a slight increase in funding per year as tuition, and thus the student activities fee, rises. Increases in funding can also come when groups have signifi cant new ideas or proposals for the next year, she said. The standard annual

increase in budget for each group, she said, is two or three percent. Programming Board, due to the large-scale nature of its events, usually asks for the most money and the committee therefore allocates money to them last, Parrish said. She said that it consistently uses its entire budget every year. “We just want to make sure every group gets money proportional to

its scope,” Parrish said. “And we have to ensure that every group is following the spirit of the student activities fee. The events have to be open to all of campus, they can’t be exclusive at all because the students are paying for it.” Parrish said that though the review process for UFC funding is

strict, occasionally funds are mis-used. She cited the fall sanctioning of the Assembly, which she said was problematic because every student on campus essentially paid for ap-parel for a small number. Johnson also noted that the Assembly’s new leadership will be “passionate” about making their expenditures public in order to avoid future claims of misallocation of funds. The Assembly also added a new role of vice treasurer in order to assist the treasurer to ensure the effi cient management of funds. Though Johnson said that the purchasing of the apparel was “in opposition to the spirit of the student activities fee,” the internal expenditure for Assembly gear was outlined in the budget and approved by UFC at the time. The UFC keeps historical re-cords and is in contact with the College treasurer, which holds the groups requesting funds account-able, Parrish said. “It’s very numerical, it’s very systematized, and everyone is ex-pected to be very objective in their decision-making,” Parrish said. Due to the nature of the organi-zations getting funds from the UFC, students on campus can also play a role in accountability, Parrish said. “Everyone on campus is watch-

ing you, all of these events are public, they’re student activities,” Parrish said Every spring, representatives from the nine funded student organizations fi rst meet with the UFC chair, before meeting with the committee to discuss their budgets, Parrish said. This year, she said the preliminary discussion was a daylong process in the form of a retreat held in the Collis Center, which she called essential. She said that representatives present their proposals to the UFC chair two weeks prior to their fi rst meeting. The chair, who serves as a moderator fi gure, audits the propos-als and adds any comments. Two UFC meetings this term are open to student organizations and designated for budget planning, Par-rish said. While the fi rst meeting is largely focused on policy questions directed at the entire group and individual leaders, the second meet-ing is when the budget is actually allocated, she said. Chase Mertz ’16 , a member of the Class of 2016 Class Council, who has sat in on UFC budgetary meetings, said that class council’s funding remains relatively consis-tent other than slight increases due

“Everyone on campus is watching you, all of these events are public, they’re student acti viti es.”

-CAROLYN PARRISH ’16, UNDERGRADUATE FINANCE COMMITTEE


ELIZA MCDONOUGH/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Student at desk of Baker-Berry library informati on desk. The library employs 225 students on average.


Novack Café employee takes a student’s order. The café closes at 2 a.m.


Novack Café is known for its long rush hour lines and fast-paced service.

Photo essay: A look at student employees around campus

“If you are employed, how many hours a week do you work?”

Data for this graph were taken from 696 responses to a survey sent out by The Dartmouth from May 4 to May 8. MICHAEL QIAN/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF


For many students, Collis Market serves as an on-campus supermarket. The store, still referred to by many students as “Topside,” stays open until 11 p.m.


Eliza McDonough/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

A student works at the Collis Center Informati on desk. The Collis Center functi ons as a hub for student acti vity.

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Guest Columnist GABRIELLE O’DONOGHUE ’17

Deserving More From DDSCollege meal plans are comparable to government food stamps.

STAFF Columnist WILLIAM PETERS ’15

Being Poor at DartmouthOne’s financial background significantly affects the Dartmouth experience.

There are few things on this campus that incite more animosity and complaints than Dartmouth Dining Services. As many of us already know, good ol’ DDS is ripping us off — and not just a penny here and a penny there. DDS makes millions in yearly profits, as recorded in auxiliary income re-ports and by DDS direcor David Newlove’s unfortunate LinkedIn profile. Our current executive vice president and chief financial officer Richard Mills, how-ever, said that the profits that DDS makes are circulated back into the system to cover the other expenses that students cost the College. We are, apparently, very expensive to educate, feed and house. But does that justify exorbitant food service prices? I think not. As an experi-ment for a sociol-ogy class I took last year, I investigated how our meal plans compared to the real world — that is, a world out-side Dartmouth, an elite Ivy League institution. Using the “SNAP”, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Pro-gram eligibility tool online, I determined the amount of money I could get on food stamps in the state of New Hampshire. The algorithm asked how much my weekly income was, how much money I had in my bank account, if I had a vehicle and if I had any dependents or other expenses. After truthfully filling out each question, the program’s website informed me that I was eligible for $49 of weekly aid for my groceries. This amount of money might not seem like much, but wait and see. My current meal plan, the “SmartChoice 7,” amounts to roughly $140 a week for food on campus. Though this amount is nomi-nally higher than the aid given by SNAP, the inflated prices through DDS cause it to effectively be equivalent, if not less. At the West Lebanon Walmart, a Chobani Greek yogurt costs just one dollar, compared to three dollars at the East Wheelock Snack Bar. Being the bargain hunter I am, I compared food prices for 10 common items including a quart of milk, Vitaminwater, Lean Cuisine, Stouffer’s, strawberries and a few others on campus to those at the local Walmart. The results are nauseating. On average, those 10 items are almost three times more expensive to purchase on campus than off. Although to many students on this campus, DBA is imaginary money their parents willingly shell out to this school, some students — including myself — feel the burden of funding our meal plans. I pay for all my college expenses myself, including my meal plan. Every dollar I spend on it is a real dollar that I worked hard to earn. I

find it offensive that our institution deems it appropriate to charge me food prices three times higher than those found outside our little Hanover bubble. That real money, that money I spent time sacrificing study hours and time with my friends to earn, could go toward many other worthy causes — such as my tuition. Although the school has been very gener-ous by covering the majority of my tuition, I still need to work and take out loans to cover all my expenses. Being a student burdened by these financial responsibilities tarnishes my Dartmouth experience with unnecessary stress. If our administrators truly cared about

the well-being of all the College’s students, they would consider how the simple action of inflating the price of our meals causes many negative downstream effects for students struggling with socio-economic issues. Some may ar-gue that they easily end each term with extra DBA in their ac-counts. I implore these students to seriously reflect on how they

end up with that extra balance. Do they get to go eat off campus often and enjoy some margaritas at Molly’s on a typical Friday night? Do they order EBAs when they are too tired to walk to the dining hall? Do their parents ship wonderful care packages filled to the brim with goodies on which to snack? Many students who struggle with financial issues do not have these luxuries of eating off campus or ordering food in. Many have parents who cannot afford to mail them filling snacks they can munch on in their rooms. Many students plagued by socioeconomic difficulties must adhere to their meal plans and buy astonishingly expensive food every single day. We do not have the luxury of eating out often and are therefore more likely to use all of our DBA, or in some cases even go negative, thus owing this institution even more money that many of us just do not have. Now let’s go back and review the math here. I get roughly three times as much on my SmartChoice 7 meal plan to spend on food here than I do on food stamps — yet, food at Dartmouth is almost three times more expensive. In simple terms, my meal plan at Dartmouth — one of the most highly regarded institutions in the nation — is roughly equivalent to food stamps in the state of New Hampshire. Should we as students allow our administrators to offer programs no better than supplemental government aids? We must demand more from DDS, and they must finally begin to listen. Because I don’t know about you, but I can’t keep up with all of this academic rigor on an empty stomach.

Dartmouth is the most rewarding place I have ever been — and yet, also the strangest. I have met some of most brilliant minds and some of those same minds have been just as ignorant as they are intelligent. I do not mean to insult them, and I am not assigning blame. What I am getting at is that because the Ivy League has gone need-blind, there is now a significant mixing of class and culture on these campuses. This is by no means a bad development, but I think it is time that we explore some perspective on the experi-ence of a poor student at Dartmouth. Arriving here from community college in 2012, I was overwhelmed at first by the flair and festivity of the Dartmouth Outing Club’s First-Year Trips. Orientation consisted of speeding through the various services and resources of the College while I was barely able to absorb most of the information. Suddenly, classes began, and I quickly real-ized that I was drowning in the deep end. My high school education was irrelevant in the scheme of prestigious universities, and community college was preparing me for the University of Massachusetts — not Dartmouth College — and I soon began to question if I was adequate enough to even be a student here. Looking back on this time, I realized that there was not just an academic difference, but a social one as well — particularly when comparing rich students lives’ to those of poorer students. Speaking from personal experience, my old streets of Everett, Mas-sachusetts, had probably never seen a per-son walking in salmon shorts and Sperrys boat shoes. From mult i-ethnic ur-ban neighborhoods where most people disliked or mistrust-ed one another, I entered a tiny rural community dominated by white upper-class indi-viduals. There was seemingly no such thing as a teen pregnancy, most people had never gone to a funeral of anyone besides a grandparent and, aside from the hockey team, most students have never even been in a fight. I did not under-stand students’ styles of dress, speech or their experiences. People would ask if I had rowed or played squash before Dartmouth, and I would answer, “Poor people don’t do that.” My first year at Dartmouth was marked by a hyper-awareness of my low socioeconomic status. That hyper-awareness of poorness is com-pounded by the things that your peers do that you cannot. Sometimes there is a feeling of being left out, like when friends go on exotic vacations during interim periods or when you need to refrain from spending money while studying abroad. Recently, I was accepted into the English department’s foreign study program for this fall in Dublin. This will be the first time I will leave the United States

since I deployed to Iraq in 2006. When talking with other students about the full week off we have in October, they mention visiting London, Paris, Barcelona, Florence and various other European cities. They encourage me to do the same — unless the English department is going to give me a couple grand to have a mini tour of Europe, however, I think that the farthest I will be exploring will be the Scottish Highlands or Belfast. When I tell the other students this, they often look slightly confused, almost as though it is a natural reflex to indulge as much of a foreign adventure as possible. The truth is that while I am minding my wallet, I will be also watching many of my peers go off to do so many of the things I wish I could. Money is a primary woe of many low-income students at the College. It is the immediate consideration for anything we want to do — it has to be. Whether it is a non-profit program in the U.S. or another country, an unpaid internship in a city that is not home or even an extra term, we need to stop and determine if we can actually afford it. Internships are probably the worst of it. Unlike many other colleges, there is almost an expectation among peers to land an elite internship. Unless you are in finance or consulting, chances are you are not get-ting paid over your leave term. Yes, there are all sorts of funding opportunities that Dartmouth provides, but none of them are guaranteed. Applying for internships while taking classes is enough of a stressor, but wor-

rying about whether or not we will actually get a grant to go work and survive in a new city is another major challenge for many students. Personally, I think it is appalling that many of these in-ternships are unpaid. Students are pressured

into finding money to live on to put a few lines on their resume and have few minutes of conversation with an employer. Bottom line, if for some reason we do not get the funding from the school, students of lower income are not in a position to get that sweet internship. There are dozens of other issues I could discuss related to being a low-income stu-dent. Further, I think that since it is spring and many students are really beginning to think about their futures, it is appropriate to point out the challenges. Administrators need to increase financial aid for all parts of the Dartmouth experience, and students need to be more cognizant of their peers’ backgrounds. We are supposed to have the greatest opportunity of our lives in coming here, but we still have some work to do in making it better for everyone — not just the students coming in from a place like Phillips Exeter Academy.

“I get roughly three times as much on my SmartChoice 7 meal plan to spend on food here than I do on food stamps — yet, food at Dartmouth is almost three times more expensive. In simple terms, my meal plan at Dartmouth — one of the most highly regarded institutions in the nation — is roughly equivalent to food stamps in the state of New Hampshire.”

“People would ask if I had rowed or played squash before Dartmouth, and I would answer, ‘Poor people don’t do that.’ My first year at Dartmouth was marked by a hyper-awareness of my low-socioeconomic status.”


Emily Chan ’16 divides her money — earned from multiple campus jobs — between necessities, tuition and recreational purposes. “A lot of my friends like to go out and eat, so I can work for that,” Chan said. “It’s a little expensive here. I help out by paying a bit of my tuition, too. It’s just about making sure that I have money saved up for future things, like buying my ticket home and traveling on the [Dartmouth] Coach. It all adds up, so it’s nice to have money for these things.” Chan, as the co-director of Dartmouth Quest Scholars, a group that focuses on issues related to class, recently launched a project called Dartmouth Class Confessions with Hui Cheng ’16. The project aims to raise awareness and dialogue around the unspoken experiences surrounding socioeconomic identity. “With Class Confessions, the point is anyone can anonymously submit a one liner or two liner about how they feel about class on campus,” Chan said. “Something that is a little discouraging for me is that it turns off people who are upper- or middle-class, and they think they’re excluded from that. I wanted it to be for everyone, and I want everyone to feel comfortable sharing.” ForChan,thesubjectof classfirstarosewhenshetraveledabroadandcouldnotengageinthesame experiences as some of her peers, she said. “Youdon’trealizesomethingwhenyoudon’tknowwhattolookfor,”Chansaid.“Ifirstnoticedwhen I was on my [language study abroad] with other people. They were really nice, of course, but you see the obvious differences — half the group could afford to do a lot more than you can. Money can actually be real constraint for a lot of people, and it was just interesting that I myself had been so ignorant about it. Then I couldn’t stop seeing or noticing.”

Between working at the front desk of the Alumni Gymnasium, conducting research for the government department and working as a tour guide and as an undergraduate advisor, Feyaad Allie ’16 has committed himself to becoming the Renaissance man of student employment. But for Allie, working multiple jobs on campus does not necessarily detract from his studies. “Some of my jobs are activities that I do on campus on anyway,” he said. “Then there are jobs like working in the gym, where I can do homework while working there. It doesn’t feel like I’m losing time.” And where does this money go? “I’d say that maybe 20 percent goes to some fun things, like dinner in town, or some activity,” Allie said. “I usually would spend another 30 percent on any necessities, like if I need to buy shampoo or school supplies, in addition to an expense like a [Dartmouth] Coach ticket. In other words, these are things that are small enough that I don’t go to my parents for. The rest of it goes to my savings.” Ultimately, Allie said that student employees choose to work on campus for different reasons depending on their personal situations. “Some people work because of work-study or they want to help support their educa-tion here, whereas other people work for spending money,” Allie said. “I have a decent amount of jobs on campus because it just happened, and it functions for both reasons. For me, it is a combination of both.”

Gabriel Barrios ’15

Emily Chan ’16 Feyaad Allie ’16

“You don’t realize something when you don’t know what to look for. I first noticed when I was on my [language study abroad] with other people. They were really nice, of course, but you see the obvious differences — half the group could afford to do a lot more than you can. Money can actually be real constraint for a lot of people, and it was just interesting that I myself had been so ignorant about it. Then I couldn’t stop seeing or noticing.”

While on campus, Gabriel Barrios ‘15 has worked several jobs, ranging from the service industry to youth education, he said. “I’ve kind of jumped around between jobs,” Barrios said. “I’ve had at least one every term, whether it’s working at the gallery, at BarHop, and then some off campus jobs, as well. I used to be a ‘student supervisor’ at White River School, which was basically me being an after-school teacher teaching drawing as a work-study job. I’ve also had odd, temp jobs.” For Barrios, he said that class becomes most salient when working in service jobs like BarHop. “Nothing makes me more aware of other people’s class-related behaviors than the way that they interact with people who pick up after them or serve them,” he said. Barrios said that other students who work in service note the same trends about student attitudes related to class, he said. “I can kind of tell who’s more sensitive of the fact that service jobs are not necessarily a fun thing to do,” he said. “Conversations with other people made me more aware of that. It’s frustrating to be on the side of the person cleaning up.”

Students share stories of work and life at the CollegeBy LAUra sim

JEFFREY LEE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

JEFFREY LEE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

GREEN KEY 2015 Friday, May 15, 2015The Dartmouth GREEN KEY 2015 Friday, May 15, 2015The DartmouthPage GK12 Page GK13

Student survey fi nds diverse opinions

As part of an exploration of socioeconomic status and class, The Dartmouth surveyed the College’s undergraduates on topics related to money. More than 57 percent of the College’s under-graduates reported an annual household income of over $125,000, though only 23 percent con-sidered themselves upper-class, according to the survey. The survey was conducted online from May 4 to 8 and received 696 responses, with a roughly even distribution of respondents’ class years. Sampling was not random, as students elected to take the survey, and results do not necessarily represent the entire student population. Statistical analysis of comparisons of variables indicated high degrees of correlation, though causation cannot be proven. The survey found that the majority of students come from high-income backgrounds, though most do not consider themselves to be upper-class. About 53 percent of respondents reported their socioeconomic status as upper-middle class, 23 percent said they were lower-middle or lower-class and 23 percent said they were upper-class. A survey of Harvard College’s graduating Class of 2014 conducted by the Harvard Crimson found similar results. Only 30 percent of students accurately predict-

ed that 50 to 69 percent of College undergraduates come from upper-class backgrounds. The majority of respondents thought that less than 50 percent of students come from the upper class, which highlights a gap in students’ perceptions about what household income is considered upper class. Based on survey results, the median household income for the College’s undergraduates is between $125,000 and $250,000. Fifty-nine percent of students come from families with incomes of $200,000 or above , while the U.S. Census records that only six percent of U.S. families earn that level of income. Comparatively, 11 percent of the student body at Dartmouth comes from the bottom 40 percent of U.S. household incomes. According to a U.S. Census report, the national median household income in 2013 was $51,939. Eighteen and a half percent of College students reported that their household income was more than $500,000. Seventy-seven respondents in-dicated that they did not know their household income. In the 2013-2014 academic year, 47 percent of undergraduate students received fi nancial aid from the College, a number consistent with previous years, according to the College Fact Book . Last year, the College awarded the most fi nancial aid to date — a total of over $92.5 million in need-based fi nancial aid through scholarships, loans and work-study. A New York Times study found that the net

price of College tuition for low- to middle-income students is $4,900, the fourth lowest among the schools surveyed . This year, undergraduate tuition, fees and room and board was $61,947 . For the 2015-2016 academic year, tuition will increase by 2.9 percent, the lowest increase since 1977, and will amount to $63,744. Among the Ivy League institutions, Dartmouth’s tuition is increasing by the smallest percentage. In the College’s 2014 senior survey, 70 percent of students reported that the impact of their stu-dent debt was moderate to considerable, while 13 percent of the seniors indicated the impact was severe . Sixty-two percent of the College’s low-income students said that they are frequently stressed about money, compared to 19.2 percent of the overall sample of students surveyed. Sixty-nine percent of participants indicated that they work while on campus, with only fi ve percent of all respondents reporting unpaid work. The majority of students with annual household incomes under $250,000 reported that they work. Ninety-three percent of those with annual family incomes under $40,000 said they have a job while on campus, compared to 82 percent of those between $40,000 and $79,999 and 83 percent of those in the $80,000 to $124,999 bracket. In response to a question asking about how often participants experienced economic or class-based discrimination, only fi ve percent indicated

“frequently.” Twenty-seven percent responded with “sometimes,” 35 percent responded with “rarely” and 33 percent responded with “never.” Similarly, when asked whether economic discrimination is present in the Greek system, the majority of respondents answered with either “disagree” or “strongly disagree.” Overall, almost 58 percent of participants were male, 42 percent were female and about 1 percent was gender non-conforming. Whereas 43 percent of women agreed that there is economic discrimination in the Greek system, only 18 percent of men said the same. Almost 60 percent of participants indicated that they were Greek-affi liated, and a slightly larger proportion of affi liated students said economic discrimination is present in the Greek system com-pared to unaffi liated students. Thirty-six percent of affi liated students said economic discrimination is present in the Greek system, as opposed to 18 percent of unaffi liated students. Nineteen percent of affi liated students and 26 percent of unaffi li-ated students responded with “neutral,” while 46 percent of affi liated students and 56 percent of unaffi liated students said there is no class-based discrimination in the Greek system. The majority of respondents think the College is either “somewhat committed” or “very com-mitted” to promoting socioeconomic diversity. Household income and the frequency with which one has experienced economic discrimination did not have a major correlation with respondents’

perception of the College’s efforts to increase economic diversity. When asked about the importance of mak-ing a high salary after graduating, 76 percent of respondents responded with “somewhat important” to “very important.” Eleven percent answered “neutral,” and 13 percent answered with “somewhat unimportant” or “very unimportant.” Household income did not have a major correla-tion with how important making a high salary was to respondents. The median expected salary of respondents after graduation was $50,000 to $70,000. The aver-age starting salary post-graduation for Dartmouth students is $55,000, nearly doubling to $102,000 by mid-career, according to the 2013-2014 PayScale College Salary Report. Thirty-six percent of students expected to make under $49,000, 40 percent expected to make $50,000 to $70,000. Twenty-fi ve percent expected to make over $80,000. Expected salaries after graduation varied somewhat by major. The majority of arts majors expected to make under $49,000, while the majority of humanities majors expected to make under $79,000. Fifty-three percent of respondents indicated that they were majoring in the social sciences. Eight percent of social science majors expected to make under $30,000, 26 percent from $30,000 to $49,999, 38 percent from $50,000 to $79,999, 22 percent from $80,000 to $100,000 and seven percent under $100,000.

THE DARTMOUTH CONDUCTED A SURVEY OF 696 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS. THE QUESTIONS EXPLORED STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF CAMPUS CLASS DIVISIONS AND SALARY EXPECTATIONS AFTER GRADUATION, AMONG OTHER TOPICS.

By Erin lee The Dartmouth Staff

“Based on survey results, the median household income for the College’s undergraduates is between $125,000 and $250,000. According to a US Cen-sus Bureau report, the national median household income in 2013 was $51,939. Eighteen and a half percent of College students reported that their household income was more than $500,000. Seventy-seven respon-dents indicated that they did not know their household income. .

Self-reported socioeconomic class by household income

Estimation of percent upper-class by household income Frequency of money-related stress by household incomeThe D Runs the Numbers:

61%

58% 69%

Eat off campus 1-4 times a month

Do not shop in Hanover at all during a term

Of student employees say their earnings cover all termly expenses

73%Of students report it costs $10-$20 each time they eat off campus



said. Hazen said she was concerned with student outreach as with the office’s current staff size they are not able to meet with each incoming student receiving financial aid at the start of their time at the College. Receiving immediate information about how financial aid works at Dartmouth “always seemed to me to get people off on the right foot here,” she said. “It is hard to tap into the system,” Hazen said. “People need to reach out to us too. We’re happy to do presentations, but we don’t want to go and then have nobody show up.” Christine Brongniart , director of strategic partnerships and ex-ternal relations at the Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America, said that LEDA tries to offload some of the burden from financial aid by setting up networks to help low-income students navigate their college experience and operating as a source of support and resource. Fourteen LEDA scholars have at-tended the College, with five cur-rently enrolled, Brongniart said. LEDA is a national non-profit that works to develop the skills of high-achieving public high school students from socioeconomically

Financial aid, outside organizations provide student supportFROM EXPERTS PAGE GK3

life. Both Rufino and Torres said that they plan on fully embracing a liberal arts education, as well as College programs like foreign study programs, by tapping into resources for funding. DQS co-director Emily Chan ’16 said that the biggest challenge she sees presented to lower-income and first-year students is not finan-cial assistance, but rather the lack of a strong professional network. “A lot students have access to professional networks through fam-ily connections, but most students who are first-years or of lower income do not have this option,” she said. Chan added that the lack of a strong network disadvantages these students when they are seeking in-ternships or employment, and that DQS is establishing a database of alumni to alleviate this concern. McCabe said practical items such as affording study abroad programs, fees for clubs and orga-nizations, going out to meals and going on trips with friends present complications to low-income stu-dents. She noted that the College is better equipped to help students

with some of these issues, like studying abroad, than they are with others, like meals with friends. The College offers need-based financial aid that can cover all expenses defined as “educational costs,” director of financial aid Virginia Hazen said . These include tuition, room and board, textbook costs, off-campus study program costs and miscellaneous expenses, which cover necessities like tooth-paste and shampoo, she said . Hazen also noted several trends that can create difficulties for students. Hazen said that students from rural areas frequently express frus-tration over finding off-term work that pays the amount of money they are expected to pay the Col-lege. She noted that this pattern often causes students to take out unexpected loans. Another long-term trend, she said, is that students opt to take out loans rather than work 10 to 12 hours a week. The financial aid office needs to be equitable in the way they award money, Hazen said. If a student is taking art classes with extra equip-ment necessary or science classes with a lab fee, the office can only give a loan for it, potentially limit-ing students’ academic options, she

disadvantaged backgrounds. The group mostly focuses on helping low-income, high-achieving stu-dents gain access to competitive institutions of higher education.

Brongniart said themes in feedback from past students cur-rently attending college include not finding strong support systems and delays in financial aid. “The system isn’t set up to sup-port students as much as they may need as far as extra stability from financial aid officers and the ability to actually get support in a timely way,” Brongniart said. She noted that the way adminis-trative systems are set up creates a “bottleneck effect,” because there are not enough staff members to meet students’ needs. Brongniart said she encourages students to take out micro-grants

— small sums of money — for emergencies or for lab and course work fees. Brongniart said that a peer-mentoring network for incoming students would help. “Older classmen who have navigated the process for four years can help incoming students,” she said. “They can help support them, answer questions, have a human relationship.” Chan said that DQS currently has a peer mentoring program where younger students are paired with older scholars. The program is designed to foster strong rela-tionships among the mentee and mentor pairs in order to provide younger scholars with assistance to adapting to life at Dartmouth. LEDA helps students deal with “cultural insensitivity” that students might feel from the uni-versity, administrators, financial aid officers and other students, she noted. Torres said she attributes the lack of past conversation to people’s fear of discussing the issue in an insensitive manner. Rufino echoed Torres’ sentiments, adding that conversations about class should focus on personal experiences as opposed to hard numbers. “Talking about it around cam-pus does not mean you go around saying my family makes $120,000 a year or $30,000 a year, it’s sharing your background and that’s your own story,” Rufino said. Torres said that she does not view her economic status as a barrier to her educational experiences at Dartmouth. “ I can only speak for myself, but I don’t feel like I am limited or have any less opportunities than anyone here,” Torres said.

“The system isn’t set up to support students as much as they may need as far as extra stability from fi nancial aid offi cers and the ability to actually get support in a ti mely way.”

-CHRISTINE BRONGNIART, LEADERSHIP ENTERPRISE FOR A DIVERSE AMERICA, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND STRATEGIC RELATIONS


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UFC aims to be “equitable” with funding

FROM UFC PAGE GK7

to tuition increases. He noted that the UFC budgetary process was strict. Mertz said that class council re-quested the same amount of money as it did in the previous year. He said that the group did not ask for any more than what they needed, which was not the norm for other organizations. UFC granted class council’s requested amount. “After much discussion, people kind of come to their own conclu-sions about how much each orga-nization deserves,” Parrish said. Each UFC member sends their budget idea for each of the nine groups to the chair, who records the averages and the medians, Parrish said. Committee members then rank the groups from most to least essential to fund. The budgetary process begins with the group designated as most important to fund. Parrish called the voting process, started by last year’s chair Eli Derrow ’15, streamlined. She said that each member starts with their hand up as she reads potential funding amounts and puts his or her hand down “as soon as an individual feels uncomfortable with funding.” As soon of half of the members do so, the chair records the amount. The organizations provide up-dates on a termly basis to the UFC, Parrish said. Members of UFC also keep an eye on campus emails and contact group representatives if the events are “exclusive.” If the event does not seem to be open to all stu-dents, the UFC will hold meetings immediately to determine how to

get funds paid back, Parrish said. While she trusts campus organi-zations’ leaders, she noted that there is room for funds to “slip through the cracks.” She said the UFC does not hesitate to call out organizations for irresponsible spending. “There’s too many eyes and ears on campus, too many people in the UFC and associated with the UFC who know the rules not to have this check and balance going on,” Parrish said. She noted another sanctioning incident involved this term’s Pha-raoh’s Ball, hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and funded by the Greek Leadership Council, which gains its funds from UFC. Parrish said the Pharaoh’s Ball both cost an “exorbitant” amount of money and was exclusive. Parrish said, however, that the GLC immediately responded to the UFC inquiry, admitted they had misused the UFC funds and tapped into a bank account of dues from affi liated students to pay back the funds. “It’s unfortunate that money abuse does occur, but I think every-thing in the past has been handled very well,” Parrish said. Parrish emphasized that the al-location of funds to all organizations is fair. She noted the committee members represent many facets of campus and that she trusts each individual member to put aside their affi liations and approach vot-ing without bias. “There’s a strong precedent that’s set to be objective, to be fair, to be equitable and to have high integrity, and it’s something we re-ally enforce,” Parrish said.


THESIS PRESENTATIONS BY GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT HONORS STUDENTS CLASS OF 2015

ALL ARE WELCOME 215 Silsby Hall MONDAY, MAY 18

2:00 PM NIKITA SACHDEVA Choice Architecture in Social Policy: An Analysis of Social Impact Bonds in the United States

TUESDAY, MAY 19 8:00 AM MEGAN BOGIA Why Do People Fight for a Country? Hemingway on Patriotism 1:00 PM ZACHARY MARKOVICH Volatile States: Volatility in American Presidential Elections

WEDNESDAY, MAY 20 8:00 AM LOGAN BROG Security Force Structure and Sectarian Conflict: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Recruitment, Composition, and Performance 2:00 PM SAMUEL STRATTON Laws are Made to be Broken: Executive Prerogative and the Rule of Law

THURSDAY, MAY 21 8:00 AM HENRY FROST Threat Perception and Nuclear Deterrability: Understanding Deterrence Policy in a Changing Nuclear Landscape 12:00 PM ALEXANDER RUBIN Dangerous Allies? The Potential Costs of America’s Asian Alliances

FRIDAY, MAY 22 9:00 AM ALEXANDRA JOHNSON An Anti-Terrorist Toolkit: Investigating the Roots of Variation in Islamist Terrorist Attacks 1:00 PM ANDREW LI Coalition Bargaining in Two-Party Legislatures

MONDAY, MAY 25 9:00 AM SARA KASSIR Changing Words, Changing Minds: Examine How Variations on Soft Power Rhetoric Affect Public Diplomacy Outcomes in Egypt 2:00 PM BRETT DRUCKER Softening Anti-Americanism through Soft Power: Evidence from a Randomized Experiment in France

TUESDAY, MAY 26 8:00 AM COLIN WALMSLEY Leaders, Ballots, and Bullets: Political Survival and State Responses to Secessionism

WEDNESDAY, MAY 27 2:00 PM AARON GOODMAN Moderating Moral Reasoning: Lincoln’s Contributions to Interpretive Theory

THURSDAY, MAY 28 8:00 AM SAMANTHA SHERMAN Mano Dura Doesn’t Win: Examining the Effectiveness of Anti-Crime Platforms in Latin American Presidential Campaigns 12:00 PM AMANDA LAMOTHE-CADET Chinese Soft Power: Motivations and Objectives

FRIDAY, MAY 29 2:00 PM SASHA DUDDING Harder to Read, Easier to Understand? Political Misinformation and the Disfluency Effect

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Students, admins: College can do more to help low-income studentsFROM SUPPORT PAGE GK6

“How committed do you believe Dartmouth is to promoting socioeconomic diversity?”

for students. He said that they want to increase programming and expand the program beyond first years to cover topics like career options and life after Dartmouth. Davis said that College is a much more diverse campus compared to when he attended Dartmouth as a member of the Class of 1990. He noted the increased focus on re-cruiting more students from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds and ensure all students have the resources and opportunities to thrive on campus. During her time at the College, Blythe George ’12 was an Alliance for Socioeconomic Awareness leader and involved with the first-generation network. George said that ASA went inactive due to a combination of time constraints and not having leaders in place upon the graduation of founding members. ASA was founded in 2008 by Cory Kendrick ’10 and Maya Na-than ’10 with Davis serving as the advisor for the group, Blythe said. George said that while at the College, she worked 15 to 20 hours a week. The first-generation stu-dent network offered a community

to students of similar background along with focus groups, she said. George said that she would like to see more support from Dartmouth to alleviate financial constraints on physical education and course requirements, such as funding for certain lab classes and winter activities classes. Agosto said that though the College is a need-blind institution and offers generous financial aid packages, additional costs such as textbooks and travel may cause problems for low-income students. “There are a lot of individual circumstances that occur that make aid challenging,” she said. In order for the College to have a breadth of high achieving and diverse students, they must go beyond just offering need-blind aid, Agosto said, adding that “the biggest initiatives that I would like to see is helping students on finan-cial aid really understand both the apparent and the hidden costs of coming to Dartmouth.” George noted that the presence of students from lower socioeco-nomic backgrounds helps lessen the stigma attached to those students. She said that first-generation students often still feel responsible for their community at home, which

can take a mental toll. “The sooner you figure out that it is not selfish to get sleep, it is not

selfish to take a step back from your family, because at the end of the day you are in Hanover and can’t

do anything and you only get the chance to do what you are doing once,” George said.




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Professors discuss economic inclusivity

FROM GREEK PAGE GK5

group together based on the per-ception of shared characteristics, meaning that a Greek house that is perceived as wealthier could attract wealthier students. “From a psy-chological per-s p e c t i v e , w e know that people want to belong to groups to help their social iden-tity,” he said. H e a t h e r t o n noted the work of a student in the previous de-cade who found in the course of researching an honors thesis that “People could reliably predict who would get into which sorority based solely on physical appearance.” Heatherton was unaware of any similar data for fi nancial or socio-economic factors. Sociology professor Janice Mc-Cabe , an expert in social psychology, inequality and education, said that while she lacked Dartmouth-specifi c data, research conducted by Jenny Stuber , a sociology professor at the University of North Florida, indi-cated that though socioeconomic factors may not necessarily contrib-

ute to the decision on to affi liate, they can impact the decision to join specifi c Greek houses. “I wonder if it would be the same here or not,” McCabe said. “There are certainly reputations that hous-

es have, from what students tell me.” M c -Cabe said that it was generally preferable that organizations be socioeco-nomically in-clusive, noting that universi-ties — through financial aid programs and n e e d - b l i n d admissions — have become

more inclusive and diverse in recent years. “Universities should help people become socially mobile, so if orga-nizations are not being inclusive, then they can become agents of perpetuating inequalities,” she said. Still, built-in socioeconomic biases can persist. “People are going to join groups that are somewhat exclusive to people who they wish to be, because being a member of that group con-fi rms that aspect of yourself that you want to have,” Heatherton said.

“Universiti es should help people become socially mobile, so if organizati ons are not being inclusive, then they can become agesnts of perpetuati ng inequaliti es.”

- JANICE MCCABE, SOCIOLOGY PROFESSOR


Careers after Dartmouth: Does one’s major determine one’s fi nancial future?

Like many freshmen, Frank Uzzi ’15 entered college planning on a major that would both match his skill set and please his parents. Dead set on the engineering track, he immediately started taking the appropriate math and physics prerequisites his fresh-man fall, giving little deep thought to his plan. And yet, an arbitrary decision to take “Drawing 1” during his fresh-man fall to balance out his problem set-heavy classes led Uzzi down a very different path. This spring he will graduate with a degree in studio art. Uzzi said, however, that he did not always feel complete certainty about his major due to concerns regarding future career opportunities. Uzzi represents just one of the many students at the College whose major does not necessarily follow as strict or predetermined a plan as, for example, the pre-engineering or pre-health paths do. What’s more, such majors do not generally connote the same ideas of professional success as those with more fi xed tracks. In a survey conducted by The Dartmouth of 696 students, the median expected salary of respon-dents after graduation was $50,000 to $80,000. Thirty-six percent of students expected to make under $49,000, 40 percent expected to make $50,000 to $80,000 and 25 percent expected to make over $80,000. The majority of students, includ-ing those in the social, quantitative and physical sciences as well as the humanities, said they expected their post-graduation income to be between $50,000 to $80,000. The majority of students with majors in the arts placed their predicted start-ing salary to be between $30,000 to $49,000. These predictions align with the reality of post-Dartmouth earnings. The average starting salary post-graduation for Dartmouth students is $55,000, nearly doubling to $102,000 by mid-career, according to the 2013-2014 PayScale College Salary Report. Uzzi said that when he began look-ing for internships, he found himself worrying about the future fi nancial viability of his fi eld of interest. Uzzi explained that he began exploring the fi eld of architecture by contacting alumni. Many were working in offi ces somewhat, but not fully, related to architecture, which worried Uzzi. In one instance, an alumnus of the College, a CEO of a solar en-

ergy startup company and former architecture major for whom Uzzi worked on an off-term, shared some disheartening news. “He was very disenchanted by [architecture],” Uzzi said. “He told me that to support his family, he had to move out of that industry and go into this solar startup. I’ve had a similar experience talking to other alums.” Several alumni suggested to Uzzi that to fi nd “real success,” he might be better off looking in related fi elds. He said that this advice saddened, more than disappointed, him. This past fall Uzzi decided to go through the corporate recruiting process to see if the business world would pique his interest. It did not, but Uzzi said he is grateful for the experience. “The more I interviewed, the more realized it wasn’t something I wanted to do,” Uzzi said. “Going through recruiting was eye-opening because it made me realize I didn’t need to question my major and that my interests are my interests.” Corporate recruiting through the Center for Professional Develop-ment, a popular option for students searching for internships, involves a highly competitive and lengthy selec-tion process through which students can fi nd jobs in fi elds like fi nance and consulting. This winter 665 students submit-ted 8,256 applications for the 189 positions advertised through the Cen-ter for Professional Development. Those who participate in corporate recruiting give up a sizable portion of their time and energy as they go through multiple levels of interviews. The process, reputed to be onerous and stressful, is likely disillusioning for many students, as it was for Uzzi. After his experience with corpo-rate recruiting confi rmed that he had made the right decision, Uzzi began to look into a variety of careers and began to worry less about his future. “Just because I’m not an econom-ics major looking for an investment banking job doesn’t mean I’m any less off,” Uzzi explained. And to this day, Uzzi said, he has never questioned his decision to forgo engineering. “I haven’t looked back since,” Uzzi said. “I never regretted not being an engineer…I would have hated to go through four years of college doing something I didn’t enjoy.” Orfeas Zormpalas ’16 expressed a similar sentiment about the impor-tance of choosing a major based on your passions, regardless of its impli-

cations for one’s career. He decided to major in philosophy irrespective of professional outcomes. Many students, however, do chose majors with a career-oriented mind-set. Shayn Jiang ’15 , an economics major modifi ed with engineering, corroborated this based on observa-tions from her classmates in both departments. “I think [lucrativeness] is for sure a big factor,” Jiang said. “I’m just not sure to what extent.” Will Corbett, who graduated in the Class of 2010 and is an assistant director of admissions at the Col-lege, agreed with Jiang based on his observations of his classmates. “I’m sure [lucrativiteness] is part of the calculation, but it might not be openly expressed,” Corbett said. “It depends how open and honest people are with themselves.” Of 696 students surveyed, more than 75 percent classifi ed making a high salary as either very or somewhat important. A national survey of college fresh-men by researchers at the University of California at Los Angeles reported that students are more concerned about fi nancial success and aspire to attend graduate schools to better career prospects. A record 82 percent wrote that it was very important or essential that they become well-off fi nancially. This number is almost double what it was when researchers fi rst collected data 40 years ago. Whether that concern manifests

itself into deliberate major decisions remains up for discussion. Jiang emphasized that it’s impor-tant to choose a major based on your interests, as she did, to maintain one’s happiness and maximize success. Zormpalas said that, generally, he sees two groups of philosophy majors — those like himself, who choose the subject solely for intrigue, and others who aim to put it towards a career in something like law or government. Although Zormpalas said that people come into philosophy for all sorts of reasons, it usually does largely stem from academic interest, more than its potential to engender a lucrative career. “It isn’t exactly the hottest thing professionally,” Zormpalas said. A Forbes article showed that for 2014 college graduates across the country, those with bachelor’s degrees in the humanities and liberal arts earn an equivalent starting salary to the average for all majors, at just under $40,000. The starting salary of engineers is signifi cantly higher at approximately $55,000 annually. The starting salary for those in fi nance, however, is only about $5,000 more than those work-ing in the humanities and liberal arts. Zormpalas noted that he is considering going into academia, a more popular career choice for stu-dents majoring in subjects with less stringent or predetermined career paths. He said that he has wavered in whether or not that is something

he would like to pursue. This seemingly limited pool of career options was one of the reasons that kept Fiona Bowen ’18 from pursuing a math major — although she said that math has thus far been her favorite subject at the College — and instead lead her down the pre-engineering track. “If I were to major in math, I think I would have to go into academia, and I don’t really want to do that,” Bowen said. “Engineering provides more versatility for career options.” Bowen noted that she also chose engineering because it both incor-porates her strongest subjects and provides personal fulfi llment. “I’ve always liked science and math, and engineering also appealed to me for its humanitarian aspect,” Bowen said. “You have the potential to help people in a big way.” Jiang echoed this sentiment, saying that she decided to pursue engineering due to its potential to solve social issues. Although engineers are known for being well paid, Bowen and Jiang said they both chose the subject out of interest and for personal fulfi llment. Bowen said that the fi eld’s high pay is an added bonus. Joseph Helble, Dean of the Thayer School of Engineering , said that pursuing engineering is becoming an increasingly popular option on a national level due to a conception



“ How important is earning a high salary to you after graduating?”

Story By caroline berens

SEE CAREERS PAGE GK22


If you take a minute to survey the students around you, chances are you will spot more than a few who proudly sport green or black jackets embroidered with their re-spective sport team’s name. If you do not notice the jackets, maybe you spotted students wearing green Nike shoes or black Nike backpacks with their jersey numbers stitched on the back pocket. With over 1,000 varsity athletes out of an undergraduate population of approximately 4,000, it is likely either you are an athlete or you encounter one, or even several, in your daily routine. This group of students that represents the College on various fields and arenas also represents the school’s diversity in terms of socioeconomic status. Harry Sheehy, director of ath-letics and recreation, said the re-lationship between socioeconomic status and varsity athletes varies by sport. He noted that “country club sports” such as tennis or golf consist of students from different backgrounds than others. “They all bleed into one another, but there are definitely cohorts of socioeconomic status that fills teams in different ways,” Sheehy said. Men’s basketball head coach Paul Cormier said that his team is composed of members from a vari-ety of socioeconomic backgrounds. He noted that NCAA regulations, which restrict the number of players who receive any form of financial aid on a basketball team to 13 individuals, is unfair. The NCAA sets limits on the number of players per team who can receive athletic scholarships known as “counters.” He noted that he would have to cut a student who receives financial aid before a student from a higher socioeconomic class if there were already 13 players on financial aid, “even though the first stu-dent might be better athletically.” “I can only have 13 team coun-ters, so that is a big factor when we go through the process of recruit-ing,” Cormier said. “And I don’t care what the Ivy League says, that’s discrimination.” Men’s cross country head coach Barry Harwick ’77 said ath-letes on the team range from those paying the full price of attendance and athletes who receive full need-based financial aid. He said that he would assume those of higher socioeconomic backgrounds had an easier time applying and gaining admission to Dartmouth due to better academic

preparation before college. Men’s lightweight rower Chris-topher Tinsman ’18 said he would assume based on his interactions that his teammates probably come from the upper middle class and above. Women’s volleyball player Julia Lau ’17 echoed similar statements about her teammates. Tinsman noted that he does not see any evidence of tension cre-ated by class differences between teammates or sports teams. He said that certain athletes are considered “basic” or “dumb.” “I do think athletes are associ-ated with stereotypes, but that has

nothing to do with socioeconomic classes,” Tinsman said. While many high school ath-letes dream of competing at the collegiate level, the increasing cost of tuition nationally has resulted in an increase in the demand for athletic scholarships. The College’s undergraduate first-year cost of attendance is $67,434 and with the annual tuition increase — 2.9 percent for this upcoming school year — the cost to attend does not show any signs of decreasing. According to Dartmouth’s an-nual Facts and Figures release, 53 percent of undergraduate students received some form of financial aid during the 2013-2014 school year. During this same school year, 1,026 or 24.7 percent of the student body were varsity athletes. Because all financial aid at Dartmouth is need blind, deputy director of athletics Bob Ceplikas ’78 said the athletics department does not keep track of whether a varsity athlete receives financial aid. Unlike the power conferences, which include the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC, that can now pass their own scholarship

rules and dish out millions of dol-lars in financial scholarships based on athletic talent, the members of the Ivy League must follow strict regulations. In 1945, representatives of the eight Ivy League institutions signed the “Ivy Group Agreement,” which established the conference’s pledge to not offer athletic scholarships but instead to provide need-based financial aid. At first, the agreement applied only to football, but in Feb-ruary 1954, the agreement’s bylaws expanded to affect all intercollegiate sports. Currently, families earning below $65,000 annually are not expected to make a financial con-tribution towards their student’s tuition costs and those earning between $65,000 to $180,000 pay a percentage of full tuition on a sliding scale basis. “The monopoly power of the Ivy League protects schools from getting into an arms race to buy more and more talent,” economics professor Bruce Sacerdote said. “We are playing competitive Division I sports, but the athletes are students first.” Despite the lack of athletic scholarships, many student-athletes choose to attend an Ivy League school because of their reputation for academic excellence and gener-ous financial aid package offerings, Ivy League executive director Robin Harris said. She added that the conference has a natural advantage in attract-ing student-athletes because she believes the eight institutions offer the best combination of academics and athletics in the country. In many instances students could receive financial packages that are equal to or greater than athletic scholarships offered elsewhere, she said. Lau said she received scholar-ships from Temple, Seattle, Emory and Pepperdine Universities, but she chose Dartmouth for academic reasons and receives $10,000 annu-ally from the College in financial aid. “I don’t necessarily identify myself as just an athlete in any sense,” Lau said. “That’s the point of Dartmouth. You’re a student and an athlete.” At Dartmouth, some athletes even take on part-time jobs in ad-dition to being full-time students. On behalf of the College’s Student Employment Office, peer counselor Alex Sclafani ’18 wrote in an email that 3,527 students worked in 2014

, with 1,580 students holding jobs in the fall term. Of 1,152 first-year students, 225, or 19.5 percent, of the class worked in an hourly-paid position during the fall. Men’s cross-country and track and field athlete Kyle Dotterrer ’18 said that he started working at the Hopkins Center in the fall and that his family pays full tuition. Dotter-rer said that he would have decided to work with or without an athletic scholarship. “I’d be lying of I didn’t say it’s difficult to balance athletics with academics and working,” Dotterrer said. In some ways, the inability to provide athletic scholarships limits the athletic competitiveness of the conference. Since the conference formed in 1957, the Ivy League has won 46 NCAA team championships and 197 NCAA individual champi-onships. Of those totals, Dartmouth won three in the team category and 38 in the individual category. While the College has the most NCAA individual champions of

all the Ivies, the conference’s totals cannot compare against those of wealthier conferences. The Pac-12 Conference alone claims the top three spots for the most NCAA Division I team championships. The University of California at Los Angeles places first with 111, Stanford University comes second with 105 and the University of Southern California rounds out the top three with 100 championships. Princeton University boasts the highest number of team champion-ships with just 12 since 1957. Sheehy said Dartmouth differs from colleges in other conferences such as the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor because the College’s athletic department is not self-supporting. The College does generate rev-enues from its athletic teams, but

Sheehy said it is not comparable to self-supporting athletic depart-ments like that of Michigan’s. Ac-cording to Dartmouth’s 2013-2014 Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act report, the College makes a profit of $13,631,924 from its athletic program based on the difference between the program’s revenue and expenses. In comparison, Pennsylvania State University, the school that profits the most in the Big Ten Conference, one of the most valuable conferences, makes $50,427,645 on their football pro-gram alone. The salary gap for the College’s coaching staff compared to those of the other Ivies, however, presents a problem specific to Dartmouth. Dartmouth salaries for coaches are the lowest in the Ivy League and, like all the other Ivies, has a gender wage gap. The Department of Education reported the average salary last school year for a men’s team head coach at Dartmouth was $101,893 while a women’s team head coach made on average of $73,339. At Harvard University, male team head coaches receive $117,504 annually and women’s team head coaches receive $74,104. A men’s team head coach at Yale University boasts a salary of $125,851 and women’s team head coach receives $90,916. In response to this salary gap, Sheehy said he submitted a proposal to the administration on how to positively impact coaches’ salaries. “It’s been a historical problem here,” Sheehy said. “We’re a re-source-based business so if we want to hire and retain good coaches, we’re going to need to fix that.” In addition to these difficulties, recruiting athletes to attend and compete for Ivy League schools has been complicated further by the NCAA Autonomy rulings, which give top Division I schools more power. This past January, representatives from five NCAA power conferences responded to the inflating costs of college and voted to increase the amount of scholar-ship money Division I schools can provide to its student-athletes by at least $50 million a year. In addition, this year’s March Madness tournament and the newly reformed FCS Championship have stirred up debate about whether or not student-athletes should be paid. Those in favor of this change

Athletics and socioeconomic status: NCAA and Ivy League rules complicate recruitment

Story By Kourtney Kawano

“The monopoly of the Ivy League protects schools from getting into an arms race to buy more and more talent.”

-Bruce Sacerdote, economicS profeSSor

“I can only have 13 team counters, so that is a big factor when we go through the process of recruiting. and i don’t care what the ivy League says, that’s discrimination.”

-pauL cormier, men’S BaSketBaLL head coach

SEE ATHLETICS PAGE GK22


that it will lead to a successful high-paying career. He noted, though, that he feels students do not chose the major solely for these reasons. “Students come with an inter-est in technology, some care about problems in energy, access to clean water, healthcare — that’s what I see driving the motivation of students majoring in engineering here, as opposed to jobs,” Helble said. Majors do not necessarily dictate career paths, especially when it’s possible to have multiple majors and minors at Dartmouth, Corbett said. He noted that a friend of his, Dan Susman ’10 who majored in environ-mental studies, has spent the last fi ve years traveling the country to create a documentary about urban farming. Although the documentary’s topic related somewhat to his major, Cor-bett said Susman never could have predicted a path involving fi lm. Similarly, Zormpalas said that he knows philosophy majors who have gone on to have careers at investment management fi rms like Bridgewater Associated. Jiang, who worked for Gold-man Sachs last summer, noted that although they all had an interest in

fi nancial markets, her fellow interns were people from all sorts of majors and backgrounds including classics, math and computer science. Instead, employers care about students’ abilities to communicate, write and problem-solve — skills that can be cultivated studying any subject, Jiang said. Helble said that students, regard-less of their major, gain these skill sets at the College. “Dartmouth students are pro-grammed to speak, write and think clearly,” Helble said. “And a liberal arts education gives you context for understanding the great challenges of the world.” Jiang said that because so many Dartmouth economics majors pursue careers in fi nance, this well-traveled path is popular. She noted, however, that not all economics majors desire such posi-tions — others plan to work in fi elds like policy or at think tanks. Uzzi said that the fl exibility and versatility of less-tracked majors could actually be benefi cial in profes-sional environments. “We aren’t as locked in,” Uzzi explained. Corbett, speaking for both his and his friends’ perspectives fi ve years out

of Dartmouth, said that he does not think many people regret the major they chose. “People defi nitely have come to realize the realities of being an adult and making money for yourself and making things work,” Corbett said. “The vast majority of people hit a few rough patches, but I don’t think they would change anything.” Ultimately, Uzzi said that he believes all graduates of the College have an equal number of opportu-nities when facing the professional world. “The fear is there, but just as much as any other major, which is exciting in a way,” Uzzi said. “We all have several doors open to us.” Helbe noted that coming from an Ivy League school puts students of all majors in a favorable position. “Dartmouth graduates, regard-less of major, do very well in the job market,” Helble said. And ultimately, Jiang said, a Dartmouth degree, irrespective of the words written on it, will be one of graduated students’ biggest profes-sional assets. “Coming from a place like Dartmouth,” Jiang said, “employers don’t discriminate based on your major.”

“The benefits of attending Dartmouth or another peer insti-tution probably vastly exceeds any stipend we might offer,” Sacerdote said. Some universities, however, have started offering stipends to student-athletes. This upcoming fall, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln will give a $3,600 stipend to full-time scholarship students participating in football and both men and wom-

en’s basketball and volleyball teams. T h i s decision is mon-umental con-sidering that in 2011 the NCAA announced it would not en-force a $2,000 stipend rule for college athletes due to the num-ber of opposing institutions. T h e

Ivy League may not be able to compete at the same fi nancial level as more powerful and wealthy con-ferences because of the regulation requiring only need-based aid, but Sheehy said that it still produces “talented students capable of shap-ing the world.” “We still know that our eight schools make a vast difference in people’s lives,” Sheehy said. “As long as we maintain that and con-tinue to make leaders in education, economics, medicine and law, then we will maintain enough cache to keep ourselves in the mix.”

FROM CAREERS PAGE GK20

FROM ATHLETICS PAGE GK21

argue that athletes should receive a fair cut of the multi-million dollar revenues. For the NCAA, the debate has been a concern since 1972, the last year college athletes were permitted a small monthly stipend known as “laundry money.” Those opposed to paying stu-dent athletes argue that not pay-ing athletes keeps the competition at an amateur l e ve l r a t h e r than a profes-sional one, with smaller schools pointing to a lack of available funding to pay their athletes. Sheehy said paying athletes goes aga ins t the Ivy League model and does not believe in-stitutions should pay athletes de-spite the extreme demands placed on them. “I would like to see them get at some level of full cost of attendance because we do require some things from them that we don’t of the student body,” Sheehy said. “But part of this is you come here for a great education, and you’re going to make up everything as you go on for the rest of your life.” Sacerdote echoed similar com-ments about how the Ivy League’s policy is intentional and successful in focusing on need-based fi nancial aid.

“The benefi ts of att ending Dartmouth or another peer insti tuti on probably vastly exceeds any sti pend we might off er.”

-BRUCE SACERDOTE, ECONOMICS PROFESSOR

Dartmouth degree, future careers Athletics department discuss athlete stipends


The invisibility of socioeconomic status:Low-income students discuss “culture shock”

Story By SAM FORSTNER I sat across from Ilenna Jones ’15 at a high-top table by the stairs in the Collis Center, just talking for half an hour. From my vantage point I could see countless students going about their days — leaving with cardboard stir fry containers in hand, checking flyers on the bulletin board for job and lecture post-ings, exiting Col-lis Market with ample snacks for their Sunday in the library. Fr o m t h e brief once-over I gave each pass-ing individual, I obtained a sim-plistic, super-ficial snapshot of their identity — I could see the pigment of their skin, the way they car-ried themselves and not much else. While these details are not all there is to understand a person, they are what the eye sees and the brain subsequently internalizes, every day, hundreds of times a day. These brief glimpses often yield little insight into another identity category — class. Jones said that this invisibility means class is often overlooked. The visibility of issues like race and gen-der lead to higher levels of activism and support around those issues, she said. “They receive more attention on this campus because they’re not invisible,” Jones said. No recent campus activism like last winter’s “Freedom Budget” and this spring’s #BlackLivesMat-ter protests have focused entirely on class issues. The “Freedom Budget” did put forward proposals to address several systems of oppression, includ-ing classism, in addition to sexism, heterosexism and ableism. More visible identities are more often used to label individuals as a member of one group or another. “Even if you don’t want that to be your identity, people will make that choice for you and make assumptions about you,” Jones said. One of the only ways to discern a person’s class without them explicitly telling you their financial situation is by their clothing, Jones said, pointing to items like Canada Goose jackets as “class indicators.” Jones said that this often can put pressure on low-income students to

change what they wear. “I used to always wear T-shirts and jeans, and now I’m like, ‘Oh, well, if I’m a woman at Dartmouth, I should be wearing really nice dresses and jewelry,’ which is not really such a big deal for me back at home,” Jones said.

F o r most of us, the transition to col-lege is a diffi-cult one. Living alone in a new place, constant-ly being intro-duced to count-less new people and being faced with a demand-ing workload is a tremendous ad-justment. That adjustment is further compli-cated for stu-dents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds at an institution

like Dartmouth. “When you get here, you know yourself and your family background and you look at everyone else here and think, ‘What have I come to?’” Jones said. “There’s a culture shock. People are going to think, ‘I don’t belong here because I haven’t trav-eled the world yet or I don’t know how to ski.’” Kelsey Justis ’16 , a Quest Scholar, said that it can be a struggle to adjust to the College environment as low-income students “definitely” face a culture shock. “You just come here and see so much obvious money,” Justis said. “Whether it’s in the clothes, the way that people act, the things they talk about, what they value. There’s just a complete disconnect. Students from low-income backgrounds come here and have no idea how to interact.” Jones serves as the liaison for Dartmouth Quest Scholars, a campus branch of the national QuestBridge organization that helps high-achieving low-income students apply to college. She coordinates efforts at Dartmouth with national headquarters and helps reach out to prospective students, matching them with current students who can relate to them and answer their questions. The organization plans to change its name to the Dartmouth Socioeco-nomic Alliance to better reflect its desire to reach all members of the community not just those affiliated

with QuestBridge. Emily Chan ’16, co-director of DQS, said that while the College does provide certain resources for low-income students, these students still face problems. “I believe that everyone on this campus is capable of achieving, re-gardless of where they come from,” Chan said. “Dartmouth does a really excellent job of leveling the field, but at the same time there are difficulties, there are defi-nitely some op-portunities they are not able to pursue.” Just i s sa id the organiza-tion has been very helpful, not necessarily due to specific initia-tives or events, but simply due to the fact that it has allowed him to meet other students with whom he can identify. Jones said DQS serves an impor-tant function because the invisibility of class makes it difficult to find a sympathetic ear. She said that not having the same perceived experi-ences and opportunities as other Dartmouth students carries with it “a kind of shame.” Justis equated being open about

one’s low-income background to a “coming out” of sorts. He said that students might fear their peers harboring negative attitudes due to stereotypes the media perpetuates. Justis said these include the miscon-ception that, “If you’re poor, you’re lazy.” The presidential steering com-mittee’s report submitted to College President Phil Hanlon showed that 59 percent of Dartmouth stu-

dents come from families with in-comes of over $200,000, de-spite these fami-lies making up only six percent of the nation’s population. Thus, not only low-income students, but middle-class students as well, make up what Jones calls the “silent minority” on this campus.

Jones said that no student should deal with culture shock alone and that DQS hopes to ensure that students have a support system. Jones, from Baltimore, described her living situation before college as one characterized by poverty. She said that the topics her friends from home discuss at their col-leges are not conversation topics

that would be deemed acceptable at Dartmouth. She said that it is normal for her friends at University of Maryland at Baltimore County — an institution with a considerably different socio-economic makeup from Dartmouth — to talk about needing jobs and the difficulty of balancing work and school. Chan said that in addition to increased awareness, the College could make greater funds available for students who are of lower income and would like to go home over breaks, travel or work unpaid jobs or internships. “We want to change the idea of class being something that’s broken and needs to be fixed,” Jones said. “Maybe my drive for success is just driven by a perceived failure of my family. Did my family fail?” Jones said that many students on campus do not appreciate the ability to go to the Class of 1953 Commons and eat as much as we want before walking five minutes to the Hopkins Center to see an Italian opera. She said that being here feels “like a fantasy” at times and that her background constantly molds her decision-making. “All through my life it was poverty and that has shaped everything for me,” Jones said. “If I’m thinking about whether to study or go out, I think about the reality that I want to happen. There’s a pressure that’s always there.”

“All through my life it was poverty and that has shaped ev-erything for me. If I’m thinking about whether to study or go out, I think about the reality that I want to happen.”

-ILENNA JONES ’15, DArtmOuth QuESt SchOLArS LIAISON JEFFrEY LEE/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Ilena Jones ’15 discusses how here low-income background affected her past four years at the College.

“Whether it’s in the clothes, the way people act, the things they talk about, what they value. There’s just a complete disconnect.”

- KELSEY JuStIS ’16, A QuESt SchOLAr


Through the Looking Glass: “Inevitably it comes up. ‘How is Dartmouth going?’”

Column By HUI CHENG

CHERRY HUANG/THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

Cheng discusses being “eased into norms of a more privileged class” at Dartmouth.

I avoid going home because I can’t avoid mealtimes. The scene plays out almost exactly the same way each time. My father complains about bills, my mother gossips about her immigrant friends’ children and my 10-year-old brother spills food onto his comic books, ignoring ev-eryone present. I remain silent, not sure which parts of my current life I can share with a family that lives in an entirely different world. The D-Plan helps, giving me excuses to drop in briefly and leave. I have to fly to London. I have to leave for my internship. I have to get back to school so I can have a few days to study up before classes. The inconsistency of the D-Plan sched-ule lends me a façade of busyness that I can hide behind at home or on the phone. Mom, I would love to talk, but I can’t. But inevitably, it comes up. “How is Dartmouth going?” Winter break after freshman fall, I didn’t want to answer the ques-tion. I had a difficult time adjusting to college with the overwhelming New England culture and moneyed privilege permeating every little corner of campus life. When my undergraduate advisor stressed to us the importance of building rela-tionships with professors, I was too embarrassed to ask for clarification as to what that meant while others nodded along. What did it mean to build relationships? All my life, I had been taught that teachers and adults were authoritative figures — classes were instructive. I did my work, I was respectful toward professors and I got good grades. It was how I had aced high school, and when the same formula didn’t map onto college, I wasn’t sure what to do. My parents never attended college in the United States and had little idea of what a liberal arts educa-tion might entail. In my public school, teachers were always busy, and our one college counselor was constantly overworked. Who could explain to me how these interactions worked? A friend tried to describe the relationship process to me as professional net-working, but it only intensified my confusion. My parents weren’t in jobs that required a professional network — how would I have known what that social dance entailed? And then, there was money. I remember my first dinner with my first year peer mentor. She had three other mentees and wanted to organize a group meal to get to know

each other. We decided on Jewel of India as a break from campus food. I scoped out the menu beforehand and found something inexpensive. At Jewel, the four others decided to order drinks and appetizers. They asked me what I wanted. I thought about the price and said I wasn’t hungry yet. We started making small talk. The others joked about their sum-mer vacations and where they hoped to ski in the winter. When our men-tor asked us where we liked to go out, the two other girls told her about their sports teams and fraternities from back home. I tried to chime in with a few fraternities I had heard of, but I didn’t know how to express that I had yet to “go out” because I felt guilty about the opportunity cost of weekend socializing. In high school, I never had free time and neither did my friends. We were the children of immigrants who had given up careers, social standing and material comfort to come to the United States, in search of brighter futures for the younger generation. I had studied, volunteered and spent all of my free time on extracur-riculars because I wanted to repay my parents’ sacrifices by going to a prestigious university. At Dartmouth, that same sense of obligation remained unshakable. My parents were skimping and saving at home so I wouldn’t have to take on a student job at school and so I could take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities offered by a school like Dartmouth. They did so to ensure that down the road I could find a financially stable career path and become better off than they were — this goal was my priority. What kind of ungrateful, irresponsible child would I be if I wasted my weekend nights drunk in dirty fraternity basements before scrambling to finish homework on Sundays? How could I justify spend-ing hard-earned dollars meant for tuition and living costs on frivolous pieces of college culture like flair? How could I face my parents if I ended up with mediocre grades and limited job prospects? It seemed excessive to interrupt a lighthearted conversation with my thoughts, so I remained silent. When our check finally came, it was split evenly and there was a mistake in the charging. I was going to pay almost twice what I had expected. I looked down at the bill, thought about the post-tip amount and felt a pang of guilt — my parents could

stretch that total for at least a few days’ dinner. What’s more, prior to college, I could have counted the number of times I had paid tips on my meals on one hand. The other four laughed off the mistake. “Let’s just go, it’s fine.” I wanted to say something, but the service had been slow and the others were looking at me impatiently. Still silent, I paid my portion of the bill and wondered if Dartmouth would always be like this — meeting people who couldn’t understand my concerns and what this school meant for me. I never shared my struggles to fit into Dartmouth culture or my con-stant guilt with my parents because I was afraid that if they knew the truth they would feel crushed that their enormous sacrifices weren’t being appreciated. Instead, I con-structed snippets of success. I told them about making diverse friends, I told them about cool classes and I told them about getting an im-pressive freshman internship and being awarded funding. I created a happy façade for them, corralling my more honest thoughts into class issue-based campus activism. Little by little, though, Dartmouth began to socialize me into privilege. The changes were small at first. I started having regular meals in town. I started going out more frequently, working campus jobs and buying tutus and shark hats. My liberal arts education led me into classes that challenged me to think more critically and taught me to value intellectual conversations about society, politics and current issues. I went on an foreign study program, travelled to different cities and learned the intrinsic value of art and culture from this new world. I absorbed the way my peers — usu-ally from privileged backgrounds — carried themselves. I learned the way they talked and listened in on enough conversations about family ski vacations, travel, board-ing schools and upper-middle class culture to pick up the language and the social cues. I spoke less to my parents. I spoke more about gender and race, contemplating my identity and future aspirations. The College and the people I surrounded myself with made it hard to remember the culture I had grown up in and subconsciously eased me into norms of a more privileged class. Many terms later, class became an unspoken part of my identity that I celebrated through activism, but

feel crushed that their sacrifices had produced this bizarre, pretentious stranger concerned with completely impractical considerations of the world, who had used tuition money to city-hop in Europe. So instead, I again shared snip-pets of success with them — I’ve made new friends, I’m interning at an investment bank in the winter, I did really well in my fall classes. They were impressed by my dedica-tion to post-graduate plans and to my academic achievements. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that those two things that they valued so much — the reason why they sent me to Dartmouth — were usually the least of my concerns. I didn’t want to reveal the asymmetry between the person I had grown up as and the person I had become over my two and a half years at Dartmouth. So I remained silent and wondered if the cost of life after Dartmouth would always be this — returning to a home and a family with whom I could never truly share myself.

was nonetheless a part that had ceased to weigh down upon me as heavily as it did, freshman fall. I noticed a difference during winter break after junior fall, when I was inevitably asked again, “How is Dartmouth?” I’ve never wanted to answer, but this time, my reason felt strange. I wanted to answer, but I didn’t want to answer in the way I had always done. I wanted to engage in conversations with my parents about personal iden-tity, about power dynamics and gendered spaces. I wanted to share critiques of art museums I had gone to, extend classroom discussions on gentrification and ask them what they thought of the way the American government produced environmental policy. I wanted to tell them about all that I had seen, all that I had done and all the things that were now important and fas-cinating to me — and I couldn’t. I was afraid that they wouldn’t under-stand, if my parents saw the truth about who I was now, they would

the dartmouth green key issue: class and money

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