The Ledyard Bridge Challenge (Annabel Revers)

Title: The Ledyard Bridge Challenge

General Information:

Informant Data:

KC ’18 is a twenty-five-year-old female and a Dartmouth alumni. She is a member of the Class of 2018 and studied Economics and Environmental studies during her time at Dartmouth. She is from Vancouver, Canada, but is now living in New York City where she works as a consultant. During her time at Dartmouth, she was a member of a sorority and enjoyed spending time with her friends when she was not busy with work.

Contextual Data

Cultural Context: Dartmouth has various traditions that can be classified as “challenges.” While their origins are often unknown, these challenges provide students with both entertainment during their time at Dartmouth and the opportunity to participate in and perpetuate Dartmouth traditions. They also provide Dartmouth students with the opportunity to prove that they can do something challenging outside of academics and sports. Furthermore, they create a bond among the friends that attempt them together. These traditions are passed down among generations of students, and the “Ledyard Bridge Challenge” is just one of many such challenges.
Social Context: The Ledyard Challenge is typically attempted in warmer months when the water temperature is bearable to swim in. Many students aim to complete this challenge at least once during their time at Dartmouth. Sophomore Summer, or the summer during which the entire sophomore class takes summer courses, is a fairly typical time to complete the challenge because of the warm weather. The Ledyard Challenge is one of the riskier challenges in Dartmouth culture because of the possibility of being caught by campus security or Hanover police. Because of this, it is also a challenge that is quite effective in bonding students through common experience.

Item:

The “Ledyard Bridge Challenge,” also called “Ledyard,” refers to the challenge of a person, or more commonly a group, removing their clothing and swimming across the Connecticut River. The participants then run back across the Ledyard Bridge and dress themselves before they get caught by campus security or the police. For example, a student will ask their friend, “Want to do Ledyard later tonight?”.

Associated File:

Transcript: “I first heard about Ledyard my freshman year. Pretty much everyone on campus at least knows what it is by then. The thought of it terrified me at first, but I finally had the guts to try it my sophomore summer. Luckily my friends and I successfully completed the challenge without getting caught. I was so relieved! I think most people try the challenge at least once during their time at Dartmouth. As far as I can tell, it’s a tradition that’s been passed down for decades now, usually just through upperclassmen talking about it to younger students. I think most people wanna try it just for a thrill and to spice up their time here. Life gets a little monotonous on campus sometimes and you have to find ways to keep yourself entertained. It also makes you feel like you’re really a part of Dartmouth once you complete the challenge, like you really belong.”

Informant’s Comments:

Even though I found the Ledyard Challenge very stressful, I would still recommend students try it with their friends just because of what a bonding experience it is.

Collector’s Comments:

The Ledyard Challenge is something I only heard about later in my freshman year at Dartmouth. Unlike slang that refers to locations on campus, slang surrounding challenges seems to be learned a little bit later on in students’ time at Dartmouth, perhaps because it is less immediately necessary for integrating into Dartmouth culture and is typically not attempted until students are further into their time at Dartmouth. It should also be noted that the challenge itself can be considered Customary Folklore–it is the phrase itself as slang and its meaning that we are documenting here.

Collector’s Name: Annabel Revers

Tags/Keywords: Verbal Folklore, Students, English, Dartmouth, Slang, Challenges, Ledyard, Ledyard Bridge Challenge

Dartmouth Folklore Archive