Monthly Archives: May 2016

It’s Bad Luck to Say “Good Luck!”

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Title: It’s Bad Luck to Say “Good Luck!”

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. The locations in which he has served are Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Customary Folklore, Superstition

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. He was asked to talk about any superstitions he may recall during his time as a paratrooper in the army. Informant was very serious when stating that one should never say good luck, but then gave a smile when he stated how he would react and cracked a joke.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4 (Start at 2:55)

Transcript:  [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: Um, as a paratrooper, you, you never tell somebody, you know, “good luck” before they jump out of the airplane. It’s a bad omen and if somebody ever said it to me, I’d be, I’d be freaking out as soon as my parachute opened. I’d be afraid I was going to break my leg or my shoulder when I landed.

Informant’s comments: Jason takes this superstition seriously and is very nervous before jumping out of the air plane in the off chance someone might say “good luck!” on his way out.

Collector’s comments: Jason was serious at first when discussing this superstition, but was able to make a light-hearted joke at the end.

The “Lost” Issue

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Title: The “Lost” Issue

Informant Info: Charles Jang is an Executive Editor Emeritus and former Office Manager of The Dartmouth Review. He is a ’16 from Fort Worth, TX. He was interviewed on May 24, 2016 at the Review office in Hanover, NH.

Type of Lore: Verbal, Legend

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social / Cultural Context: Adobe InDesign is the program used by the Review to digitally create the issues. The informant is also one of the major characters in this story. The legend refers to actual events and serves to remind its listeners within the Review that working at the Review is not all fun and games. This legend makes light of the difficult work that goes into the issues.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0ZFaS_-F2o&feature=youtu.be

Transcript:

There’s another time that we thought we had lost an entire issue. This is one of our previous Editors, and so we didn’t finish laying out the issue but we made a lot of progress one night, and our editor was in class, and I didn’t have class that morning so I decided to head into the office early and get some work done on laying out some more pieces. And so I got to the saved file for like, May 20th, whatever, and I look and to my horror there is the cover and 15 blank pages, and I started going into a panic attack and I texted our editor, and he started panicking and we’re both freaking out because we have to lay the entire issue that night, and I decide to make the job easier and to start laying out as much as i can, so I go into all of the template pages and I start to paste the articles into the page template, and then I finally open the cover template and the entire issue is saved there. It’s just that we have a love-hate, kind of a love-hate-hate relationship with InDesign, which is the program we use to edit our paper, because our editor, he was famous for just quietly typing away, clicking away, trying to get everything to fit on the page, he’s kind of like a volcano, he’d just like be sitting there quietly mumbling under his breath, and scotch sipping intensifies, and then when something just goes entirely wrong he just throws down the mouse, says “screw InDesign,” and just walks away for awhile. His hatred for InDesign was pretty legendary. He used more pungent language than I did there.

Collector’s Comments: One of the collectors has actually attempted to use InDesign. It is a slow, frustrating, and irritating process. The struggle of laying out the issue in InDesign is a unifying experience in the Review, and making fun of it through legends helps bring the organization together. Angry, almost violent outbursts at InDesign’s perceived faults are common within the organization.

Having a Ball

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Title: Having a Ball

Informant info: Informant name is Jason Laackmann. Jason is twenty-eight years old and attends Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH as a United States Army Veteran. Jason served in the Army for five years in active duty and continues to serve in the Minnesota National Guard. Jason has served in Fort Bend, Georgia, Fort Riley, Kansas, and overseas in Eastern Afghanistan.

Type of lore: Customary, Ceremony, Tradition

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Jason was interviewed at Dartmouth College. Jason was asked to talk about any ceremonies or traditions that took place in his time in the army.

Associated File: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6KcnEdk7Q4 (start at 2:05)

Transcript: [I have recorded the item exactly how it was told to me in the interview]: Each, each unit has there own, uh, specific history. So a lot of what you’re doing in the military is tied to your unit lineage. Um, so understanding, uh what your unit did in previous wars is really important. Um, so change of command ceremonies are always important. There’s a lot of, regal things that happen with that. Um, so I guess some of the main traditions is to have a ball and bring your girlfriend or husband and uh have like a traditional dance, if you will.

Informant’s comments: Jason has been to a few military balls and values the regal traits.

Collector’s comments: During Jason’s response he smiled when recalling the ball and was very animated when he talked about the idea of lineage in the military.

A Rude Awakening

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Title: A Rude Awakening

Informant Info: Charles Jang is an Executive Editor Emeritus and former Office Manager of The Dartmouth Review. He is a ’16 from Fort Worth, TX. He was interviewed on May 24, 2016 at the Review office in Hanover, NH.

Type of Lore: Verbal, Legend

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social / Cultural Context: This story is about one a prank pulled on one of the Review‘s former Presidents. It is indicative of the ways in which the members of this folk interact with each other.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBMPvvrudYY&feature=youtu.be
Transcript:

So we are working at the office one night, he’s laying down on the couch, watching some TV show on his phone, as he is wont to, instead of like, I don’t know, using one of our computers, so he doesn’t have to squint at it. And inevitably of course he falls asleep. So we’re working and then about an hour later, we get the great idea of convincing him that he’s been asleep for longer than he actually has. So we shake him awake and we’re like, “hey, we’re going to get breakfast, do you want anything?” And he’s like, “no I’m gonna go back to sleep.” And so he goes back to sleep, and then 3 minutes later we shake him awake again, and we say “hey it’s lunchtime, dude you really need to get up, don’t you have class soon?” and he’s like “no, I want to go to sleep, no.” And then we shake him awake for dinner time like an hour later and he finally gets up and then we take him outside and of course it’s really dark outside because it’s like 2 AM or something, it was pretty good.

Collector’s Comments: This legend is indicative of the fact that members of the Review are a tight-knit community who know each other well enough to have fun and mess with each other. How much of this legend is true and how much is exaggerated cannot be verified, but it speaks to the broader culture of the organization in that this type of behavior would not be considered out of the ordinary in the organization.

 

Not Very Nice

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Title: Not Very Nice

Informant Info: Charles Jang is an Executive Editor Emeritus and former Office Manager of The Dartmouth Review. He is a ’16 from Fort Worth, TX. He was interviewed on May 24, 2016 at the Review office in Hanover, NH.

Type of Lore: Verbal, Joke

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social / Cultural Context: This joke is quite new to the Review, and it arose from a series of controversial events that took place on the Dartmouth campus during Fall term 2016. The series of events culminated in Vice Provost for Student Affairs Inge-Lise Ameer saying a series of rather controversial and one-sided statements that subsequently caused many to criticize her. Eventually, Dean Ameer was forced to apologize for saying that conservatives are “not very nice.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkOgjHqWF0A&feature=youtu.be

Transcript:

Oh god, where to begin. We like to make fun of Dean Ameer a lot. After the library protest, she had to tuck the protesters into bed by saying “there’s a whole conservative world out there that’s not very nice.” And we’ve been calling ourselves “not very nice” ever since.

Collector’s Comments:  The Review was at the forefront of the campus political dialogue during this period of time, and Dean Ameer’s comments will definitely not be forgotten by the Review any time soon. This joke serves to remind Review members of the events revolving around this phrase, which attracted national attention and much positive publicity for the Review on account of its strong reporting. It also reminds Reviewers of the openly adverse reaction by some members of the administration toward the Review.

The Legend of Tonald Drump

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Title: The Legend of Tonald Drump

Informant Info: Charles Jang is an Executive Editor Emeritus and former Office Manager of The Dartmouth Review.  He is a ’16 from Fort Worth, TX. He was interviewed on May 24, 2016 at the Review office in Hanover, NH.

Type of Lore: Verbal, Legend

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social / Cultural Context: The legend refers to a former President and member of the Review and some of his deeds and exploits during his time within the organization. It is considered and presented as an entertaining story.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT1_ge28ovU&feature=youtu.be

Transcript:

I was told not to use real names, so we will call him “Tonald Drump.” So Tonald was a real, real character, that one. I believe another staffer and I looked at the Wikipedia article for sociopathy, and it turns out he fulfilled like four of the five main characteristics. For one, he embezzled from the Review, just so he could pay for his checked baggage on Canada Air. For another one, he bought the crappiest furniture possible, so within about 6 months they started breaking down, chairs (not these chairs, these are nice), but yeah there’s one right behind my interviewer there, they started breaking down. A coffee table, which broke when another staff member accidentally kicked it. Let’s see, what other stuff is there?  I’m blanking at the moment. He worked at a firm, which I am told not to name, where he had to get as part of an assignment, information from this lady who had just come back from maternity leave, and of course she’s like “Well, Tonald Drump, I can’t help you right now, I have to get caught up on the work that I actually have to do.” And of course, Tonald Drump does not take “no” for an answer. I believe one of his plans is to take over a small African nation and rule it as a dictator someday. And so he keeps pestering her by email, and she says cut it out, I have work to do. And then he finds a way through outlook to send an email every 15 minutes, and you know what he does when she storms up to him and says please stop doing this, he sets the interval to 5 minutes. I don’t think he got a job there after his internship was up.  Just a hunch. He’s a real character, that one.

Collector’s Comments: This legend serves as a prime example of some of the unique personalities that find themselves working for the Review.  The entertainment value of this legend comes from hearing these stories recounted in the presence of staffers who knew the individual in this legend personally. It is also entertaining having these legends introduced to new staffers. It is unknown whether or not some of his exploits have been exaggerated.

Freshman of the Week

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Title: Freshman of the Week

Informant Info: Mene Ukueberuwa is an Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of The Dartmouth Review. He is a ’16 (formerly ’14) from Princeton, NJ. He was interviewed on May 12, 2016 at the Collis Center in Hanover, NH.

Type of Lore: Customary, Tradition

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social / Cultural Context:  The freshmen tend to be the new members of the organization. This small tradition serves the purpose of recognizing their efforts and contributions as well as bringing the entire organization closer together on a weekly basis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYmazikUGQA&feature=youtu.be

Transcript:

So, one of the smaller and probably newer traditions we have is called the Freshman of the Week, and of course that is one of the more frequent ones that plays out on a weekly basis. Basically, when any freshman has either distinguished himself in a good way, by contributing something very positive to the paper, like helping out with layout or has distinguished himself in a negative way, which could take a variety of forms that I won’t go into, we single them out either for corresponding praise or maybe make them do a task or something small to embarrass himself in front of the staff. So basically, it is just a way of highlighting our freshman and you know, kind of putting them under the spotlight a little bit … Nothing shareworthy strikes me at the moment, to be honest. But it’s always good fun. It’s nothing too bad.

Honoring the freshman of the week

Honoring the freshman of the week

Collector’s Comments: Details about the particulars of the tradition were not forthcoming in the interview. As with the other main Review traditions of Changeover and the Gala, outsiders are not privy to the exact details of these regular occurrences. Nevertheless, we were able to confirm the existence of the tradition and its general purpose within the organization.

Changeover

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Title: Changeover

Informant Info: Mene Ukueberuwa is an Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of The Dartmouth Review. He is a ’16 (formerly ’14) from Princeton, NJ. He was interviewed on May 12, 2016 at the Collis Center in Hanover, NH.

Type of Lore: Customary, Ritual

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social / Cultural Context:  Winter Carnival is a larger Dartmouth tradition in the middle of winter. It is a convenient time for the Review to have changeover, as the board of directors and some alumni return for the big weekend. It is important for the organization to have leadership pass from class to class before seniors graduate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPxWY6Lo5B0&feature=youtu.be

Transcript:

So another tradition we have is our changeover dinner, that happens once a year, the weekend of Winter Carnival is when we decide who the new Editor and President are going to be, so they sit for interviews with our advisory board, and then the new Editor, President are always announced at our dinner that we have off campus, usually at a hotel, a country club, or something like that.  It gives us a chance to have a kind of formal gathering of all of the staff on campus and some of our alumni who come back to celebrate the transition … Well, it’s always a festive time for staffers. Do you want me to go into full detail here? … Yes.  There was one staffer who may have gotten a little bit carried away with the libations. I don’t think that he was particularly used to it at that point in his Dartmouth career, and he ended up actually salivating a bit, drooling on one of the members of our advisory board, but I think it was all taken in good fun, and it was a sign that the undergrads are still just as lively as when he had been here at Dartmouth.

Collector’s Comments: The Review’s annual tradition of changeover can be interpreted as a ritual in Arnold van Gennep’s framework for rites of passage. Before the event of changeover, separation occurs, as the previous leadership symbolically steps down. The event itself is transition, with the passing of the torch from the old leadership to new leadership. The incorporation phase is ongoing throughout the rest of winter and spring term as the new Editor and President grow into their roles with the mentorship of the Emeritus Editor and President. Mene was willing to share a story that demonstrated the festive atmosphere of the event, but many of the other details of event do not seem to be privy to the public.

High School Team Cheer

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  1. Title: Rosemount High School Team Cheer
  2. Informant: Keely McLean, 15, Female.  Keely is a freshman in high school and two-year member of the Rosemount High School Women’s Swim Team (she also swam as an 8th grader).  She has swam for several years now and currently competes at a high school level.
  3. Customary: Ritual
  4. Language: English
  5. Country of Origin: United States
  6. Social / Cultural Context: This is one of a few different cheers that is performed at a high school meet prior to the start.  In this particular video, the cheer was performed at Sectional Championships by the members of the Rosemount High School Women’s Swim and Dive team.
  7. https://youtu.be/je-2YwqhQyQ
  8. Transcript:“I (I)

    I (I)

    I Believe (I Believe)

    I Believe That (I Believe That)

    I Believe That We Will Win

    (I Believe That We Will Win)x3”

  9. Informant’s comments: Keely commented that this is one of the most common cheers they do.  It is a call and response cheer performed before the meet.  Keely mentioned that all the teams do their cheers around the same time, taking turns so they are not all going at once.
  10. Collector’s comments:  The structure and context of cheer were similar to what we’ve seen in other levels of swimming.
  11. Tags/Keywords: Team Cheer

Technology and Email

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Title: Technology and Email

Informant Info: Mene Ukueberuwa is an Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of The Dartmouth Review. He is a ’16 (formerly ’14) from Princeton, NJ. He was interviewed on May 12, 2016 at the Collis Center in Hanover, NH.

Type of Lore: Verbal, Joke

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Social / Cultural Context:  Technology and in particular jokes about Jeff Hart’s email have become a part of the Review. It has become somewhat of a joke for Reviewers to refer to themselves as “vigilantly crusading against technology since 1980.” It is poking fun at how conservatives are often regarded as old-fashioned and against progress, making light of the legendary figure of Jeff Hart as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b4pa1gT814&feature=youtu.be

Transcript:

Well we’ve had some big colorful characters like I mentioned. One of them is our illustrious founder, Jeffrey Hart, who despite his brilliant side, the field of English and interpretation, definitely was not the most technologically savvy. So one of the funnier things was the fact that he never really quite got a grasp of email. But I think, one of the staffers or another young person in his life encouraged him to start using email as a communication medium. He took it up and he would actually type out the emails perfectly, you know like, good language, proper formatting, but then rather than send the email via the internet, he would actually just print it out and then put it in the post as a regular letter, and I think it was totally lost on him that he wasn’t getting it quite right.  

Collector’s Comments: The veracity of the story behind the email jokes is to be questioned, but staffers often make fun of their technological competence (or lack thereof) in a display of solidarity with Jeff Hart. For example, staff members may joke about how they would like to return to communicating by carrier pigeon and telegraph, rather than using more modern forms of communication such as “the interwebs,” whatever they are.