Informant Name: Anonymous
Date Collected: May 25th, 2016
Place Collected: First Floor Baker Library, Hanover, NH
Genre: Custom
Informant Data: The informant is a senior at Dartmouth College. He is an economics major and involved in many campus organizations, including AD.
Contextual Data: The informant is a memer of AD’s senior class. He recently participated in Bequests by looming many of his items to the younger members of the house.
Ritual: “During bequests, the senior class members of the house bequeath items of all sorts, such as clothing, posters and athletic apparel, to younger members. This is a day-long event where each senior has a block of time, typically around 10-15 minutes, to talk about the items that are important to them, why they are significant, and why they are giving them to certain individuals. The whole brotherhood is present, as this event represents the end of one generation’s time AD and the passing of the torch to the next generation of individuals. Bequests don’t have to be physical; many are activities, nicknames or values. I think the diversity within this old tradition symbolizes the diversity and unity of the brotherhood as a whole.”
Interpretation: Bequests are an old tradition of AD, and of other fraternities, meant to pass along items of significance from the older to the younger generations of members. This tradition allows for continuity of character and brotherhood throughout generations. The most recent Bequest may have been especially meaningful, as the juniors receiving the looms are the last remaining class of AD.
This is a photo of an ADs summer pong masters shirt from his sophomore summer and has the New Hampshire state outline while invoking the competition and skill of the National Golf tournament. All students were able to purchase this item and many did, but this item is an example of an item that encapsulates personal memories, experiences, friendships, and more for the owner. On the back you can see that each Greek house is listed, making it meaningful on many scales.
(The back of the Masters shirt)
This is a photo of a bequest that one of our sources was kind enough to send our way. The shirt is from a Brooklyn rugby team in New York City. Each item passed along is meant to be meaningful in one way or another and be representative of both the individual who wears it and the greater house. This item originally belonged to a ’13 from New York City who played rugby at Dartmouth who wanted to pass down both of those parts of him through this shirt. Each member inscribes the name of the next in line, and this item was passed along to another rugby player in the ’14 class before making its way to a rugby ’16 and now a rugby ’17.
AD insignia, as well as house maxim
Collected by:
LM
Dartmouth College
HB 1674
Hanover, NH 03755
Professors Victoria Somoff & Mikhail Gronas
Russian 13: Vampires, Witches, and Firebirds; 16S