The Dartmouth - Freshman Mirror 2014

8.08.14

MIR ROR

Timeline|2

Parties| 5

Upper Valley| 6

PErception| 12

2// MIRROR

EDITORs’ NOTE Froshionably Late story

AMELIA ROSCH // THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

As each sunny summer day slips idly by, you’re probably watching your friends pack their bags and bid their loved ones farewell. You anxiously pour over College Confidential forums and creep through the Facebook group to quell your own excitement about the day when you will arrive in Hanover and begin your own college adventure.

We remember stepping off the Dartmouth Coach for the first time, armed with nothing but some vintage luggage and well-worn copies of the “required� summer reading. We too thought that after endless hours prowling the Internet, we had this whole college thing covered. Before you stroll onto the Green thinking you’ve got Dartmouth all figured out, though, let us give you some helpful information.

With this issue of The Mirror, we hope to help ease the transition from high school to college, stop you from making rookie mistakes and, frankly, help you fit in. Before you pull out your highlighter and flashcards, though, remember this — aside from the lingo and knowledge of how to dress for the winter, everything in here is just a suggestion. Imagine you’re grabbing coffee with us and we’re lovingly rambling all of these things off to you as we insert anecdotes about our misadventures from freshman year. Take it all in, but don’t imagine we’re the experts on how to make your college experience great. The awesome thing about Dartmouth is that not fitting in is okay, too. We came to college thinking woolen cloaks were cool and bedtime was 10 p.m. Now we realize shawls are cooler and bedtime is 11 p.m. Oh, how we’ve grown!

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MIR ROR MIRROR EDITORS MARY LIZA HARTONG LUKE MCCANN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF LINDSAY ELLIS

B y Katie Hake

Welcome to Dartmouth, ’18s! I hope you’re ready – college is happening, like, now. Once your fresh-faced, cheerful selves have made it through five days in the woods experiencing the magic of Dartmouth Outing Club first-year trips, you’ll actually have to go to Dartmouth. That means attending classes, meeting tons of new people, probably living with a roommate or two and generally navigating a whole new environment along with 1,000 of your peers. It’s totally okay if you don’t feel prepared. This guide is a handy reference to get you through your first week at the College. Take a deep breath and keep moving forward. You got this.

First, some basic do’s and don’ts of Orientation: DO: - Get to know your UGA. His or her job is to help you with any problems that might arise throughout the year, and he or she will have some wise advice to pass on as you adjust to your new home.

- Go to anything that offers free food.

- Figure out your class times and where they meet before the first day. Even the most seasoned of Dartmouth students make the mistake of assuming 2s start at 2:00 p.m.

- Go to a dorm party. If that’s not your scene, then stargaze at the golf course or have a movie night.

- Take a photo of Baker-Berry Library, and then take a photo of you standing in front of it. Then take pictures on the Green.

It may seem cheesy, but you’ll treasure these pictures later.

DON’T: - Try to get into a frat. As of last year, freshmen are banned from Greek houses until the Monday after Homecoming. Your time will come; just be patient.

- Drink too much.

- Go out every night. You don’t want to get burned out the first week, something that happens all too often at high-pressure schools. Take some time to yourself to ease into Dartmouth and get some sleep.

And now, college life begins: Day 1 9 a.m.: It’s the first day of classes, and you’re still getting used to waking up next to your roommate. You’re getting along well, though, and you’re both up and at ’em before your 10s. Oh, wait. Your roommate isn’t moving. Phew, she’s breathing. Hopefully she won’t make going out on Sundays a regular habit.

11:45 a.m.: You’re sitting in your first class like a real college student. Don’t be too over-

eager. It isn’t necessary to analyze readings a week in advance or raise your hand for every question. Participating in class is great, but don’t feel like you need to prove yourself to anyone on the first day. You’re here to learn, not compete.

12:20 p.m.: Classes went great! You head to Collis to meet some of your trippees. You realize you have no idea how to navigate the lines. Don’t stress about it. You’ll learn not to wear your backpack in Collis soon enough.

Fill your friends in on absolutely every detail of your first day.

Day 2 Noon: You contemplate eating at Novack, but your trip leader advises you to try KAF instead. There will be late-night study binges in the library for that grim Novack scene later. Enjoy the finer things for now, and relish the time before you have to think about all-nighters.

4 p.m.: You agree with your roommate that you need to spruce up the room, so you decide to try to take the bus to West Leb. You learn that Advanced Transit may be too advanced for you. Wait until someone’s parents are up for the weekend, or see if your UGA knows someone with a car.

Day 3 11:13 a.m.: You’re hopelessly lost. One of your friends is in your 11, but your repeated texts are going unanswered. When you finally find “Carson L01� the reason becomes clear: no cell service. Don’t be ashamed to have a map of campus on you while you’re still figuring out where everything is. If you’re concerned about people knowing you’re lost, pull up a campus map on your phone and everyone will assume you’re checking blitz.

3 p.m.: The homesickness is starting to creep its way into your daily routine, so you call your mom after class and have a long conversation trying to explain the words “flair� and “facetime,� even though you barely understand them yourself. Call your mom, call your aunt, call your best friend – and make sure you keep up with them over the next term. It’s okay to dive into college life, but remember those people at home you’ll want share your stories with when Thanksgiving rolls around.

Day 4 1:15 p.m.: You set off immediately to try to find Hinman and get your mail, planning to grab lunch at the Courtyard CafÊ after. You fail on both accounts by arriving before your package was processed and accidentally wind up in Sarner Underground. You’re going to accidentally walk into plenty of new places on campus your first week. Just go with it.

4 p.m.: You go to the activities fair and sign

up for 20 different organizations. College is one of the few times in your life when it’s perfectly acceptable to take up improv, boxing and social activism on a whim. Just remember that you can’t do it all, so don’t fret when you eventually have to drop a few.

Explore new things to see what you enjoy.

Drop what you don’t.

6 p.m.: Eat at FoCo. Accidentally ask an upperclassman sitting near you if he’s an ’18, too. Sit with him anyway.

Day 5 5:30 p.m.: Your roommate’s parents are in town for the weekend, so you go to dinner with them at the Norwich Inn. You didn’t get the chance to meet them during Orientation, so you’re a bit nervous. As long as you’re nice and normal, you’ll be just fine. If you’re not nice or normal, just pretend for a few hours so you can take advantage of the free food.

11 p.m. You find yourself in a friend-ofa-friend’s cushy room in McLaughlin. You wonder what upperclassmen have been doing in frats for the past two hours. Probably playing beer pong. Beirut? No, just pong, your friend reminds you.

Day 6 5 p.m.: You’re treating yourself for surviving your first week at College, so you have a trippee reunion at Molly’s. You eat an entire basket of Molly’s bread and feel no shame.

Embrace it.

9 p.m.: You’re ready to go out but realize that no one goes out before 11. You plan to do work until then, but you binge watch Orange is the New Black instead.

12:30 a.m.: You run into your UGA on frat row and try to convince him to let you and your friends into his frat. This proves unsuccessful. You assure him that all the pregames have been in other dorms besides yours tonight. He seems relieved.

Day 7 11:30 a.m.: After making some noncoherent sounds, you open your eyes wide enough to start scrolling through your Instagram feed to wake yourself up. You realize your friend posted the one picture you asked them to delete. Well, time to start the work you put off for the last two days.

11:32 a.m.: You create a new Facebook album. What clever words start with “F�?

You’ll think of that later; “14F� will do for now.

10:56 p.m.: You find an empty table in the stacks and chastise yourself for not doing any work this weekend. You scroll through Facebook again before opening a textbook, and realize that you don’t regret a single moment from this entire week. You’ve survived your first week at Dartmouth. Here’s to many more.

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EULQJLQJ WKH 1LQWHQGR " Because ’18s post the darn’dest things to their class Facebook page!

MIRROR //3

Find a Spot to Hunker Down GUIDE

B y Josh Koenig

With all of the hustle and bustle of your first few weeks on campus, it can be easy to skip out on quality time with your readings and problem sets. While you can always retreat to the isolation of your room or the comparatively spacious layout of your dorm’s common room, we’ve selected some of the best library study spots on campus where you can get work done away from any distractions. Finding a seat is up to you, but with this list in hand, you’ll never have to ask the difference between Berry 3 and the stacks.

Baker-Berr y Librar y The Rundown: Dartmouth’s central library — the one with the white tower facing the Green that your parents probably insisted you snap a photo in front of — Baker-Berry Library is also home to a number of the College’s best study spots. For serious work, stay away from the facetime friendly havens of Baker Lobby, the long corridor running the length of Baker-Berry’s entrance facing the Green. First Floor Berry (FFB), a chaotic mix of conversation and public computers, and Berr y 3 (3FB), whose group tables are a

hotbed for all things social, should also be avoided when making any attempt at working. Instead, head to quieter floors like Berry 2 and Berry 4, where the atmosphere is a bit friendlier for serious study.

Just don’t forget that there is no bathroom on the top floor of the library.

Another note: Don’t buy into the hype for Baker-Berry’s Tower Room. It’s a beautiful room that’s a prime destination for tour groups, but the large windows and view of the Green beg more for Instagram and pensive staring into space than actual homework completion.

The Trivia: Baker Library was modeled after Philadelphia’s Independence Hall.

The Quick Take: Dependable, constant and central.

Sanborn House The Rundown: Home to one of Dartmouth’s homiest traditions — afternoon tea and cookies — Sanborn House is a wonderful spot to settle down in a comfy chair for an afternoon spent pouring through readings. Dominated by English majors who sample its vast collection of literature, Sanborn still welcomes students from all

CURIE KIM // THE DARTMOUTH

TRACY WANG// THE DARTMOUTH SENIOR STAFF

walks of academic life, greeting visitors with comforting nooks and crannies, accessible bookshelves and a warm sense of community.

Although Sanborn features only a few desks and tables, each easy chair comes equipped with a hardwood board that, when balanced on the arm rests, can serve as a home for your notes. You’ll need to convert your laptop charger to its two-pronged mode here to keep your computer going, but the quiet clink of teacups and the picturesque iron-balconies make Sanborn well worth the adjustment.

The Trivia: Sanborn House was built to memorialize Edwin David Sanborn, a member of the Class of 1832, who was the first faculty member at the College to hold an appointment in English literature.

The Quick Take: If you had a wealthy middle-aged English aunt with a library, the library would look this.

Feldberg Business and Engineering Librar y The Rundown: A favorite for River Cluster residents — especially during the winter when the walk to Baker-Berry can feel far longer than five minutes — Feldberg Library is renowned for its sense of quiet. Jokingly referred to as the “anti facetime library,” Feldberg can be reached by heading down Tuck Drive and bearing to the right of the Thayer School of Engineering down a set of stone steps. Feldberg boasts several fourperson tables on its first floor, an upper level with isolated cubicles and a GreenPrint station. Large glass windows allow for natural light, unknown in many of other re-

mote spots. Unless you’ve booked a study room here, though, don’t plan on bringing a friend. This is a spot for silent contemplation.

The Trivia: Feldberg Library serves two graduate schools — the Thayer School of Engineering and the Tuck School of Business.

The Quick Take: Shhhhhhhhhh.

Kresge Physical Sciences Librar y The Rundown: Ever y finals period, rumors of available seating in Kresge fly around campus.

Renowned as the home of science majors and those needing to print lab reports before class, the physical sciences library still welcomes those from across the academic disciplines with its quiet comfy chairs, tables and personal cubicles. Kresge also has a number of computers, but remember to keep quiet, even if you are running late to class.

The Trivia: Kresge is physically linked to five different academic depar tments: chemistr y, ear th Sciences, environmental studies, geography and physics and astronomy.

The Quick Take: Hide away here when you’ve got three final papers and two days to write them.

The Stacks and the 1902 Room The Rundown: Home of the diligent and the sleep-deprived, the stacks and the 1902 Room demand their own section of this article despite being a part of Baker-Berry Library. While they offer a different appeal — the stacks are prized for their solitude and quiet, 1902 for its constant access (it’s one of the

library’s two 24/7 study spots) — both are home to the hard working, stressed and often hopeless.

Don’t enter either of these study spots looking to chat with a friend, but pull up a chair if you need to power through some serious work while sharing the company of the somehow-still-awake.

The Trivia: Above each table hangs the portrait of an important figure Dartmouth’s history, watching over as you dive into your studies. One of them is named Craven Laycock.

The Quick Take: My freshman floormate: “I like to work in the 90210 room.”

The Not-a-Librar y Librar y The Rundown: Even if this were a comprehensive list of the library spaces at Dar tmouth — which would mean including the Rauner Special Collections Library (across from Sanborn), the Sherman Art Library (walk past the circulation desk in Baker-Berr y), the Paddock Music Library (lower level of the Hopkins Center) and the Matthews-Fuller Health Sciences Library at DHMC, among others — it would still ignore a number of fantastic spaces outside of formal library settings. As you explore campus during the fall, keep an eye out for a space that looks like it might be good for studying and make it your own.

The Trivia: For a brief week during my freshman winter, I studied exclusively in the math department’s lounge on the second floor of the Haldeman Center.

The Quick Take: It’s impossible to name every one of the best study spots on campus.

4// MIRROR

Talk Darty to Me GUIDE

HOPKINS CENTER FOR THE ARTS Welcome, Class of 2018 The Hop is your home for world-class music, dance, theater and film. A limited number of FREE tickets for these events are being held exclusively for ‘18s*:

W. Kamau Bell thu OCT 2 7 pm

World Music Percussion Ensemble

Dartmouth College wed NOV 5 7 pm Gospel Choir Dartmouth Symphony sat OCT 18 7:30 pm Orchestra sat NOV 8 8 pm Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble Dartmouth College sat OCT 25 8 pm Glee Club Dartmouth College sun NOV 9 2 pm Wind Ensemble Handel Society of sat NOV 1 8 pm Dartmouth College tue NOV 18 7 pm

W. Kamau Bell

*To be our guest at these performances, visit the Hop Box Office or call 603.646.2422 for details. Free tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Watch your email for info about the Class of 2018 Arts Marketplace on September 11 Live performances U Free lunch and t-shirts Audition sign-ups U Activity/employment opportunities Academic department open houses U Museum tours

hop.dartmouth.edu U 603.646.2422 U Dartmouth College U Hanover, NH

B y Brian CHalif

Just because there’s no placement test for “Dartspeak” doesn’t mean that students of the College haven’t developed our own form of communication, and as with any language, Dartspeak cannot be mastered until one lives alongside those who speak it.

You will surely learn every one of these words within your first few weeks on campus, but until then, let me welcome you with a crash course in speaking like a true Dartmouth student. Don’t worry if it looks a bit foreign now. By the end of the fall you’ll be asking your grandmother to blitz you instead of calling because self-call but that facetimey UGA from Fahey just asked to borrow some flair for tackiez tonight, and if you want to rally later you’ll have to finish that midterm for your 10A. @now: A common phrase when time is of the utmost importance. It’s used to grab attention and highlight the fact that something is currently happening at that exact moment.

Blitz: The name Dar tmouth students use instead of email. Can be used as a noun — “check your blitz” — or as a verb — “can you blitz me the notes from Thursday?”

Many students have been known to blitz instead of texting or even in place of real human contact. Popular with professors, administrators and nearly anyone associated with Dartmouth.

-cests: A simple suffix that can be tacked on to nearly any word to describe coupling off or hooking up within a group. Your first experiences with this term will likely include rumors of “tripcest” or “floorcest.”

Crunchy: An adjective used to describe the outdoorsy students that are seen sporting Birkenstocks or playing Frisbee on the Green.

Rarely equipped with razors, you’ll find these students on the first floor of Robinson Hall (Robo), looking like a character from a Gary Paulsen novel.

DDS: Dartmouth Dining Services. The food services that you will either grow to love or hate during your four years at Dartmouth.

Drill: Dartmouth’s sometimes painful system for teaching new languages that involves waking up at 7:45. Led by another Dartmouth student, drill primarily focuses on speaking and listening skills. Don’t worry, you only have to take it during the first few classes in each language.

EBA’s: One of the only places open past 10 p.m. in Hanover, this late-night pizza restaurant takes orders until 2:10 a.m. Their strategy is ideal, though, since their pizza tastes better the later it gets.

Facetime(y): To put it simply, facetime means being seen by as many people as possible, and can be obtained by attending popular campus events, studying on the first floor of the library or just generally occupying other public spaces on campus. Popular areas for facetime include the dark side of FoCo, large

lecture courses and the Collis porch.

FFB: The first floor of Berry Library. One of the more social, facetimey places to study. Sit here and pretend like you are actually getting work done while actually scrolling through Buzzfeed.

Flair: Obnoxiously tacky and bright clothing whose only purpose is to make the wearer look even more ridiculous. Often worn to parties around campus, its appropriateness in other situations is a hotly debated issue among students.

FoCo: Short for “Food Court,” this is the only acceptable way of speaking about the all-you-can-eat dining hall on campus. It should never be referred to by its official name, the “Class of 1953 Commons.”

Good Sam: A College policy that allows you to get help from S&S for a friend who is highly intoxicated without either of you facing disciplinary action.

HPo: Hanover Police. Avoid HPo. Historically not as forgiving to Dartmouth students as S&S is.

Ledyard Challenge: A tried and true tradition that involves stripping down on the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut River and swimming across to Vermont before running back over the bridge in your birthday suit. It’s illegal. You’ve been warned.

S&S: Safety and Security is Dartmouth’s campus security. Avoid them when walking back to the River cluster from frat row.

Self-call: When someone tries to brag about their own accomplishments. Freshmen who don’t know any better self-call about SAT scores and being student council president.

Don’t do this.

Shmob: A mixture of “freshman” and “mob,” these packs of ’18s abound in the early weeks of the term.

The Dartmouth Seven: A bucket list of seven public places on campus to do something a little less public.

They are the stacks, the Top of the Hop, the 50-yard line, the Green, the BEMA, the President’s lawn and the steps of Dartmouth Hall Townie: Generally used to describe the residents of Hanover.

Extends to anyone living within 30 miles of the College.

Trippee: A loving term of endearment that refers to a member of your Dartmouth Outing Club first-year trip.

Touching the Fire: When a freshman tries touch the giant bonfire in the center of the Green during Homecoming. Before you strap on your oven mitts and running shoes, though, know that it’s completely illegal and dangerous. Hanover Police will be awaiting you on the other side.

UGA: Acronym for undergraduate advisor. A UGA is an upperclassman on your freshman floor who helps you with any problems you may face in the trials and tribulations of College life. The rough equivalent of an “RA” or residential advisor at most other schools.

Not Your Average Toga Party GUIDE

B y MARINA SHKURATOV

Dartmouth may be renowned for its academic prowess, but that doesn’t mean its students don’t like to let loose every now and again.

While there’s generally some sort of social scene that can be found on any night of the week, a few well-known events on campus have become Dar tmouth traditions. Some of the most anticipated campus-wide social gatherings include: Alpha Chi Beach Party: Have you ever looked down at your shoes and wondered what you could do to ruin them forever? Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity has the answer, and it’s sand. Every winter, Alpha Chi hosts a basement party complete with flower-print shorts, beachy music and enough sand to fill 900 pairs of those Sperry slip-ons you bought to begin your chill, yet outdoorsy Dartmouth life. At least you’ll always have something to remember them by.

Amarna Wine and Cheese: For those college-goers who tire of the Keystone Light elixir, Amarna undergraduate society’s termly wine and cheese event is a dairyfilled paradise. If you can survive the trek past the gym and Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority, you will be rewarded with wine, grapes and conversations that happen at a reasonable volume. It’s one of Dartmouth’s rare chances to dress up, throw on some shoes that have never seen a sand-covered fraternity floor and enjoy a drink in style.

Homecoming Bonfire: Though

the bonfire is not technically a Dartmouth party, it is certainly the event that brings the most Dartmouth people together. Generations of Dartmouth alumni and their families come back to Hanover for the weekend, or as many affectionately say, “Everybody comes home for homecoming.” Traditionally, the incoming class is supposed to run around the bonfire 100 times, plus the number corresponding to their graduating class, meaning an ambitious ’18 can expect to run 118 big ones while being cheered on by upperclassmen and alumni on the sidelines. Whether you choose to run 18 or 118 laps — to be honest, most students don’t — the best part of the night is seeing our community come together, reflecting on what it means to start a new year and singing the alma mater with a mouth full of smoke.

Hop Garage: Hop Garage is a relatively new addition to Dartmouth’s social scene, and one that has been met with open arms by a campus desperate for free drinks and entertainment outside of Webster Avenue, or “frat row” as it’s known to Dartmouth students. Every Thursday, the side room next to the Courtyard Cafe transforms into a bumping social space complete with hard ciders, a capella performances and trivia nights. Though it comes with a few quirks, like fire code regulations ensuring you can’t move from room to room without standing in line, Hop Garage is a welcome addition

ALI DALTON // THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

to the College’s event lineup and perfect for students looking for a social atmosphere outside of Greek houses.

Phi Tau Milque and Cookies: Ever y term, the coeducational fraternity does the seemingly impossible — bakes enough cookies to satisfy campus. In the week leading up to this event, students from across the College are invited to Phi Tau to help bake cookies of every shape, size, variety and flavor.

You can wash it all down with an ice-cold glass of “milque,” a mysterious concoction created froma secret recipe. It’s non-alcoholic (don’t believe the rumors that say otherwise), and the perfect way to wash down more cookies than you’ll ever admit to eating.

Pig Stick: This outdoor party features dancing to live music, spilling drinks while dancing to live music and a full pig cooked by campus celebrity Collis Ray. For those incoming freshmen who have not yet met campus royalty, Ray can be seen at the stir fry station at Collis when he isn’t cooking pigs or teaching students how to ice fish.

No spring term is complete without an Instagram photo of you and your friends with a roasted pig.

Programming Board Spring Every Friday of Green Key, Programming Board brings a highly sought-after performer into the woods of New Hampshire, with past performers including Maroon 5, Three 6 Mafia and ASAP Rocky.

This concert is one of the only events popular enough to bring Dartmouth students and Hanover High students pretending to be Dartmouth students together. If you’re not already in bed sleeping off the day’s festivities, you can find most of campus on Gold Coast lawn screaming over the bass and updating their Snapchat stories.

Sig Ep Pop-Punk: Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity’s Pop-Punk party, hosted on the Thursday of every big weekend, brings together two of everyone’s favorite things — middle school music and not actually having to be in middle school. Big weekends always start early, and this party is the perfect opportunity to spend time in a fraternity without having to listen to a symphony of pong balls and Avicii remixes. It’s also the one of the few times it will be socially acceptable to dance on a pong table, so take advantage of that while you can.

Tabard Lingerie: On big weekend Wednesdays, the fine folks at the Tabard coeducational fraternity host a body-positive lingerie show.

Par ticipants are encouraged to wear — or not wear — whatever they feel comfortable in, be it skivvies or a cow suit. Performing individually and in groups, students often incorporate music and chore-

MIRROR //5

Ye Old Pong ODE

B y ANDREW KINGSLEY

Tis swillig, and the soused did glut themselves in the keel All teeming were the basements, a freshman’s ideal Now’s hump day’s eve, the bewitching hours of fraternities Which Peter’s keys and Anubis’s scales sink for eternity Unsheathe thine paddle you nascent puck And pray that Hecate hast bestowed thee luck A mere cirque of wood this blade doth look Lacking handle, it befits hand’s nook Engorge thine cups with the golden mead Or water for livers sans liquor’s need.

The frothy foams of Keystone Light, Wherefrom Venus derivèd upright.

Align the cups like shrubs or trees, A line of stoups can surely be, For those of thee of gorbellied frame A sequoia’s form should be thine game.

Locate a brother to consort thee in war And harken two rivals for a table of four.

Each twain stands abreast of their cup formation, Weak side is starboard, strong side’s a port vocation.

To commence a rally, just serve the ball High o’er the ersatz median, so that it falls Onto thine opposite’s side, that woodcock lout, It must hit the table, it mustn’t go out!

Sirrah! Avoid their cups like Charybdis’s seas Or thrice miss the table and pay a soft fee Of englutting half of one of your cups, Thine own life blood you are drying up.

Once the serves lands, a tennisesque rally may proceed Partners alternate strokes until the orbèd seed Plummets into a chalice like a seaman in the drink Achieving a bit of old, what most would call a sink.

And with this score your opponents are delightfully enmewed Forced to quaff that cup complete, their soma liquid imbued.

Ensure that the ball is hit nice and high This isn’t ping pong; lofty parabolas need apply.

But what if the ball merely hits a cup on the rim or side?

O mine artless fledgling, all thine remedies I’ll provide!

If your foes bodge the save of the ricocheting ball, They must swill half the cuppèd grog, but certainly not all.

And once that cup’s been struck again, Imbibe part two and trash the cup, as five and five make ten!

So the match does tarry on, ales drained with alacrity Making thee deboshed, a hopped-up clod denuding one’s vanity.

Thine slubbered words and mimsy limbs a circus sight For all the basement breads spectating in rapt delight.

If your glutted gut surfeits, pregnant with rotgut woe Booteth and rallyeth, spurting ye forth, yolo!

With brews removed, the once brimmed fronts do thin And Fates’ threads draw out the hits to happen.

But forging forth, each team’s phalanx assaulted Awaiting wingèd Nike, in victory exalted.

Tis half cup-half cup now, each duo’s reached their last string The frays of Lachesis’s measure, awaiting Atropos’s cutting.

That elusive final chalice, the Holy Grail of sorts, When struck by thee dost their hubris thwart Oh frabjous play, callooh callay, I chortle in my joy!

Thee, my palmy team, hast slain their manxsome Troy!

Now shake their hands, and salute their stab But recover thine court to defend your tab Of one and naught against the team straight to surface, Who sobered aim to thieve thine hard fought purchase.

For you are holding table, my candle-wasters, Ensuring no one will be your grail’s taster, So fill six new cups, darraign them once more Into a tree, a shrub, or line, preparing for hops-fueled gore.

Thusly the cycle goes, basements meat-grinded of initiates Creating a new breed to sustain the age-old recreate.

But know that each house, like SigEp, Phi Delt and AD, Has their own domestic rules, which you will see, Upon arriving to Dartmouth’s greenery, And playing ye olde pong with yours truly.

Stepping Out of Hanover Guide

Worthy Burger — South Royalton, Vermont Take a beautiful 30-minute drive to this famous railroad-side joint. The burgers — classic beef, veggie, salmon, turkey and more — are renowned

by Dartmouth students, and the fries come as a close second. Be warned, though, the restaurant only accepts cash. Don’t get caught with a credit card and an empty stomach.

Woodstock, Vermont This charming town has it all — a beautiful inn, antique shops, cozy diners and a state park. This quintessential New England town is a great option for visiting parents or a day with friends. Make sure to stop and look at the stunning views of the Quechee Gorge on your way there.

Ben and Jerry’s Factory — Waterbury, Vermont In what can only be described as a truly amazing experience, touring the Ben and Jerry’s Factory is one of the sweetest opportunities away from campus. Try out new flavors and visit the Flavor Graveyard, where the retired flavors are tucked away after they’re taken off the shelves.

Make sure you don’t try to leave the tour early, though, as the end features a wide selection of free samples.

B y Lindsay Keare

By SARA KASSIR

The Ledges — Lebanon, New Hampshire Just a few miles past the West Lebanon strip malls, the Ledges are a set of natural pools and waterfalls. It’s a peaceful getaway right off campus where students spend their time sunbathing on rocks or jumping into the small pools. Only a short stroll through the woods, it’s the perfect option for some fresh air without the hike.

Four Aces Diner — West Lebanon, New Hampshire Like many of the Upper Valley culinary gems, Four Aces is located quite inconspicuously near the bridge from West Lebanon to White River Junction. Get the cinnamon swirl pancakes and popovers — this is definitely a place to go for sweet over savory. Get an early start to avoid the lines. Diners often move at a more leisurely pace here.

Ice Cream Fore-U and Fore-U Golf Center — West Lebanon, New Hampshire Conveniently located in the parking lot of your local Home Depot, Fore-U is quite the utopia. It’s packed with a driving range and the cheapest and most delicious ice cream you’ll ever buy. We recommend Flying Fish Fudge — just trust us. Serving sizes are notoriously large. The “baby” size has been known to feed an entire group of friends. Make sure to bring cash. They don’t accept anything else!

The Great Vermont Corn Maze — Danville, Vermont Open until mid-fall, this maze is one of the trickiest around. Located amid stunning scenery, it extends across dozens of acres and changes every year. Keep going until you find the “Bell of Success,” or until you’ve had enough — if you can do it without cheating or help, you’ve already outdone most Dartmouth students.

Moosilauke Ravine Lodge and Mount Moosilauke — Warren, New Hampshire You’ll stay at the beautiful lodge on Trips, and if you’re one of the brave souls willing to wake up before sunrise, you’ll probably hike the mountain, too. The Lodge is open for dinner reservations throughout the fall, spring and summer. Take your friends there on a random night or spend the day hiking the stunning trails. Lodjoween, a special Halloween-themed dinner on Halloween night, is also a must-do at some point during your college career.

King Arthur Flour (KAF) — Norwich, Vermont While the small KAF café in Baker-Berry Library may close in the winter, the flagship of the famous bakery is only a mile away in Norwich. Go for the sandwiches, baked goods, drinks, spreads and everything else you could ever want. For the more culinary inclined student, they offer several cooking classes to help you unlock the secrets to true baking bliss.

Mount Cardigan — Orange, New Hampshire Undoubtedly one of the most beautiful sights in the area, it’s a relatively short drive from campus and the views from the summit are well worth the steep hike. Once you’ve made your trek through the woods, a well-deserved rock-slab awaits the perfect place for a picnic or some casual sunbathing. Make sure to bring a jacket, though, since the exposed top is chilly even on warm days.

Gile Firetower — Norwich, Vermont One of the more popular destinations for “sunsikes,” or sunset hikes, the Gile Firetower is only a short ride from campus. You’ll climb up a rickety tower that, while not for those terrified of heights, will afford incredible views of both the New Hampshire and Vermont mountains. Make sure you don’t get too mesmerized by the sunset to get down by dark!

The Fort — Lebanon, New Hampshire The Fort is a cozy little diner inconspicuously nestled in the back of a gas station a few miles from campus.

Don’t be fooled by the seemingly ordinary location.

It’s a classic destination for campus groups to take new members, and the waitresses are all too familiar with Dartmouth students. The Fort, or “Fort Lou’s” as it’s affectionately know to some, is open 24 hours a day and offers amazing eggs, bacon, pancakes, coffee and muffins the size of a child’s head. Come hungry, leave happy.

Copper Mines — Strafford, Vermont They’re not the easiest to find, but these abandoned copper mines are well worth the drive. Yes, the water’s beautiful color comes from the abundance of oxidized copper mixed into it. The scenery is incredible, though, and jumping off the cliffs is a well-known Dartmouth summer experience.

ALI DALTON // THE DARTMOUTH STAFF In the style of the Discovery Map of the Upper Valley & Quechee -­ Woodstock

8// MIRROR

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MIRROR //9

Stuff it in the Suitcase GUIDE

B y Natalie Van Brunt

As September draws closer and your parents continue to berate you about packing for college, you’re going to be faced with an important realization. Your entire life and everything you own won’t fit snugly into a large suitcase and single carry-on bag. Moving to Dartmouth will require you to consider what is going to transfer to a new school with a new dress code and what you might have to leave behind. The capri army pants you wore on your first date in seventh grade may not be the hottest item in Hanover, but if they still fit, consider them for your flair drawer.

To make the transition to Dartmouth a little easier, let’s start with a crucial question — what do we really wear at Dartmouth?

Before you run to your nearest J. Crew to replace your entire wardrobe,

Courtesy of FindNSave.com

I’ll preface this article with one piece of advice — wear whatever you want.

Dartmouth isn’t high school, and honestly, no one is going to care too much about what you wear. You’re in college now, and there’s no principal telling you that your skirt is too long or a boss saying your wardrobe doesn’t look professional. The most important thing to remember is to just do you.

Still, there are some clothing items you’re going to see almost everywhere on campus. Consider putting them in your wardrobe if you’re searching for some new, useful additions.

Bean Boots: If you’ve taken a campus tour at some point, you’ve probably noticed that Hanover is snowy, wet or muddy pretty much year round. I’ve managed to survive two years with a solid pair of rubber rain boots, but most Dartmouth students swear by the indestructible nature of these questionably fashionable boots.

Think of them as snow tires for your feet.

Heavy coat: Those of you who hail from the Northern U.S. probably understand what it means to survive a New England winter, but if Dartmouth will be your first trek up north, you may be in for a surprise. As a proud Florida native, I can assure you that whatever you consider to be “heavy” is nowhere near heavy enough. Hanover is known for subzero temperatures

that can cut through even the warmest of winter coats. If the words puffy, parka or marshmallow don’t describe the coat you’re planning on bringing it’s time to reevaluate.

Sundress: While the depths of winter may seem to last forever, there comes a day every spring where the sun shines enough for you to shed the winter layers and go barelegged. On that day, bust out the sundress to both celebrate and plead with the weather gods that they keep the cold from coming back. While this day rarely occurs before May, students eager for sunnier days have been known to embrace the sundress as early as March.

Salmon-colored shorts: Basically the male equivalent of sundress day, these bright, eye-catching shorts are a campus fashion staple as soon as the sun begins to shine and the temperature begins to rise. The donning of salmon shorts is often accompanied by shouts of, “Sky’s out, thighs out,” a reference to their famously short hemlines.

Fracket: This coat, a must-have for any Dartmouth student, has two vital characteristics — it’s warm enough to walk outside in and it’s cheap enough to be disposable. It’s essentially a Dartmouth right of passage to lose a fracket several times throughout your four years, so it’s important to never buy one you would be devestated to

part with. You do not want to be that kid posting in the Facebook group to see if anyone has found your several hundred dollar jacket.

Frat shoes: Similarly, you’ll want a pair of shoes that are cheap, comfortable and relatively indestructible.

They should cover your feet enough to protect you from whatever unknown slime coats the floors of fraternity basements. I recommend a darker color to hide any possible stains you may acquire during your night out.

Class jersey: A simple, cotton, long-sleeved shirt be sold at the Dartmouth Co-op in the weeks leading up to Homecoming. Freshman purchase jerseys with their class year on them and wear them while running around the Homecoming bonfire. If you purchase only one item of Dartmouth apparel, make it this one.

Flair: When I read this part of my freshman issue, I thought the writers were messing with me. I swear to you right now, I am not. Flair is the name Dartmouth students have created to describe the eccentric, costume-like pieces of clothing that we sometimes work into our outfits. If you have something a little bit weird buried in your closet, bring it. Examples include, but are not limited to, fully bedazzled halter tops, Easter bunny sweaters, Teletubby suits, ’80s prom dresses and tutus. These are the items you own because you think

Courtesy of ModCloth.com

they’re really cool, but would never feel comfortable wearing them in public. Here, we encourage you to wear them in public.

Again, before you commit this list to memory and demand an extreme makeover before the fall, remember that no one at Dartmouth is going to care if you wear something different.

So don’t wear anything you aren’t in love with, and don’t try to dress a certain way just because everyone else is doing it. Let this list be a guide to help alleviate some of the anxiety of tucking your whole life into a few suitcases.

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10// MIRROR

The Bequest Begins Help Wanted story

B y MADDIE BROWN

story

MARY LIZA HARTONG // THE DARTMOUTH STAFF

I lost my best friend’s lion mask after a night out during sophomore fall. Leaving your friends’ property in a fraternity basement is always a careless mistake, and this certainly wasn’t the first time I had done it. I soon learned, though, why this absentmindedness was particularly upsetting to my friend.

I hadn’t just lost any lion mask — I had lost his bequest.

I retraced my steps from the night before, scouring every nook and cranny of Collis and venturing into the dark alleys behind FoCo before returning to my dorm empty handed and demoralized. I knew that if I wanted my friend to get his lion mask back, I was going to need to be more proactive in my search, and like any young adult in 2014, I turned to the Internet.

I reverse Google image searched the mask and immediately rush-ordered it from eBay. I even rubbed dirt on it to make it more convincing. When I gave my friend the mask, though, he was a little puzzled. I thought it looked just like the mask he lent me until he pointed out the difference. The new mask didn’t have the initials its previous owners scribbled in Sharpie, and therefore was not his bequest.

At Dartmouth, a bequest is a very special thing. It’s not just an SAT word used by pretentious students describing an ordinary gift. A bequest, rather, is something passed down from an upperclassman to an underclassman, generally though some campus organization, like a sports team, a dance group or a Greek house. This tradition might seem odd to those unfamiliar with it, so perhaps a few examples will help clarify just what a bequest is.

A Pair of Pink Overalls: These loose, pink overalls hit mid-calf and feature a large pocket on the chest with small white fish and palm trees. The cuffs and bottom trim of the pants also feature some tropical-themed designs.

Lineage: SS ’13, JK ’16.

Group: Grant Croo.

Meaning of bequest: The exact significance of the overalls isn’t totally clear within Grant Croo. Jon Kubert ’16, the current owner, said that their uniqueness is essentially what makes them an excellent bequest. “There really isn’t much meaning other than they go to someone who deserves them,”

he said.

Favorite memory with bequest: Kubert said he stole the overalls from Sam Streeter ’13 nearly every day while the two were on Grant Croo. After the first time wearing them, the overalls became an integral part of his wardrobe for the entirety of Dartmouth Outing Club first-year trips. Although they weren’t bequested to Kubert until the end of Grant Croo, he says the game of stealing them from Streeter was one of his best memories of being a Croo member. Perhaps the perseverance to obtain them on a daily basis is what “deserving them” entails.

Best part of bequest: These overalls are the ultimate theme trump card. Kubert said the pink overalls are an easy solution when you don’t have anything to fit the theme of a party.

Disco? Pink overalls. Tropical? Pink overalls.

Kubert’s advice: Don’t just walk around campus letting everyone know that you are wearing a bequest with its own history. Instead, wait until someone points it out or asks where you got it from before you tell them the story.

The Blue Dress: Short, oldfashioned looking prom dress covered in blue lace.

Lineage: Rachel Moncton ’12, Holly Foster ’14, Molly Stifler ’14.

Group: Delta Delta Delta sorority.

Meaning of bequest: According to the three women, the blue dress is given to someone who the original owner knows will put it to good use.

Moncton said she gave this dress to Foster as a symbol of their friendship, in the hopes that Foster would follow in her footsteps by having even more fun at Dartmouth than she did. Foster, though, is now passing it to Stifler, who she described as a very special person who will “live life to the fullest and wear the dress to the fullest.”

Reaction to receiving the bequest: The over-the-top, shiny sequins seem to capture the attention of future owners as well as onlookers, says Moncton. After being given the dress, Foster says she was “really excited to get a fun, sparkly looking outfit as a bequest.” Clothing bequests are always tricky, she said, because you never know if something is going to

fit. The perfect fit of the dress, the two agreed, was a clear sign that she was meant to carry on its tradition.

Favorite memory with bequest: “I wore it for round one of rush and I had a baton and a headband. I felt fun and confident and had a really good time meeting new people,” Foster said.

Foster’s advice: Be very cautious if you lend your bequests out. The person who left it to you has trusted you to take care of it, and you don’t want to disappoint them when they come back to visit campus and find their prized bequests have been lost.

Mindy Kaling ’01 Croo Application: Red piece of laminated paper with a copy of Kaling’s application for Croo.

Lineage: Monz ’10, Reese ’13, Fugi ’16.

Group: Rockapellas.

Meaning of request: According to Carolina Alvarez-Correa, or Fugi, Reese Ramponi ’13 said she wanted to give it to someone who she thinks is hilarious but whose hilarity is somewhat hidden. “I feel like she just thought I was ridiculous, which Mindy’s croo app definitely is,” Alvarez-Correa said.

Favorite memory with bequest: “Reese had just given me a Jason Aldean poster,” Alvarez-Correa, said.

“She felt like I would have a Jason Aldean poster in every room and when people asked why I would just say, ‘You don’t need to know.’” This habit of accepting the absolute absurd without question, much like Kaling’s comedic persona on “The Office” does, is why Alvarez-Correa, ultimately received the bequest, she said.

Fun fact: “It belonged to Mindy,” Alvarez-Correa, said. “I think that’s pretty cool in itself.”

Almost every group on campus has its own ideas of what should be passed on to younger members. For many, it’s a way of preserving history. For others, it’s a fun way to share ridiculously unique items that won’t fit in a onebedroom New York City apartment.

For every group on campus, though, it’s a special way that upperclassmen can share their experiences with the underclassmen with whom they’ve made lasting memories.

If you hear someone mention a bequest, ask them to tell you the story.

B y macy ferguson

Only a few days after arriving at Dartmouth, I quite literally stumbled upon my job. The Hopkins Center was hosting an open house to show freshmen what opportunities it offered for students to get involved in the arts.

As I ventured inside, I saw a sign hanging on the glass doors across from Hinman that said, “work-study students needed.”

I pushed the door open slightly, and was immediately captivated by the organized chaos that filled the massive space. In the far corner, a 20-foot-tall hairspray can stood on top of an industrial shelf stacked high with wooden planks. A cabinet painted like the tardis from “Doctor Who” was in the center of the room, and the door to the stage was covered with images from the “Wizard of Oz,” the yellow paint trailing from the brick road onto the floor. I followed the signs onto the Moore stage where the theater department had set up tables displaying various work opportunities they offered. The nearest table had a sign taped to the front that read, “WORK STUDY ELIGIBLE — NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.” The man seated behind the table, who I would later learn was the department’s assistant technical director, was wearing a Grinch T-shirt and black Carhartt work pants. I approached him, skeptical that I had found something so easily. He assured me they would teach me everything I needed to know.

I started work at the scene shop, where the sets for student productions are created, the next week. It was immediately apparent that this was not your typical work environment. My bosses refused to let me call them sir, and they cracked jokes when I made mistakes instead of scolding me for them.The shop was my own personal getaway from the rest of campus. I was able to find value in building things with my own hands in such a relaxed and goofy atmosphere.

It wasn’t easy to be in a completely new environment miles away from my home in North Carolina, but the scene shop gave me a sense of comfort and belonging that eased the transition into Dartmouth.

C.J. Jones ’16, who started working at Novack Café her freshman year, also said the casual environment was what initially attracted her to the job.

“I enjoy the relaxed atmosphere that comes with working in a café,” Jones said. “It’s one of the few places where I get to do things with my hands and move around, which is a nice reprieve from a lot of the heavy thinking we have to do on the day to day.”

Jones also highlighted the patience that she’s developed through her job and the way it’s helped her learn how to mitigate tense situations.

She said that many times students are disrespectful or short-tempered when waiting for service, sometimes ignoring the employees to text on their phones or getting angry when the line is taking too long.

“The way that people sometimes talk to you and the way they interact with you can be frustrating, but you have to handle that professionally without letting it get to you,” she said.

Maximillian Saint-Preux ’15, who worked for both GreenCorps and One Wheelock during his freshman year, said the discipline he gained from made the frustrating aspects of working worth it.

“Having a job offered a certain level of discipline because no one was checking up on me anymore, which made the transition into college life easier,” Saint-Preux said. “I had to start being more independent and keep myself on track because there wasn’t anyone else doing it.

This sense of self-fulfillment heavily impacted my experience at Dartmouth as well. During my first term, after realizing my classes were now full of incredibly intelligent students from all around the world, I struggled with feeling like I was really contributing something worthwhile to my classes. With such a short term with only a few grades in each course, I found the lack of evidence of my hard work in the classroom frustrating. I was relieved every time I entered the scene shop, where my successes and mistakes were immediately apparent and I received constant feedback from my bosses.

This consistency made the difference freshman fall for Pauline Lewis ’16. “Everything was new and sometimes overwhelming,” she said.

During her freshman year, Lewis delivered copies of The Dartmouth around campus and worked at the Collis smoothie station.

“During freshman year I felt that there was an excessive need to find a group that you belong to,” she said.

“While I was doing different things like sports and clubs, I felt like my job was the most stable place to form relationships because it was consistent,” Lewis said. She said working with the same people several times a week gave them an opportunity to talk and get to know each other more closely.

The first few months of college can be overwhelming at times, when you’re suddenly bombarded with new responsibilities and thousands of new faces at once. Working with the same people day in and day out creates a specific kind of bond. The sense of community I developed through my job was a comforting haven when Dartmouth became a bit too hectic.

I still value these same things about my job — the labor, the relationships, the atmosphere and the consistency. While there are certainly days when the job becomes tedious and I’d rather be in bed, there has not been a day where I have not walked into the shop and felt at home. Finding a job you love on campus is not just a way to make money, but an opportunity to learn more about yourself and your place at Dartmouth.

Saint-Preux is a former member of The Dartmouth staff.

MIRR OR //11

Through the Looking Glass: Finding happiness in six steps Column

B y yobi kelati

I recently came across a list of six reminders for bad times from Tumblr user Angr yAsianFeminist that I’ve somewhat turned into six rules by which I live.

1. You are allowed to take up space. You are a human.

2. You are allowed to have a voice.

3. You are allowed to leave whenever you feel unsafe or uncomfortable.

4. You deser ve more than someone who doesn’t know how to respect you.

5. You are allowed to put your own needs first.

6. You are allowed to love yourself.

Though I found this list recently, these almost perfectly summarize much of my growth and discover y I’ve experienced over the course of my time at Dartmouth.

Before long, I realized that I couldn’t buy into the dream they had for me. My pre-med classes bored me, and I had no motivation to do the work.

Eventually, after nearly a year at Dartmouth, I couldn’t pretend anymore. I needed to change ever ything about what I was doing, but it would take a few more terms before I would become comfortable abandoning that dream altogether for a new path. I hated feeling uncertain about my future, but I hated forcing myself to follow the preconceived idea of my success even more.

After fumbling around and tr ying to figure out what I was doing, I’ve become more comfortable with uncertainty and voicing my own desires. My time at Dartmouth would be miserable if I never voiced what I wanted to do. I had to take control over my time here to be happy.

Never forget that your time at Dartmouth has to be of your own making. For that to happen, you have to voice your opinion.

3. Dartmouth can have a way of making 1. I didn’t always you feel like you feel like I deser ved have to do things for “SURROUND to be at Dartmouth. no other reason that Even before I came, YOURSELF WITH it’s just what you do.

I was antagonized My freshman year THOSE WHO for my acceptance. was full of people As college decisions me to go on RESPECT YOU AS telling began to trickle Dar tmouth Outin my senior year A PERSON ALL ing Club first-year of high school, I trips, r un around THE TIME. YOUR the bonfire, rush, began to hear the oh-so-familiar, “you this class, go TIME HERE IS take only got in because out this weekend you’re black” from TOO SHORT FOR and hike this mounmy peers. tain. If you want to ANYTHING ELSE.” do these things, Nevermind that I had pushed myself do them. Many of to succeed. My achievements were cast them have been integral parts of my own aside and belittled to save the ver y frail Dartmouth experience, but remember that egos of some of my high school classmates. what someone else thinks is a great time I expected, hoped and prayed that it would won’t always line up with what you want. change at Dartmouth, and for the most I forgot that freshman year, and there part, it did. Yet a handful of my Dartmouth were plenty of things I did that I never classmates dressed these same insults in wanted to do. Don’t be afraid to voice that fancy statistics laced with condescension. discomfort. Listen if your subconscious is It didn’t make any sense to me at that telling you that something’s wrong. I bought point. Didn’t they also get in? Did they need into the idea of having a preset Dartmouth to rain on my parade to make themselves experience more than I considered my own feel better? As a freshman, I took many safety and comfort in the spaces I visited of these snide remarks to heart and let and friendships I made. them eat at my self-confidence. Not until Don’t let yourself get caught up in all of that spring did I realize that I didn’t need that. It’s not worth it. If you refuse to voice to defend my existence here. Neither do your own discomfort or fear, you may have you. At the end of the day, there’s no need some fun here and there, but that feeling to reassure those around you that your will follow you around for the next four journey to Dartmouth was more legitimate years. than anyone else’s. You deser ve it just as much as they do.

4. Not ever yone at Dartmouth is going to be your friend. There are people at Dart2. As the middle child of two success- mouth who may be the complete antithesis ful parents and an intimidatingly high- of what you look for in a friend, something achieving older sister, you could say that I failed to realize when I arrived at the Col“greatness” had always been expected of lege. me. Yet I never took the time to consider I thought I would find a new friend evI wanted my own “greatness” to look like. er ywhere on campus. It took a long time I came to Dartmouth naively planning to for me to realize that I was allowed not to become a doctor and immediately signed like people. I was allowed to hate someone. up for ever y pre-med class I could get into. People here don’t always respect who I I liked science in high school, and this plan am, and I have no obligation to give them sat well with my parents’ vision of success. the respect that they absolutely refuse to

Courtesy of Yobi Kelati

give to me. Never feel the need to back down or stay quiet if you feel victimized by another person. You deser ve better than that. Surround yourself with those who respect you as a person all the time.

Your time here is too short for anything else.

5. Dartmouth students have mastered the ability of appearing busy, constantly

“LEARN WHY PEOPLE HERE GIVE YOU THE TIME OF DAY. THERE’S SOMETHING AMAZING AND INCREDIBLE ABOUT YOU, I PROMISE. THERE’S A REASON THAT SOMEONE THOUGHT YOU DESERVED TO BE HERE. FIGURE IT OUT.” running to some meeting, practice or rehearsal. I didn’t realize how much I had adopted this mindset until this past spring when the large gaps in my iCal made me anxious. I found another extracurricular to fill the time and consequently made

my term miserable. I was tired, busy and never found time for myself.

Had I known better, I would have dropped something. Instead, I was stubborn and decided I needed to see things through. Don’t be as bullheaded as I was.

Drop something if you need more time for yourself. Ask for that space to take care of yourself — it’s absolutely crucial to sur viving at Dartmouth. Don’t do anything that doesn’t bring you some sort of satisfaction. Don’t stick with things because you feel like you have to. You have a short time here, and you don’t want to waste it because of a foolish sense of duty. Find the things here that make you happy.

6. This is perhaps the most important reminder I ever received. Somewhere in my time at Dartmouth, I started looking for places to find a sense of self-worth and value. In order to feel any sort of positivity toward yourself, you have to learn what you love about yourself. Dartmouth won’t explicitly give you the space to do that, but it’s the most important thing I have done to thrive here. Learn why people here give you the time of day. There’s something amazing and incredible about you, I promise. There’s a reason that someone thought you deser ved to be here. Figure it out. ’18s, I’m excited to see you begin to car ve out your spaces at Dartmouth. This has been a place where I have grown into someone I’ve become proud of, and I hope it can do the same for you. Welcome to Dartmouth.

12// MIRROR

Views from the Other Side Kaitana Martinez ’16 As a youngster, just before blinking my tired, little eyes to sleep, I would dream about college. My childhood imagination pictured it as something like a young adult version of Disneyland. I envisioned endless snacks, fun dance parties, late-night mingling and most importantly, no bedtime!

My future university would be a fairytale kingdom with countless “Prince Charmings” vying for my heart. They would sweep me off my feet and treat me to casual lunch picnics and spontaneous stargazing adventures. College would be the pinnacle of adolescence and a grandiose gateway into adulthood.

As I grew older, however, my childhood view of college started to morph. I saw it fusing my intellectual exploration and social excitement. As I accepted the opportunity to attend Dartmouth, my excitement could hardly be contained.

I took my first steps onto campus, hopeful that college would be everything I had imagined. With all the dancing, laughing, chatting and games that came during Dartmouth Outing Club first-year trips, I thought Dartmouth might actually be the young-adult version of Disneyland I had dreamed about. As I lived out my first term on campus, however, it became apparent that college was not as splendid as I had always imagined.

I felt exhausted after full days of classes, basketball workouts, evening practices and seemingly endless

friends, chatted with them under the stars well into the night and danced to the point of exhaustion.

In many ways, my experience at Dartmouth has been like an extensive Disneyland roller coaster ride. It’s been full of apprehensive moments, like when the coaster cart approaches the apex of the ride. It’s offered pure exhilaration and joy throughout the adventure.

Dartmouth wasn’t the amazing, nothing-but-fun adventure I thought it would be, but I’ve learned to take the highest peaks with the lowest dips. At the end of my university experience I will proudly step off of my Dartmouth roller coaster ride with incredible memories that will accompany me for a lifetime.

Justin Maffett ’16 College was always something of a light at the end of the tunnel during high school. My older friends and nearly every college-centered movie I’d ever seen assured me that college was going to be the best four years of my life. As freshman fall approached, my logic was simple — if I’ve only got four years to have the time of my life, then I’m going to have to start strong right off the bat.

I arrived at Dartmouth with dreams of grandeur, expecting to become the leader of several campus organizations and ace even my hardest classes, all while finding a significant other on the side. I anticipated college being difficult, but I knew I had the drive to

KAITANA MARTINEZ ’16 studying. I had limited time to develop friendships and felt incredibly lonely.

At the forefront of the social scene was a hook-up culture that contradicted my preconceived hope for a thriving dating scene. My classes were challenging me to the point of frustration— no matter how much I studied it seemed as if I could never achieve the results I desired.

It was as if my high school life of excellence had suddenly been replaced by a life of Dartmouth inadequacy. By the end of my first term, my idea of college was certainly not like Disneyland. It felt more like an episode of “Survivor.” My confidence was shattered, forcing me to do some serious soul searching.

Since my initial term, I’ve learned to embrace the difficult experiences and use them constructively to facilitate personal growth. Amid my arduous academic and athletic commitments, Dartmouth has become quite fabulous. I’ve made wonderful

and growth that comes out if it. When I came to Hanover, I knew I was starting a new chapter in my life. I thought freshman year was going to be when I developed into the person I would be for the rest of my life, all while partying the night away. These thoughts, however, inflate the freshman year experience in the grand scheme of college and disregard the amount you’re going to continuously change during your entire time here.

By the end of my first year, I thought I had figured my life out. I had friends, a routine and a niche where I belonged.

Yet, as I returned for my sophomore fall, I began exploring areas outside of my comfort zones. I met new people, joined a coed fraternity and challenged myself to question why I was making the decision I was making. I was having the time of my life at Dartmouth, but I had found new ways as I became more comfortable with myself and what I wanted to do.

I look at freshman year as a yearlong orientation. It’s a time to get your feet wet, to learn your way around this place and realize what it takes to succeed.

You don’t need to come to freshman year with everything figured out. It’s going to be a great year, but you’ve got a whole Dartmouth experience ahead of you.

Silpa Raju ’16 “Because if Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are your self-involved, vain, name-dropping older brothers, you are the cool, sexually confident, lacrosse

JUSTIN MAFFETT ’16

continue the hard work I had done in high school. One of the most difficult things I had to acknowledge my freshman year was that my high school success wasn’t going to automatically translate to college success. It’s easy to think that being the editor-in-chief of your high school paper means you’ll ascend through the ranks of campus journalism, or that you’ll earn an A with the same studying techniques that got you through high school.

The path to success at Dartmouth, though, isn’t what many of us experience in high school. It requires long-term investment, all-nighters and insane time-management. Before Dartmouth, I relied on accolades and recognition from others as proof of my hard work. Coming to college, though, I’ve had to learn to congratulate myself and do work because I feel good about it.

Building up your freshman year so prematurely, though, will ultimately damage the amount of experience

and awe-inspiring story that was fed to me. Figments of reality occasionally poked through to the surface, but I was too naively infatuated to pay much attention. Then those holes grew into chasms, and my idealized picture of Dartmouth fell apart. I became jaded with the self-indulgent apathy that privilege begets and with hearing the seemingly insipid conversations about Friday nights. Now that I had begun to see the ugly sides of this place, I had no glorified vision to love.

I went to Late Night Collis on a Wednesday night, sober and in the midst of an all-nighter. As I watched a pack of drunk students, laughing and carefree, I wondered — is this all there is to Dartmouth? Studying hard and raging harder, because you’re just that good at life? For the first time, I felt like I had made a mistake in choosing Dartmouth.

In reality, my misanthropy stemmed from the same reductive vision of Dartmouth that drew me in to begin with. I was projecting the Dartmouth story, albeit cast in an unflattering light, onto a group of people who couldn’t be lumped together. Though we are collectively Dartmouth, the truth is that there is nothing inherently Dartmouthesque about any of us. Trying to group the school’s population under one Dartmouth “vibe” fails to acknowledge the beauty of the individuals that make up this place.

I fell in love with Dartmouth again when I stopped trying to love an abstraction and started loving the

SILPA RAJU ’16

playing younger sibling who knows how to throw a party and looks good in a down vest.” – Conan O’Brien, Dartmouth College 2011 Commencement speech.

There’s something immensely appealing about this image of Dartmouth — smart, successful, attractive and fun.

It’s the vision sold to all prospective students; in the months before I arrived for my freshman fall, that image made me fall wildly and unapologetically in love with this school.

I could not have anticipated that this was the same face of Dartmouth that I would ultimately come to resent.

It paints a surface deep picture of dear old Dartmouth, a picture that tries to attribute truth to face-value and project a unified story onto a population of students with lived experiences that could not possibly be conglomerated into one Dartmouth culture.

I went through my fall term high on love for Dartmouth, reveling in the visible elements of the fun, unique

decision I would question often in the coming months, a feeling I’m sure many of you recognize. I wanted a strong engineering program, a liberal arts education, somewhere far from home and plenty of outdoor activities.

Dartmouth fit the bill on those aspects, but I’ve never been a fan of loud parties or dancing, two things I thought made up a large part of Dartmouth’s social life.

Once freshman year started, I made a few good friends, but I still had lingering feelings of loneliness. Maybe it was the cultural difference and maybe it was bad luck, but I had a harder time making friends at Dartmouth than I had ever had before. I wasn’t exactly depressed, but something felt like it was missing.

Perhaps I simply expected too much out of freshman year. I thought I would meet 50 new best friends in the first week and have all of these crazy freshman party stories. I thought I would love all my classes and be your stereotypical overeager freshman who loved his new college.

I wasn’t having a bad time at Dartmouth. I was having a good time, but it just didn’t compare to how I imagined my time in Hanover. The thought of transferring crossed my mind a few times, but it was never a serious option.

I wanted to stay.

Things began to change sophomore year. A few friends helped me find my way into fraternities and realize that they’re a lot more than drinking clubs. I rushed sophomore fall, and it’s helped

CHRIS DALLDORF ’16

concrete elements of Dartmouth — the individuals, classes, institutional resources and professors that make up the College. I am more in love with Dartmouth than ever before, but my affection is no longer blind. It is nuanced with an understanding of the flaws and greatness of our institution. Dartmouth is not one thing, and that is perhaps its greatest attribute. It is a place to carve out whatever niche is best for you.

There is no conglomerate Dartmouth reality, and I wish I had known that as a freshman. Make this place yours, know that you belong here and do exactly and only what you want, regardless of what it seems like everyone else is doing.

“Everyone” is a nonexistent abstraction. Reality is what you make of Dartmouth, and it exists exclusively through your mind.

Chris Dalldorf ’16 While I happily accepted Dartmouth’s offer of admission, it was a

me to find my own way to love Dartmouth. I’ve gone on hikes, facilitated philanthropy events and spent hours sitting on the porch talking with my brothers.

It would’ve surprised me as a freshman to hear about a fraternity member who rarely drinks. Yet I’ve been able to find a community and group of friends who I can feel comfortable around without the need to pretend to fit the mold of a partying college student.

You’re likely going to find yourself feeling lost or confused at some point your freshmen year. You’re going to realize that there are places you feel comfortable and places you don’t.

As you make more friends, you’ll see that people all around Dartmouth find different communities and groups that make them happy.

Come to Dartmouth with an open mind and patience. If things seem rough, believe that they will turn around. You will find the place on campus where you belong.

PHOTOS BY MARY LIZA HARTONG AND KASSUANDRA AMANN // THE DARTMOUTH STAFF Courtesy of Chris Dalldorf and Silpa Raju