FO+M worker, started working for the college relatively recently (within the last ten years). Not originally from the Upper Valley.
Contextual Data:
Facilities, Operations, and Management is a broad department containing numerous divisions, offices, and shops. It hires people from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from young people straight out of school to experienced workers. There are no specific initiation rites for new employees, but the informant observes one clear trend with new hires.This practice was both observed by the informant and communicated to her by more experienced employees when she started her job.
According to current employees, FO+M has changed dramatically in the last 10-20 years. Accordingly, there is a widely acknowledged difference between “New Dartmouth” and “Old Dartmouth.”
Item:
Employees are typically vary polite and diplomatic with new employees. Only after some time has passed will employees be willing to joke around with or open up about their lives outside of work to more recent hires.
Transcript:
“The only thing I can think of, at least for this area, is when you first get here people are vary diplomatic… when I was new everyone was very diplomatic and very by the book. And the longer you’re here you know you’ve arrived when someone will like tell a joke around you”
Collector’s Comments:
This item seems closely connected to the notion of “Old Dartmouth v. New Dartmouth,” an idea I heard about from multiple informants.
Informant Data: Grant McArtor ’19 is a 21-year-old caucasian male student from Spartenburg, South Carolina in the United States. He was originally born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He has been rowing light-weight crew for five years (since junior year of high school) and has rowed on Dartmouth’s D150 varsity team since his freshman year. He has recently left the team.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: As with any bequest, this item is traditionally passed down from graduating seniors to underclassmen on the rowing team who are deemed most fit to receive the object. This exchange happens annually in the spring after the competition season has come to a close. The event involves the whole team and requires presence for several hours, as each senior may give away several bequests, each with a description of the significance of the item and why it goes to the recipient underclassmen. During the process, teammates must wait until they either bequeath or are bequeathed an item. It is a spectacle for the team and is often humorous and emotional. Underclassmen express gratitude through words and little physical contact as to expedite the process. It has been compared to receiving a Christmas present.
Cultural Context: Bequests are handed down through a line of rowers throughout the years. This line is connected through a common trait (e.g., captainship, knowledge of statistics, heavy weight). The bequest links generations, creating team cohesiveness through history. The bequest indicates a unique importance and role in the team and generally shows that the recipient upholds the values of the team. Rowers wear bequests to exhibit that they are deserving of the honor bestowed upon them.
Item: This bequest is a white t-shirt with black lettering that says “Row2K.” Row2K is an online forum and news resource for rowers. It has results and statistics about rowing across the nation. This bequest is given to the athlete who knows the most about rowing statistics.
Associated file:
Informant’s Comments: This is his bequest.
Collector’s Comments: The receipt of the bequest resembles a rite of passage. Before the ceremony, the rower is a freshman member. He is then separated from his fellow freshmen as he is called up by the senior. During the transition phase, he receives the bequest and shows gratitude to the senior. He is then incorporated back into the team as a new version (labeled by the bequest) of his old self.
Informant Data: Grant McArtor ’19 is a 21-year-old caucasian male student from Spartenburg, South Carolina in the United States. He was originally born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He has been rowing light-weight crew for five years (since junior year of high school) and has rowed on Dartmouth’s D150 varsity team since his freshman year. He has recently left the team.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: As with any bequest, this item is traditionally passed down from graduating seniors to underclassmen on the rowing team who are deemed most fit to receive the object. This exchange happens annually in the spring after the competition season has come to a close. The event involves the whole team and requires presence for several hours, as each senior may give away several bequests, each with a description of the significance of the item and why it goes to the recipient underclassmen. During the process, teammates must wait until they either bequeath or are bequeathed an item. It is a spectacle for the team and is often humorous and emotional. Underclassmen express gratitude through words and little physical contact as to expedite the process.
Cultural Context: Bequests are handed down through a line of rowers throughout the years. This line is connected through a common trait (e.g., captainship, knowledge of statistics, heavy weight). The bequest links generations, creating team cohesiveness through history. The bequest indicates a unique importance and role in the team and generally shows that the recipient upholds the values of the team. Rowers wear bequests to exhibit that they are deserving of the honor bestowed upon them.
Item: This bequest is a blue tank top with neon pink letters that say “No Weigh Day.” It is traditionally given to the heaviest freshman rower.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Image unavailable
Collector’s Comments: The receipt of the bequest resembles a rite of passage. Before the ceremony, the rower is a freshman member. He is then separated from his fellow freshmen as he is called up by the senior. During the transition phase, he receives the bequest and shows gratitude to the senior. He is then incorporated back into the team as a new version (labeled by the bequest) of his old self.
Collector’s Name: Sam Gochman
Tags/Keywords: D150, Dartmouth Light-Weight Rowing, Bequests, shirt, No Weigh Day
Informant Data: Will Kaufman ’20 is a 19-year-old male caucasian light-weight rower from Boulder, CO. He is the middle child between two sisters. He started rowing his freshman fall upon entering Dartmouth. As a walk-on rower, he came in knowing nothing about the sport.
Contextual Data:
Social Context: As with any bequest, this item is traditionally passed down from graduating seniors to underclassmen on the rowing team who are deemed most fit to receive the object. This exchange happens annually in the spring after the competition season has come to a close. The event involves the whole team and requires presence for several hours, as each senior may give away several bequests, each with a description of the significance of the item and why it goes to the recipient underclassmen. During the process, teammates must wait until they either bequeath or are bequeathed an item. It is a spectacle for the team and is often humorous and emotional. Underclassmen express gratitude through words and little physical contact as to expedite the process. It has been compared to receiving a Christmas present. This specific bequest is passed down from walk-on rower to walk-on rower.
Cultural Context: Bequests are handed down through a line of rowers throughout the years. This line is connected through a common trait (e.g., captainship, knowledge of statistics, heavy weight). The bequest links generations, creating team cohesiveness through history. The bequest indicates a unique importance and role in the team and generally shows that the recipient upholds the values of the team. Rowers wear bequests to exhibit that they are deserving of the honor bestowed upon them.
Item: This bequest is the Pocock belt. It is a strap used to tie down boats now repurposed as a belt. Pocock is a rowing brand originally made by an Englishman working out of the University of Washington. This bequest is passed down from walk-on rower to walk-on rower. This bequest was given to the informant by Widerschein ’17. The belt is thought to have originally been taken from the Dartmouth boathouse. The bequest is worn during meetings and important events such as socials and an end of the year celebration.
Associated media:
Informant’s Comments: Names on the belt are Widerschein ’17 and Kaufman ’20.
Collector’s Comments:
The receipt of the bequest resembles a rite of passage. Before the ceremony, the rower is a freshman member. He is then separated from his fellow freshmen as he is called up by the senior. During the transition phase, he receives the bequest and shows gratitude to the senior. He is then incorporated back into the team as a new version (labeled by the bequest) of his old self.
Genre and Sub Genre – Customary folklore (rites of passage)
Language – English (ETS – extermination term of service)
Country where Item is from – South Korea
Informant Data:
Daniel Kang is a 24 year old male, and senior at Dartmouth College. He is currently a math and computer science double major. He is a class of 2015 but he enlisted in the South Korean military in 2012 after finishing a year at Dartmouth. He served from July 23, 2012 to April 22 2014 under the Republic of Korea (ROK) Army Avaition School. He worked as a human resources admin. He came back to Dartmouth to resume his studies in 2014.
Contextual Data:
Social Context – The interview took place one-on-one in the informant’s apartment living room. The event described in the interview involved 40 other members of his platoon (only the soldiers, no officers). The informant could not come up with the exact date but it was in the bathroom area of his unit at night around April 1st of 2014.
Cultural Context – The extermination term of service (ETS) has a very special meaning in South Korea military. Because the system runs on mandatory conscription, almost no one wants to serve and from day one of the service soldiers start counting the days they have left until ETS. There’s even a saying in South Korean military lore that is a variation of the more publicly well known saying “unification is our dream”: “ETS is our dream”. Therefore, ETS is regarded as a very special occasion as the end of military service and almost a new beginning in a South Korean male’s life.
Item:
The beating always takes place the night before ETS. After roll calls (930 pm) and before bed time (10pm), the beating takes place in a designated area. For the informant’s unit, it was the bathroom area just outside of the barracks. This particular person, who was the informant’s friend (meaning same month hierarchy), knew what was coming and hid in the telephone booth. But the 40-or-so platoon memebers found him and dragged him to the bathroom area, wrapped him up in blankets (to prevent external injuries), and started giving him a hearty beating.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
So on the night of April 1st, this event happened? Please describe.
… It usually happens right after roll call [2130] and like before every has to go to bed. So what usually happens is that the person who is like getting discharged the day after is basically beaten up. So they know it’s gonna happen so they usually run away. So this person, in particular, was hiding in a telephone booth, so we tracked him down and basically.. dragged him back to the base, like around the bathroom area. What we do is.. we are aware this could hurt him and also… but it’s like a thing we do so we usually roll him up in blankets and basically hit him, kick him, sit on him (laugh).
Informant’s Comments:
According to the informant, the degree of violence usually depends on how mean the senior was to the juniors. The juniors ranks get the one and only chance to get back at the senior soldier and make amends.
The informant thought this was a brutal and uncivilized way to end one’s service. He revealed that for his own ETS he did not let other soldiers do this ritual to him.
Collector’s Comments:
It is very interesting to see this rite of passage in a particular version performed at the informant’s unit. The collector has seen and heard it in many different forms, but a detailed account of this ritual in another unit that has lived on for a long time is definitely worth observing. It is also interesting to note that the informant simply chose to reject the ritual by his own will.
Genre and Sub Genre – Verbal Folklore (song) with connotations of Cutomary Folklore: Rituals / Rites of Passage
Language – English (interview), song itself (Korean)
Country where Item is from – South Korea
Informant Data:
DongHyun Lee is a 23-year old male from South Korea. He is currently a sophomore at University of Hong Kong. He has served in the Republic of Korea (ROK) Marine Corps from June 23rd 2014 to March 22nd 2016. He was stationed in a battalion in Yeong Pyeong Island, one of the northern most islands closer to North Korea than South Korea. His job was a machine gun marksmen for the first half of his service time and a cook for the second half.
Contextual Data:
Social Context – DongHyun Lee was interviewed over Skype because he is currently located in Hong Kong. He went on his first regular leave after 3 months of service. It was the first time he returned to society since he started his service. His parents were in Shanghai, China so he stayed with his grandparents. He recalls it was one of the happiest few days in his life.
Cultural Context – In the South Korean military, not just in the marine corps, the first regular leave of a soldier has a special meaning, not just in military culture but also in society in general (because most Korean males serve due to conscription). The first leave means returning home and meeting family and friends for the first time since enlisting. The nature of conscription makes this a very special time for not just the soldier for those around him.
Item:
Ssa-ga (translated as unofficial chant). It is a tradition among ROK marines. The song’s origins are unclear but different variations are very much alive and well-transmitted in different ROK marine units. Ssa-ga is actually a collection of different songs sung in different occasions. The informant’s recollection and recitation was the first-leave ssa-ga, which had to be sung to a marine’s parents right in the place and the time the soldier meets his parents on the first day of the first leave. The informant was a special case in that he had to sing it through Skype since his parents were in Shanghai, China (his comrades most usually sang it in public places e.g. bus terminal).
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
Korean original version (English translation each line below)
신병위로휴가가 – The New Soldier First Leave Ssaga
어두운 밤하늘에 팔각모쓰고, 골목길을 걸어갈 때에
Under the dark night with my 8-pointer on, when I’m walking in the alley
저 멀리 어머니 나와계신다 못난 아들 마중하려고
I see my mama standing in the dark, waiting to greet this ingrateful son
어머니 어머니 울지마세요 울지말고 들어가세요
Mother, Mother, please don’t cry. Please go back inside.
다음에 이 다음에 전역하거든 못한 효도 다 할게요
Next time, next time when I get discharged, I will do my best to make up for the lost time
Informant’s Comments:
Informant was a little embarassed to sing this and thought it was a little funny that he had to sing it over skype. In fact, he was the only one in his company at the time to have sung the Ssa-ga this way. One of his comrades sang it in front of his parents the Incheon Freight terminal packed with people.
Collector’s Comments:
The texture of the song is lost in translation, but the original audio is attached for those interested. It is an interesting combination of a verbal folklore that also serves as a customary folklore that has meanings as a rites of passage: for the first time the marine presents himself with his military identity to those who have known him only as his civilian self.
Genre and Sub Genre – Cutomary Folklore: Rituals / Rites of Passage
Language – English
Country where Item is from – South Korea
Informant Data:
DongHyun Lee is a 23-year old male from South Korea. He is currently a sophomore at University of Hong Kong. He has served in the Republic of Korea (ROK) Marine Corps from June 23rd 2014 to March 22nd 2016. He was stationed in a battalion in Yeong Pyeong Island, one of the northern most islands closer to North Korea than South Korea. His job was a machine gun marksmen for the first half of his service time and a cook for the second half.
Contextual Data:
Social Context – DongHyun Lee was interviewed over Skype because he is currently located in Hong Kong. He got assigned to his unit in Yeong Pyeong Island after finishing 7 weeks of boot camp. He recalls being very nervous and confused, as he felt he was not quite ready to face the reality of confronting his seniors.
Cultural Context – The ROK Marine culture is extremely hierarchical. Throughout the 21-month service period, ROK marine culture climb up the strict hierarchy divided by the number of months each marine has served. Each month has a special name, a code of conduct, and rites of passages which are unofficially yet universally maintained by the conscripted soldiers (from ranks E1 to E5). Thus, whatever your senior soldiers want you to do for them, you have to do it unless you are ready to face some grave consequences which often includes collective violence and further hazing.
Item:
Aki-ba-ri (transalted as “exertion of willpower to the extreme level”) – On the first day of his arrival at the unit, two sergeants (E5) in his company came up to him asked him what he wanted to eat right now. When he answered he wanted to eat spicy instant noodles, right away he was forced to eat 8 portions of the noodles in one sitting, after which he vomited. This was the beginning of initiation rites that he had to endure until he got promoted to corporal (E4).
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
Transcript of Associated File:
Can you give me your experience with Aki-ba-ri?
Sure, sure… on the first day, the sergeants… came to me and asked, “Hey noobie… what do you want to eat right now?”
At first, I said, “I’m fine, thank you,” because I was so nervous, but then they were like, “come on, we will give you a treat.”
They were quite friendly when they actually asked…Back then I wanted to eat [spicy instant chicken noodles]… The sergeants said, “Okay, we will buy you [spicy instant chicken noodles].”
So I came to this… PX so I grabbed one [spicy instant chicken noodles]. But then, the sergeant was like, “hey, you only eat one?? Come on, you can do better than that.”
So I had to pick another one. But this guy kept insisting me to grab more and more, as if 2 or 3 weren’t enough. So eventually I got 8 of them… And I had to eat them all.
In one sitting or throughout the day?
It was one meal. And I eventually vomited, becuase my stomach couldn’t endure the pain.
What was their reaction after you finished eating?
After I finished, they were like “NIce job man, you are awesome.” But I could tell it was… sarcasm, obviously.
Informant’s Comments:
Informant was able to laugh over this recollection now, but he was definitely upset and scared at that time.
Collector’s Comments:
The informant’s direct experience with this initiation is very authentic and expressive. It is a widespread hazing ritual sometimes even publicized in the South Korean media, but it was the first time the collector had heard a full version of an actual experience.
Caleb Smith, 20, male. Smith was born in Los Angeles, CA, and is currently on the club water polo team. Although, he had no prior experience before attending Dartmouth, he has already experienced a great deal of success on the team, as Dartmouth took home the Ivy League title last year.
Contextual Data:
Often times, to become fully admitted to a group, one must go through some type of trial or rite of passage. These rites can be painful, long, tedious, fun, or goofy (up to the discretion of the group). The following item is one of the goofier rites of passage.
Item:
Every freshmen must create a CD and compile 36 songs, such as one Drake song and one Latin American song that no one has heard before to present to the water polo team.
The informant adds that they intentionally make it difficult for the freshmen and turn them back many times before they finally accept the CD. He jokingly added, “a lot of these kids were born in 2005. They’ve never seen a CD, which makes it hard.”
Collector’s Comments:
This group project appears to be a rite of passage designed to both test how dedicated a new member is by assigning them a tedious task and also bring the new members together as they must spend time creating the CD’s all together.
Legend Timothy Brennan
DOC First Year Trips Croo Initiation Hanover
5/10/2016
Informant Info:
Timothy M. Brennan was born in Princeton, N.J. on June 15, 1995 and grew up in Cranbury N.J. He attended Princeton High School and is currently a student at Dartmouth College in the Class of 2017 majoring in government. Outside of class, Tim is a co-captain of the Dartmouth track and field team and the president of Chi Gamma Epsilon. He is also active in the Christian community and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Type of lore: Customary – Initiation
Language: English
Country of Origin: USA
Contextual Data:
During the winter of 2016, Tim applied to become a Croo member for First Year Trips in 2016. After submitting the application, Tim was selected to become a join the croo. The croo are the people the that introduce the first-year students to First-Year Trips. Croo members help serve food and integrate the new class into Dartmouth. For trips specifically, croo members teach new students dancing rituals and safety lessons before their trips. The dances and songs are based down orally to each new group of croo members.
Social/Cultural Context: This video was taken in his room in Chi Gamma Epsilon in a relaxed social environment and conducted in English.
Informant’s Comments: The Croo Initiation Ritual
During the spring before the first-year trips, Tim was accepted to become a croo member in a process of separation. Tim received an email from Dr. Wolfgang Schiltz, a former DOC leader, instructing him to go to the highest place on the Dartmouth golf course at 7:47pm with a blindfold. A car with former croo members picked Tim up and bought him blindfolded with other croo members to an unspecified local cabin. New croo members are initiated through numerous “trips” songs and dances and stories from former croo members. The new croo member class is kept secret until later in the spring but each new member gets croo trainers for guidance and training. In addition, each croo member must go through First-Aid and CPR training as part of initiation. After he have competed the transition process of initiation tasks, he was finally integrated into the group and officially became a croo member!
Collector’s comments: The Croo initiation was a great way to incorporate new croo members for the upcoming First-Year Trips. It was interesting to see all phases of rites of initiation incorporated into the Croo Initiation.
