On Tuesday, May 14th, a number of Dartmouth’s varsity athletes met with Pat Griffin for a discussion regarding inclusive athletics at Dartmouth. Griffin is the founding director of Changing the Game, an advocacy program which aims to create a supportive environment for LGBT athletes in elementary and high schools across America.

According to Changing the Game’s website, Griffin is a Professor Emeritus in the Social Justice Education Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the former Director of It Takes A Team! Education Campaign for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Issues in Sport, an initiative of the Women’s Sports Foundation.

Griffin’s talk had two main goals: making the Dartmouth athletic climate respectful for all, and identifying ways that Dartmouth sports teams in particular can “stand as champions of respect on this campus and beyond.” She asked athletes to determine whether they perceived their teams as hostile, tolerant, or respectful toward LGBT athletes, and asked some of the athletes about their personal experiences regarding their levels of comfort on their own teams. Griffin also met with coaches and administrators to discuss ways to ensure that Dartmouth’s teams are inclusive and safe for all.

Canada’s Legend-ary TED Talk Lie — Gary Rubinstein, Gary Rubinstein Blog Dartmouth’s Commencement speaker this year, Geoffrey Canada, recently gave a TED talk titled ‘Our failing schools. Enough is enough.’ While Canada claims there is 100 percent graduation rate at the high schools under the Harlem Children’s Zone program, Rubinstien points out there is a 36% dropout rate from 2006 to 2012. Moreover, Rubinstein notes that while “the HCZ Promise Academy high school may have decent state test scores,” the test scores are still relatively low comparing to national standards.  -Dennis Ng, Photo Editor Is There Really a Second-Term Curse? — Nate Silver, The New York Times “President Obama is facing one of his roughest stretches in office after questions about the government’s response to the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, the admission by the Internal Revenue Service that it inappropriately targeted conservative groups which sought tax-exempt status, and the revelation that the Justice Department subpoenaed communications by The Associated Press.” Silver discusses the Second-Term Curse looking at seven two-term presidents since WWII. -Felicia Schwartz, Executive Editor The Wait Is Over: You Can Finally Brew Coffee in a Mason Jar with the Portland Press — Ray, Core 77 design magazine & resource A Portland, Oregon-based design duo… Read more »

On Thursday, students gathered in teams of three in the Class of 1953 Commons to try to build the world’s tallest ice cream cone. The contest was sponsored by Hershey’s, which provides the ice cream in ’53 Commons. Teams had just ten minutes to pile scoops of vanilla ice cream onto an ice cream cone. One student scooped ice cream from the container, then passed it off to the second team member, who placed the ice cream on top of the cone held by the third participant. While most teams registered for a time slot during the two-hour competition, some students just went ahead and started scooping up ice cream to test their stacking skills. Several even stood by the ice cream bar and practiced before making their attempt to create the tallest cone. Last year’s winners were a last-minute entry that included an engineer on their team, showing how strategies can be useful in the cone-building process. This year, Sam Hills ’15, Laura McFeely ’13, and Madeline Parish ’16 took home the top prize, which is a pizza party and $15 iTunes gift cards for each of its members. The second place team won iTunes gift cards, and the third place winners… Read more »

Habitat for Humanity sponsored a dinner and discussion about homelessness on Monday night, addressing this pervasive issue on a campus where socioeconomic disparities are rarely brought to light. The four panelists included Mary Feeney and Nancy Chase from the Upper Valley Haven homeless shelter in White River Junction, Austin Boral ’16 and a speaker who wished to remain anonymous. Feeney, the community services team leader at the Haven, began by talking about the shelter’s services and its volunteers attempts to reach out to community members who need their help. The Haven offers food, clothing and shelter to people in the Upper Valley, in addition to educational programs. “The food shelf itself is feeding over 1,100 families every lunch,” Feeney said. A lack of education can make it difficult for some community members to find jobs, and much of this food insecurity is due to financial stress that forces families out of their homes. Feeney noted that many of the Haven’s visitors are those with job insecurity and elderly people on fixed incomes. Chase, the Haven’s case manager, emphasized the physical and mental health issues that many of the shelter’s occupants struggle with. Chase noted that “each homeless situation, each story,… Read more »

With the forecast set for 70s and sunny through Saturday, it can only mean one thing: Green Key is here. Every year, the weather magically turns around right before this glorious weekend of basking in the sun and letting the good times roll. Get ready for alumni and students on off-terms filtering in to visit, Safety and Security upping their patrol, and sundresses and Chubbies taking over. While the party started on Wednesday for some (or if you’re really ambitious, Monday), the main highlights of Green Key are Friday’s block party and Saturday’s lawn party. On Friday afternoon, everyone and their sunglasses take over a closed Webster Avenue to hang out. Phi Delta Alpha fraternity has music blasting from its porch, and two live bands, Quintus and the Clyde Lawrence Band, will start performing around 2 p.m. On Saturday, Alpha Delta fraternity will hosting their lawn party, with Viceroy, Step Brothers, and student band Chuck performing. Make sure to bring a water bottle and pop inside every so often to keep hydrated. One way to maximize your Green Key? Don’t waste time indoors. Or worse, sleeping. Unless it’s out on the Green of course. Hungover? Pop some Advil and get… Read more »

I haven’t worn a tie-dye shirt since the nineties. I remember watching an episode of “Clarissa Explains It All,” where her mom was making tie-dye shirts in the kitchen, and after, I begged my mother to buy me a tie-dye kit. She never liked the look because it reminded her of the ‘70s, “a wretched time for fashion,” so she reluctantly purchased the kit. All of the shirts I made were so ugly! I was a little too ambitious and probably used too many colors, turning the shirts murky brown instead of colorful swirls. With recent trends like ombre, tie-dye has again become a popular look. This spring look out for anything tie-dye, from purses to pants, that are a great look for your spring and summer wardrobe! When it comes to assembling an outfit, it is all about balance. Balance your jewelry, color combinations, and how much skin you want to show. Tie-dye can be particularly tricky since it is already colorful and loud. alice + olivia knows how to tastefully play with color. With tie-dye, you have to be careful that the color combination does not come off as obnoxious. The light blue citrus and white cut allows… Read more »