Bequest/Chip Ceremony

Title: Bequest/Chip Ceremony

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Russell Beckerman is a male Dartmouth student in the class of 2019. He was born and raised in Mendham, New Jersey. During his time at Dartmouth, Russell studied engineering. He is currently in his fifth year completing a Bachelor’s of Engineering degree. Russell joined ski patrol in the winter of 2016, during his freshman year at Dartmouth.

Contextual Data:

Many groups and teams at Dartmouth have a tradition of seniors “bequesting” or handing down objects and items of clothing to underclassmen before graduation. Ski Patrol participates in this tradition with the unique aspect of telling funny stories or doing small skits to introduce or explain the bequest. Also, many of the items passed down are skiing-related.

Item:

The bequest ceremony is a ceremony that takes place toward the end of every spring term before the seniors graduate. They pass down fun ski gear and costumes to underclassmen, accompanied with a funny story or skit to explain the choice of item and recipient. During this ceremony, seniors also receive chips that they are supposed to keep with them at all times post graduation to symbolize their continued membership of ski patrol. Very soon after the ceremony, the new board of executives are elected from the junior class for the following year.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

“One big ceremony comes to mind when you talk about tradition and graduating out of ski patrol, and that’s our bequest ceremony, or we also call it our chip ceremony… The seniors that have been on ski patrol for four years have the opportunity to hand down funky gear and costumes that they’ve collected over the years throughout ski patrol to the younger members. This includes some short mini skis and funky goggles and different things that people wear on the hill throughout the year. It’s pretty entertaining to see who gets what items from the upperclassmen, and in addition to this, this is where the seniors then receive their ski patrol tokens or chips which are basically certify that we are ongoing members of the ski patrol community and its something that we are supposed to have on our person at all times… and essentially just signifies within the ski patrol community who is a patroller… its a nationwide ski patrol tradition, but something we also do at Dartmouth.”

Informant’s Comments:

“Its very lively, a celebration… It’s also is like a passing of the torch down to the younger class and… they’ll elect their leaders.”

Collector’s Comments:

This ceremony represents a rite of passage within the group and the seniors go on to graduate from Dartmouth. It is a separation ritual in the sense that the seniors give away many of the items they’ve collected as members of ski patrol and separate themselves from the current group to become alumni. They also give up their power and control of the group when the board effectively steps down in preparation of the next class’s elections that will take place within a few days of this ceremony. It also provides a space for this transition of power to happen, and for members of the team to spend one last time together as that year’s group. The chips on the other hand are a form of incorporating the seniors into the group even as alumni. These chips signify that a member of ski patrol retains that community for life, even once they have left Dartmouth. They are a symbol of pride, as patrollers will bring them out to connect with and relate to other ski patrollers on mountains, and one of community and their continual open invitation to return to campus to pick up a shift and see the group.

Collector’s Name: Lindsay Pitt

Tags/Keywords:

Dartmouth Folklore Archive