General Information:
Informant: DL
Place: Front of Baker-Berry Library
Date: October 15th, 2021
Genre/Form of folklore: Customary/Ritual
Title: “Class Picture”

Informant Data: DL is a 20-year-old Dartmouth college student graduating in 2024. He is from Charleston, SC, and grew up with a twin brother, a mom, and a dad. He plans to study economics and has an interest in improv comedy. He is involved in DIPP and the Greek-Life system. Currently, he lives primarily in Hanover, NH as he attends school, but his home is still Charleston when he is not at school.

Contextual Data: Every class at Dartmouth has a class picture taken of them to capture their first moments on campus as a collective group. It is meant to give them a reference point of the beginning of their Dartmouth journey, as there will be many terms when the class is not all on-campus together in the future.

Social Data: At the time the folklore was occurring, students in Dartmouth’s class of 2024 were gathered in front of Baker-Berry library in front of a large ladder with a photographer on top. I collected this folklore in person in a dorm room in Lord Hall, as DL is my roommate.

Item: Every class at Dartmouth takes a picture in front of Baker-Berry during their freshman fall term to show unity and encourage students to meet each other.

Transcript:

Collector: “What does the tradition of the class picture symbolize to you?”

Informant: “The tradition of the Dartmouth class photo is a traditional, unifying experience in which the entire class comes together under one symbolic grouping in front of a camera. It captures the moment for generations of Dartmouth students and provides everyone a chance to be a part of their class history. This one event was vital to my connection with my class and the Dartmouth community. As I stood there amongst my peers, I could feel the camaraderie and, to be frank, the love within the group.”

Collector Comments:
The one-year late class picture (posted above) felt a bit weird this year. Many students arrived at the last second, but it turned out great and it was nice to replace the virtual “picture” they had done.

Collected by:

Ross Parrish 20

Cincinnati, OH

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS 013

Fall 2021