Hello again, ’12s! Spring has sprung! I hope you all are enjoying the break from the cold and looking forward to warmer weather. First, we’re going to take care of a little business. Thanks to L.J. Sconzo, our class of 2012 website is up and running and looking good! This is where you can find all of the information you need about what the executive committee (E.C.) is cooking up. Meaning, information about events, class dues, links to the newsletter and class notes (i.e., what you’re reading right now), general Dartmouth news and class photos. There is also information about all of the members of the E.C., so you all know who to reach out to if you have any questions, comments or concerns. We are all here for you guys, so let us know what’s up! 


Speaking of class dues: Our treasurer Chris Jenny has made it super easy to pay dues. It’s $35 a year and you can pay through PayPal on our class website (http://bit.ly/dartmouth2012dues) or check your e-mail for an e-mail from our president Greg Knight to find the link as well. I know a lot of you are probably thinking, “Why should I have to pay dues?” Well, that’s a great question. Dues are used for a lot of different things, including our newsletter and organizing reunions of all kinds, including mini-reunions and “banner year” reunions (like the zero-year reunion during Homecoming and eventually our five-year reunion). So please try to pay class dues as soon as possible. We promise we will put it to good use!


Similarly, your loyal secretary (me) and your loyal newsletter editors (Shaun Akhtar, Sarah Schewe and Nora Winslow) are all about keeping you all up to date so please, please, please send us updates! We will be forever grateful! Secretary updates to kelley.crisp@dartmouth.edu and newsletter updates to dartmouth2012news@gmail.com. 


Okay, onto the updates:


Our mini-reunion chairs Cat Roedel and Toshi Harris-Koizumi organized a “huge” mini-reunion in N.Y.C. in November. It was a joint event with the ’11s and roughly 200 to 250 people were there. What a great turnout! Keep an eye out for other upcoming mini-reunions! If you would like to plan or help to organize a mini-reunion in your city, do not hesitate to reach out to Cat or Toshi at class.of.2012@alum.dartmouth.org.


Lastly, a big shout out to Samantha Knowles, who is taking the documentary film world by storm with her new documentary Why Do You Have Black Dolls? The film seeks to unravel the intricacies of that very question that Knowles received a number of times as a child. Knowles takes on this subject by interviewing black women from Philadelphia to Harlem, New York, and discovered an overwhelming appreciation for black dolls. She sought to make this film a tribute to black dolls, wanting people to see the importance of them. Knowles says, “Going into this film I thought I knew a lot about black dolls, and I was just trying to convince everyone else, and I was surprised in learning how powerful they really are. So I think that’s what I learned, and I see them as not just playthings that are there for kids, but as images of ourselves and how so many are not looking to ToysRUs or Kmart to see ourselves.” (http://uptownmagazine.com/2012/11/why-we-need-black-dolls/). Read the article and definitely check out this documentary. Making us all proud, Sammy!


Until next time, ’12s. 


—Kelley Crisp, 1677 Commonwealth Ave., Apt. 5, Brighton, MA 02135; k.crisp12@gmail.com