Interview with Damaris Altomerianos '13

Excerpt from my April 6 interview with Damaris Altomerianos '13:

Callista Womick: Do you think that the Dartmouth community is good at bringing people from all these different backgrounds together?

Damaris Altomerianos: I think it—hmm. I think it brings people to this place, but I
think it doesn’t do—I think we could do better. “We,” including students, could do better at making that a bigger part of everyone’s life. Like, meeting people from different backgrounds should be part of everyone’s life here. It’s really shocking to me how we can all go through our time here having just spent our time with such a small cross-section and not really branching out. That, like, defeats the purpose, right?

Like, if we’re supposed to be able to really learn from each other and each other’s experiences and to be inspired by each other and to really push each other and challenge each other as peers here, you can’t get that when you’re only with people who are just like you.

This is why I like the idea of sort of random assortment for a social system. I
really would love to see us in a residential college system in a full way, very full way. In a way that requires,—so this sort of big vision is still entirely impractical in some ways.

But imagine if we were to sort of just clear out our residential spaces, right?—and, like, take back all of these Greek houses. And so now there’s empty buildings, and now you can remodel them essentially, right? And it would be really nice if we could make them all the same size, to hold the same number of people, I mean, and, like, of the same, like, quality level, so it’s not like some people are living at really, really bad-quality housing versus good. So we’d even that out.

And then wouldn’t it be really nice if each cluster, really, could be its own thing, randomly assigned, so that you can imagine, like—imagine the Choates, for example, right? Wouldn’t it be great if there could be people of all different years there, but keeping first-year students on the same floor, who—say, like, imagine Brown. Brown One could be first-year students. Brown Two can be sophomores. Brown Three—like—
and you can make it like that, and people have the option of, you know, of co-ed floors or, like, single-sex floors, whatever you want—like, whatever. Make all the options
available for each place, and people still have some choice in that.

But each place also has a physical plant. So, like, pick any of these houses—Webster Ave, right? And so if any—pick one of those—could be connected to the Choates—like,
connected not literally, but connected to the Choates—where, like people who live in the Choates would now have that whole physical plant to, like, cook together, eat dinners together, to have dance parties together, to play pong together, where you at least have a sense of space that you can call your own that is with people that were randomly assorted there. That, I think would be a great thing because you need to get people to meet other people in social settings and in living settings. I think it needs to be random to get there. I really do.

And I really think that wouldn’t diminish sense of community. I really think people can find a community in that community. I don’t think people—like, people would argue, “But it wouldn’t be as close because they wouldn’t find as great as friends.” No, I think you would. And I think to a large degree, like—because of the counterfactuals [that are], like, fundamentally unobservable, you don’t know. Maybe you missed out on some of the best friends you could have had here because you didn’t branch out to other people, because you kept yourself in this small group that then rushed the same house, which then...—whatever.

And so I wish that we could all have that sense of space, 'cause space is important. Physical plants really, really matter. And I think everyone here, regardless of paying this amount of dues or, like, getting into this place, should have a sense of space that they can call part of their own.

Womick: Have you been able to find a space like that at Dartmouth that you feel is your own?

Altomerianos: Hmmmm. Not like a physical plant, I would guess. I mean, obviously, like, the neutral ones. Like, “Collis and the Hop and the library.” But I’d say, like, not, like, a social—like a physical plant for the sole purpose of, like, a social body. I think that was upsetting. But I don’t even know how many people really feel that way, obviously, because not every place can actually be open and host events, so there’s that whole issue, too. 

---

Dartmouth Community and Dartmouth’s World is an ongoing oral history project that launched in 2012. The project’s goal is to document the changing nature of the Dartmouth community in the second half of the twentieth century with an emphasis on the concept of the insider and outsider and how those roles and perceptions change for various constituencies over time. Narrators will include members of the Dartmouth community from 1945 to the present, representing a broad spectrum of voices and perspectives.

The Dartmouth: Students criticize PB's choice of ASAP Rocky

Shared from The Dartmouth:

A group of students have started an online petition in protest of ASAP Rocky's headlining act for today's Green Key Concert. The Change.org petition, which criticizes the artist's misogynistic and violent lyrics, garnered 32 signatures by press time.

Referencing a string of ASAP Rocky's lyrics, the petition argues that Dartmouth "can and should be better than this," referencing to Dartmouth's recent decision to cancel classes Dimensions protesters received threats.

"We cannot, in good conscience, use student money to bring someone to campus who will espouse sexism, misogyny, homophobia, violence and the perpetuation of male hypersexuality," the petition reads.

The petition was started by Callista Womick '13, who began sending the petition to other students and organizations on Thursday. Although she had heard some of ASAP Rocky's songs before, Womick did not investigate the lyrics until a friend told her that the rapper would be performing at Dartmouth.

"[ASAP Rocky] seems to be pretty hateful and he will alienate a lot of people on campus," Womick said. "As I read more and more of his lyrics, it was just more of the same."

Using student funds to bring ASAP Rocky to campus suggests that the College and Programming Board supports the rapper's lyrics, said Divyanka Sharma '13, who signed the petition. Sharma, who has worked with the Sexual Assault Awareness Program, said that not acting against the choice of artist would make her a hypocrite.

Signers of the petition alluded to the campus climate since the Dimensions protests.

"We felt like it was such a bad time for something like this to come to campus," Sharma said. "In general, it's a bad idea, and it's specifically bad now."

Matt Cloyd '11, who signed from Boston, said bringing ASAP Rocky to campus would set back the recent progress in the College's climate.

"Using student funds to pay for pro-rape and anti-gay rhetoric to be brought to campus is counterproductive to all of the dialogue that's been occurring," Cloyd wrote.

Not all were supportive of the message of the petition or the students' tactics. The "contentious" means of communication should be replaced with more "constructive" methods, Susanna Kalaris '16 said.

Kathryn Gautier '16 said that protesters of ASAP Rocky's performance are missing the opportunity to expose more important campus issues.

"The time spent protesting could be spent protesting something that will make a lasting difference," Gautier said. "Having a performance for one night on one weekend isn't really the issue."

Students at the University of Pennsylvania outraged the choice of rapper Tyga for their Spring Fling concert last month by posting signs with Tyga's lyrics around campus. The students eventually garnered 250 signatures on a similar Change.org campaign.

When Tyga was announced as on the lineup for Harvard's Yardfest, more than 1,000 people signed a petition asking Harvard administrators to cancel the performance. Harvard senior Leah Reis-Dennis started the petition in response to Tyga's "explicitly and violently misogynistic" lyrics.

"We were outraged that someone who promotes sexism and violence against women so explicitly would be selected to perform at our college, and we thought that was wrong so we decided to start a petition," Reis-Dennis told The Harvard Crimson. "Tyga has a right to sing and to write whatever he wants, but that doesn't mean Harvard should give him a platform at our biggest concert of the year to promote that kind of sexism and violence."

Programming Board chair Alexander Martin '13 did not respond to requests for comment.

The Dartmouth: Yarnbombing gains popularity

Shared from The Dartmouth:

Photo by Dennis Ng; Callista Womick

Callista Womick '13 will take her knitting skills to the streets and color campus by "yarnbombing" public spaces.

The unusual art form, also known as graffiti knitting or guerrilla knitting, uses knitted pieces to cover areas or objects in a community. In recent years, yarnbombing has become popular in metropolitan hot spots of the world, from Paris to New York. Popular yarnbombing targets include parking meters, bike rails, potholes, tree trunks and even famous statues.

Womick, who received Year of the Arts student grant funding, used the stipend to collect knitting needles, crochet hooks and of course, dozens of colors of yarn spools. The studio art major hopes to enlist as many people as possible to transform Hanover into a more interactive space filled with this unseen-on-campus art form.

Womick ventured into yarnbombing after sewing and knitting throughout high school. Upon her arrival at Dartmouth, Womick noticed a lack of public art that centered around fun and whimsical pieces.

"I love pieces of intervention artwork," Womick said. "They serve to make the space more beautiful and engage the people in a different way and make people just feel happy. We have lots of really intelligent, creative people and I think most of us have a sense of humor and like to have fun, and I'd love to have more art that reflects that."

Womick describes yarnbombing as an easy way to transform the way people engage with their outside surroundings.

"My favorite pieces of yarnbombing have these fun elements that can be removed," Womick said. "For example, I did a parking meter that had a vine with many flowers that have clips, so they can be removed. People could then put them on their bags or wear them in their hair."

Womick looks forward to yarnbombing a railing behind Parkhurst and Louise Bourgeois' famed "Crouching Spider," located in front of the Black Family Visual Arts Center.

"Dreaming big, I'd love to yarnbomb the spider," Womick said. "I don't know if I can get permission, but hopefully, it'll work out with [Facilities, Operations and Management.]"

Sam Van Wetter '16, who has previous experience in knitting, said he is eager to help Womick with this initiative after admiring a yarnbomb artist on his own.

"I've been knitting for a while and came across yarnbombing through my favorite craft store," he said. "Soon after I found [crochet artist] Agata Olek, known as Crocheted Olek,' and I've been a big fan of her work since. While she crochets and I knit, her rad designs and installations still inspire me. It's cool to see her have done the transition from public graffiti-based yarnbombing to taking those same concepts into gallery spaces."

Olek most famously installed a crocheted suit over Wall Street's iconic "Charging Bull" sculpture in New York in 2010.

Elizabeth Southwell '15 sees yarnbombing as an opportunity for the greater community to give ordinary objects a second glance.

"It forces us, especially us forward-thinking, routine-driven Dartmouth students, to take a brief pause to notice something beautiful," Southwell said. "Yarnbombing also helps draw our attention to objects, like trees and railings, that we wouldn't normally find beautiful. It helps us to appreciate the beauty in everyday objects."

The ability to share art with passerbys is not always feasible with other art forms such as paintings.

"The greatest part of something like yarnbombing is that it's an art from that's out there in the community and everyone can enjoy it," Womick said. "In terms of art on campus, there isn't a lot. There are statues, paintings in the residence halls, but they're kind of stiff. There isn't much fun art around campus."

The Dartmouth: Grants allow students to pursue new projects

Shared from The Dartmouth:

Last week, the Year of the Arts steering committee, in collaboration with the Dartmouth Centers Forum, announced the nine students who will receive funding for art proposals this term.

Throughout the year, the forum has encouraged students to submit arts proposals to receive up to $4,000 in grant funding. This term, the center received a record high 26 applications, said Jeff James, co-chair of the Year of the Arts steering committee.

"It's really exciting the degree of creativity that comes flooding in the door when you invite it," James said.

Eric Ramsey, director of the Collis Center for Student Involvement and committee member described the selection process of selecting proposals to fund as both "challenging and exciting," noting it was difficult to balance the limited amount of funds with the "tremendous" response from students.

"Great effort was expended to make sure that it was a diverse set of proposals, while still hopefully reaching the widest possible audience," he said.

The projects cover a wide range of art forms, including dance, opera and theatrical performance.

Anna Winham '14, a member of the Soul Scribes, received funding for "SlamD," a poetry slam scheduled for later this term. Winham said small student groups often attend slam events at other schools, but said that it was an experience most Dartmouth students have not had.

"A lot of times I feel as though we are such a small part of the poetry community because we're so isolated from other people doing slam poetry," Winham said. "Bringing people here will be really cool because it will help to create a larger community and also expose other Dartmouth students to what it is."

Jaymes Sanchez '13, a co-president of the Displaced Theater Company, noted that the company's productions tend to be relatively minimalist and focus primarily on the actors and the words of each play. The funding will provide him with the chance to work on a larger, more challenging scale, he said.

"Given that this is my last term here, I thought I'd try something really ambitious and difficult as my last project," Sanchez said.

Sanchez is planning a production of Shakespeare's "Othello." Funding will cover the costumes, props and lighting that he will now be able to incorporate into the production, he said. Although he would have pursued the production regardless of the grant, the program's support was reassuring.

"I'm glad that the Year of the Arts committee thought it was important enough to give funding to," Sanchez said. "I think that it's important and worthwhile, so the fact that they support me in that is really encouraging. It makes me all the more dedicated to making this show as much as I know it can be."

The funded projects also include other genres of art. Callista Womick '13 received funding for "Campus Yarnbombing," a venture for students to participate in knitting and crocheting projects across campus.

James said the Year of the Arts initiative has provided a platform to tell the story of the arts at Dartmouth. Ramsey echoed this sentiment, adding that the focus is to capitalize on the "wonderful" artistic elements that Dartmouth already has.

"There's such tremendous programming on campus and some really innovative and great ideas," Ramsey said.

The Dartmouth: Being Pro-Life at Dartmouth

Shared from The Dartmouth:

The pro-life coalition formally constituted as Vita Clamantis is best known on campus for its controversial anti-abortion display last spring.

The 546 American flags that peppered the Gold Coast lawn each commemorated the 100,000 abortions in the United States since the monumental Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, and were met with a significant outcry regarding both the display and the issue of abortion in general.

When the display went up demonstrators were stunned to see a car bearing a "Coexist" bumper sticker bulldozing across the line in defiance of their their pro-life statement. The demonstrators said they regarded the driver's actions and other negative reactions as a misinterpretation of the demonstration, as well as of the organization's purpose.

"We have to accept that at a liberal school like Dartmouth we're going to get somewhat of a heated response," member Bridget Shaia '15 said. "But the goal isn't to upset people. The goal is to get a discussion going."

While pro-life organizations existed at Dartmouth in the last 20 years, they eventually died out when their membership waned. Vita, in its current form, is relatively new. Founded four years ago by Peter Blair '12, Vita describes itself as the leading advocate for the pro-life cause on campus that aims to "boldly" speak out against abortion, embryonic stem cell research, euthanasia and capital punishment. The group's name is inspired by the College motto "Vox Clamantis in Deserto," or "the voice of one crying out in the wilderness."

President Robert Smith '14 said that the "Cemetery of the Innocents" exhibit was "never a protest [against abortion]. The way in which the event was advertised and the way in which we acted was misconstrued."

Smith, along with other members of Vita, said they hoped that the public demonstration would spark productive dialogue about the creation of safe environments in which pregnant women would not feel pressured to get abortions.

In this regard the event succeeded, Callista Womick '13 said.

Womick organized a pro-choice demonstration the same day to counter the Vita display. Students hung white flags across the street from the Gold Coast lawn in an attempt to highlight a woman's right to choose. The evening of the protest, however, Womick said she was inspired by the moderated discussion hosted by the organization to pursue an independent project that would create more resources for Dartmouth students with children.

"Dartmouth got rid of [College] housing for married students, there's no DDS policy for bringing children into the dining halls, and there aren't child-care services available at the College for students' children," Womick said. "They're little things I wouldn't have thought about unless Vita had done what they did."

Nevertheless, the overwhelming negative reactions to the "Cemetery of the Innocents" display prompted Vita to rethink executing similar large-scale demonstrations in the future.

"We still stand by our event last year," Smith said. "That being said, we're looking for ways in which we can possibly be more productive in engaging with campus."

Smith said Vita views its role on campus as primarily educational, serving to inform its own members as well as the larger student body about pro-life issues while providing forums in which matters can be discussed openly and constructively.

"We're confident that the rationality behind a pro-life position is in many respects unimpeachable," member Chris Hauser '14 said. "If we can create the right environment, we're confident that we can have productive discussions."

Along these lines, Vita organizes a variety of events throughout the term to promote healthy dialogue and debate regarding all pro-life issues. The group hopes to continue to branch out from solely discussing abortion by taking stands against the death penalty, euthanasia and stem cell research.

In the past, the coalition has coordinated events such as a dinner with Alliance Defending Freedom, a pro-life legal advocacy group as well as a constitutional law debate on whether Roe v. Wade should survive another 40 years. Vita also hosted a lecture by bioethicist William Hurlbut, the main advocate of a scientific process known as altered nuclear transfer that derives pluripotent stem cells without the creation and destruction of human embryos.

Looking forward, the group has already scheduled two film screenings by Jennifer Lahl, president of the Center for Bioethics and Culture Network in the spring. As a non-partisan, non-religious affiliated group, Vita plans to coordinate with Chi Heorot fraternity and the Knights of Columbus to hold a fundraiser for local mothers in March, Smith said.

"We have been active," said Smith. "There is just a lot going on in campus so it's easy for these [events] to get lost between everything students have going on."

As Hauser explained, the fact that so few students are openly committed to the pro-life cause prevents the group from holding regular meetings.

"I know we are a small organization and aren't able to do much," Hauser said, "but I think that nonetheless what we do is important. The fact is that one conversation can save an innocent life. "

Hauser, like many other Vita members, first heard about the organization through his affiliation with the Aquinas House.

Due to the sensitivity of the topic, however, the organization runs into trouble when trying to outwardly recruit new members.

"We're not scared to set up a booth at the activities fair in plain view," Shaia said, "but campus blitzes are just not very effective."

Instead, the group aims to educate individuals in the middle ground who do not hold particularly strong views on abortion through personal outreach and conversation. Hauser believes there are many more students who support the pro-life cause, "even if they themselves are either too busy, too non-confrontational or even too frightened to publicly advertise their pro-life sentiments," he said.

Smith agreed that part of the problem is an atmosphere at the College where "fringe" viewpoints are not frequently encouraged.

"Even if you do hold these beliefs, you might not feel particularly willing to be the on-campus voice for it," he said.

Regardless, the organization still feels a personal responsibility to engage campus in an immensely difficult debate that perhaps, as Hauser notes, "involves the lives of over 50 million innocent children, countless mothers and even forgotten fathers."

"It's not an easy question to ask, and at times it can seem distant," Hauser continued. "Nonetheless, we have to ask it."

The privilege of anonymity

When Bored@Baker returned in September after a summer-long hiatus, the site’s sole owner and administrator, “Jae Daemon,” welcomed us back as “Friends and Family-

“This is a magical place. While it has the potential for ugliness in extreme forms, it also has the potential for extreme love, kindness and support. With that said, I have a simple ask. Find the kindness in your heart to support the community as you would your own family. We are all in this together and we should love and support one another. Think about this when decide what words you chose to use.” 

This doesn’t sound like the b@b you hear about, does it?

 It seems that b@b is only ever invoked because of the extreme cruelty for which some members of our community choose to use it. It is cited as a haven of racism (“Gil: Shared Responsibility,” Jan. 23), sexism (“Feiger: Taking Back Dartmouth,” April 18, 2012), and the counter to productive campus dialogue (“Dean Johnson addresses campus inquiries,” May 11, 2012).

Big Green Micro-Aggressions, a new Tumblr for the exposure of bigotry and aggression at Dartmouth, proposes shutting down b@b as the number one goal toward “a more compassionate, inclusive Dartmouth College.”

Shutting down b@b would be counterproductive to this end. b@b itself is as neutral as a whiteboard, but the anonymity of b@b encourages us to discuss issues that otherwise we would not be willing to discuss, to ask questions that otherwise we would not ask, and to experiment with different ways of thinking. Race, gender, and all those aspects of identity we use to define ourselves and others can act as barriers to open and honest dialogue or, sometimes, any dialogue at all. By obscuring all but those aspects of identity we choose to make known, anonymity makes unlikely conversations possible.

Unfortunately, there are those who abuse the service. The site’s Terms of Service explicitly forbid content that is “unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, or is harmful to minors in any way,” “that harasses, degrades, intimidates or is hateful toward an individual or group of individuals on the basis of religion, gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, age, or disability,” or “that includes personal or identifying information about another person without that person's explicit consent,” among many other things.

Abuse is a problem that Jae and many members of the community take very seriously. In May, Jae announced the development of a new Moderator System to allow users to remove harmful content “with compassion and humanity instead of an algorithm.” Community members help clean up the forum by reporting content and Moderators, chosen by Jae, vote to remove content that is in violation of the terms of service. Because five moderator votes are needed to remove a post, and moderators are students and young alumni, content removal can be slow. All reported posts are reviewed by the moderators, though.

Goal three of Big Green Micro-Aggressions is “To bear witness to the lived experience of those students who feel invisiblized and silenced at Dartmouth.” In his welcome back message, Jae promised “to do everything in [his] power to continue to provide this service for you free of charge as an outlet and platform for you to speak your mind when in other circumstances it would be silenced.”

When awful things appear on b@b it's a symptom of a much bigger problem at Dartmouth. I support b@b for the same reason I support Big Green Micro-Aggressions: both give us a platform on which to share our stories and a forum in which to find that we are not alone.

Preservation Services: History of the (Big) Book

The Preservation Services Blog's latest post features my final book project for Professor Alex Halasz's "History of the Book" class!

Quote:

In my role as a Book Arts Instructor, opportunities arise to work with students on book projects for their academic work. This past fall semester students in Professor Alexandra Halasz’s History of the Book class participated in a hands-on letterpress and binding exercise in class, and then had the option of producing a hands-on book project in lieu of a final term paper. Of the 17 students enrolled, 10 students chose this option, with three pairs of students choosing collaborative work.

Students employed a variety of facilities and workshops on campus: the 3-D printer at the engineering school, the woodshop and jewelry studios in the Hopkins Center, as well as the Jones Media Center, the Book Arts Workshops, and the Preservation Services conservation lab here in the Library. Each of these projects had their complexities, and students called on the expertise of instructors and technicians as needed. These photographs illustrate some of the steps Cally took to make her big codex book. She, along with other students, worked in our lab in Preservation Services, where her proximity to all of us allowed for instruction and advice as needed. 

Callista Womick '13 sews the light green endsheet onto her textblock of newsprint folios

Callista Womick '13 gluing up the spine

Callista Womick '13 rounding the spine

Callista Womick '13 preparing to cover the plywood boards with white bonded leather,
assisted by Book Arts Instructor Elizabeth Rideout

Callista Womick '13 done! Home to dry the book under weight.

Callista Womick '13's finished book displayed open

All of the pages are blank newsprint except for several somewhere in the middle, upon which is handwritten in graphite, a non-fictional narrative poem I captured in 2008, "SOS." The pale green endsheets are adorned with rubbed-out silhouettes of dogwood flowers, some so worn that they reveal the plywood covers beneath.