General Information:
Title: DOC Trips
Form of Folklore: Customary, outdoors trip
Language: English
Place of Origin: Hanover, NH, United States
Informant: G.M.
Date Collected: October 29th, 2021

Informant Data: 
G.M. is a 22-year-old member of the Dartmouth class of 2022. He is a history major with a focus on global economic history, and a member of a fraternity on campus. He grew up in New York City and enjoys being able to enjoy the nature of New Hampshire. In his spare time he enjoys hiking, snowboarding, and swimming in natural waters. 

Contextual Data:
– Social Context: The first thing G.M. experienced at Dartmouth was the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) First-Year Trips Program. The Trips program is organized and run by upperclassmen students through the DOC, and takes place prior to students moving into their dormitories and attending ‘Orientation Week’. The program is a collection of organized seven-day trips, and is aimed at giving students a brief introduction to some other freshmen and upperclassmen, and to give students a taste of Dartmouth before formally moving in and starting the orientation program. Groups of five to eight incoming students are paired with two upperclassmen, and each group is assigned an activity to do over the course of three to four days, ranging from hiking to canoeing to farming to arts and crafts. G.M. participated in the ‘Hiking 4 Trip’, a hiking trip for students with prior hiking experience. Students are randomly assigned their upperclassmen leaders and fellow group of freshmen (their ‘trippees’), and because students are arriving from all over the country (and the world) the students are exposed to people from varying backgrounds and interests. At the time of collection, George is a senior reflecting back on his freshman year experience. 
– Cultural Context: Participating in the DOC Trips program is an important experience for most students, particularly because roughly 90% of the freshmen participate every year. It is a common experience the incoming freshmen share, and it serves as a commonality among all students to discuss during the first weeks at Dartmouth. It is also an important tradition as it introduces students to the DOC, a very large organization on campus that oversees a lot of smaller sub clubs. One of Dartmouth’s unique selling points is the opportunity to use the surrounding outdoors, and the DOC offers students of all experience levels the opportunity to engage in all sorts of outdoors activities in New Hampshire, Vermont, and beyond. Because Dartmouth markets itself as an outdoors-oriented school, the widespread participation in DOC Trips cements Dartmouth’s image as a place where you can enjoy and learn to enjoy nature. 

Item: 
During the weeks before the freshman orientation program, Dartmouth’s freshmen participate in the DOC Trips. The freshmen arrive on campus and meet outside Robinson Hall (DOC headquarters) where they are greeted by upperclassmen dressed in colorful and flamboyant outfits. They meet their upperclassmen leaders and their trippees, and spend the first night preparing for their trip. Early the next morning they embark on their activity, and for the next three days they only interact with the members of their group. G.M. and his trippees spent four days hiking mountains in New Hampshire. The last night, all the various trips groups unite at the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge, regardless of what activities they have been doing over the past few days, and they all participate in songs and dance before returning to campus the next day. 

Associated File:

Transcript: 
Collector: “What do you remember most about DOC Trips?” 

Informant: “We got lost on our hike and didn’t end up making it to our campsite on time. It was pouring rain and we just had to put tarps up on the trail and the whole thing was miserable. But, you know, good friends are made in misery. I knew that the people on my trip weren’t going to be my close friends, but it felt really nice having people to text during the first few weeks when I had no one to hang out with. Eventhough you are randomly assigned your trippees and it can put you in an awkward ill-fitting social circle, it puts you in a social circle nonetheless.” 

Collector Comment:
I had the flu during my assigned trip, so I was unable to participate in the trips program. However, I can understand G.M.’s sentiment that while your trips-friends might not become your best friends, you have met people and spent enjoyable time with them nonetheless. 

Collected By:
Una Westvold
Oslo, Norway
Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
RUSS 013
Fall 2021