Big green!

I found this wonderful picture of Mass Row from an auction listing on Ebay. It's a pity that the college doesn't allow ivy to grow on the walls of the dorms today. I also like the bushes in front of the dorm. I wonder why the college doesn't put some in?

The Greek System (1991)

Presented without comment are some quick sketches of the Greek System from the 1991 edition of the Green Pages: An Insider's Guide to Dartmouth, written by some students of that era.

The more things change....

Odin's

Once upon a time, freshman weren't allowed into frat parties until later in the year. Bereft of social options, the freshman improvised their own. Up until 1991, Russell Sage was the site of Odin's, a keg party that occurred every Wednesday night during meetings. The party was named after a mural of a viking that was painted on the fourth floor wall. Unfortunately, Dartmouth's keg ban ended killed the party and attempts to revive it by later years failed. Like the party, it seems the mural has disappeared as well and soon, it became a forgotten memory.

Today, it seems crazy that anyone would have a keg party in their dorm room and S&S is quick to come to any room that appears too noisy. I guess the tired cliché "no one rages anymore" is true - at least for any dorm party.

New series: Dartmouth's forgotten societies

In addition to our regular content, which I hope to write more about once I get back to school, I will be writing about Dartmouth's forgotten societies. Students throughout Dartmouth's history have created societies and clubs, ranging from Dartmouth's first literary society, the Society of Social Friends, to the recent colonization of the Kappa Delta sorority. Our two longest lived organizations on campus are Psi U and Tri-Kap, both of which were founded in 1842. However not all clubs have made it through the years and I hope to focus on a few interesting examples.

Next post will detail the history of Asgard, a society that could have become Dartmouth's third undergraduate society, but somehow didn't make the cut.

Ghost stories

Besides the tales of Doc Benton that are used to scare freshmen on their DOC trips, there don't seem to be many ghost stories around the Dartmouth campus. I'm not quite sure why this is as there are many old buildings on campus and in Hanover, and we have a cemetery right in the middle of the campus.

However, if you are interested in learning more about ghost stories in Hanover, check out this article from the 2004 alumni magazine.

Another Dartmouth history blog

If you're interested in learning more about Dartmouth history, the Rauner Library blog has a great collection of Dartmouth and New Hampshire related posts. I've enjoyed reading about all sorts of topics from the story of why Dartmouth's color is green to a description of the first commencement. It's an invaluable resource for anyone looking to learn more about Dartmouth history.

Lest the Old Traditions Fail?

As time goes on, it is only natural that some traditions fade away and are replaced by others. In terms of Winter Carnival, the polar bear swim has replaced the Psi U keg jump, which itself replaced the ski jump on the golf course, but the Snow Sculpture has remained the constant centerpiece of Winter Carnival.

Unfortunately, despite the massive amounts of snow this year, the 2011 snow sculpture was merely adequate. Compare the 1972 snow sculpture with this the one from this year.

Snow Sculpture - 1972 (From the Dartmouth Flickr Account)

Snow Sculpture - 2011

While during the last two years the conditions for the Snow Sculpture were less than ideal (it was unseasonably warm in 2009 and in there was not enough snow in 2010), this year presented a great opportunity to build an impressive snow sculpture.

I don't know why there is less participation than in days past. While it's easy to blame general student laziness, I think the reason is a bit more complicated. The last two years of small snow sculptures have made it so the majority of students on campus don't feel any connection to building the snow sculpture. The active, enthusiastic freshman in 2009 is now an apathetic junior, and has gone 3 years now without working on the snow sculpture. It's a pity, but in this day of Facebook and Youtube, it takes work to get people interested in working outside. Hopefully, the next few years will see a renewal in interest in the snow sculpture, or the snow sculpture could disappear forever.