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.

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