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.