Title: Story time at Leverone
General Information about Item:
- Customary: Tradition, Initiation
- Language: English
- Country where Item is from: USA
Informant Data:
Ethan Isaacson lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, and is currently a student at Dartmouth in the class of 2018. He was born on January 5th, 1996, and is studying chemistry and physics. He went on freshman trips when he was an incoming freshman, was a trip leader his sophomore year, and was on Hanover Croo, known as HCroo, this past fall, so has seen many different aspects of the trips program.
Leigh Steinberg was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was born on April 19, 1996. She is a student at Dartmouth in the class of 2018 and is a history major and plans on going into consulting after graduation. She was a trip leader before her sophomore year of college and was on Hanover Croo, known as HCroo, this past fall.
Contextual Data:
This happens the first night of trips, as takes place between the members of HCroo and the new freshman class. It is meant as a way to help assuage fears, provide advice for the freshman, and make everyone feel more comfortable with one another.
Item:
Until last year, HCroo would always read the story of The Lorax to the freshman right before they went to bed. They did so in order to tie them to the roots of Dartmouth, as Dr. Seuss was one of our notable alumni, and to start the campy feel to trips. However, they changed this tradition last year and replaced it with HCroo talks, which are short talks that a few HCroo members give each day to convey advice to the incoming freshman.
Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):
- Did not want to be recorded
Transcript of Associated File:
So what used to happen was that people would read the Lorax to the trippees. And I think the point of that was like silly camping that goes with the whole trips spirit but also people thought it was stupid and condescending and a waste of everybody’s time. Um so it disappeared last year and this year was replaced with three brief-ish statements from HCroo to the trippees, the purpose of which was to convey what I wish I was told when I was in your shoes. Um and people used that opportunity to do a lot of different things.
It was also helpful in that with flair and the dress it makes them feel more comfortable by us being crazy, it was a nice moment of reflection where we could come back down to earth and relate to them on a more we were once in your shoes, we understand what you’re going through, and just bringing it down in a more real way rather than adding on to the goofy silly camp stuff.
Informant’s Comments:
Collector’s Comments:
Collector’s Name: Henry Senkfor
Tags/Keywords:
- Trips, DOC, Lorax, Story, Leverone, Night