Tuesday, November 15, 2011

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....




Tuesday, September 6, 2011

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.

Monday, September 5, 2011

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.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

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.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

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.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

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.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Life Goes to a Party

In the past, Dartmouth's Winter Carnival used to be known as the Nation's premier winter party. Hundreds of girls from college all over the north-east would come to Dartmouth's winter wonderland for an exciting weekend of parties, dancing, and winter sports.


Skier Dick Dorrance flies through the air as part of the Ski Jump Contest


In 1937, Life magazine, as part of its regular feature "Life Goes to a Party", visited Winter Carnival, and took pictures of the festivities.


The last Snow Queen was crowned in 1972, the same year coeducation began



No Dartmouth Weekend is complete without a proper dance party



While some things have changed, (there are no more tuxedo balls anymore, or a Winter Carnival Queen for example) some things remain the same. Amazingly, AD still remains one of the top socials spots on campus, although the boys in 1937 didn't have the Animal House mystique.

I wonder when the fraternities stopped having tuxedo balls? Certainly, no fraternity dressed up in white tie for formal today.



Another tradition that seems to have fallen by the wayside is the Snow Sculpture contest held by the Fraternities each year. I know that Fraternities still made sculptures up until the mid-80s, (Sig-Nu got in trouble in 1985 for their sculpture of a woman's breast being pierced by a sword) but by the 90s the tradition had died out. Unfortunately, apathy, not change, proves to be the enemy of most Dartmouth traditions.

You can look at the Complete articles here:
Life Magazine: February 22, 1937