Author Archives: f001yhw

Camp Shirt

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Title: Camp Shirt

General Information about Item:

  • Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Leigh Steinberg
  • Date Collected: February 24, 2018

Informant Data:

  • The informant is from the suburbs of Philadelphia. Her father is a lawyer and her mother is wealth adviser. She has attended private school for her entire life.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Academics are again very important to the parents of this informant. She is a younger sister so growing up she observed how her parents dealt with her older sister who was intelligent, but struggled with motivation. In order to avoid these confrontations with her parents regarding her schoolwork she was a hard worker and a high achiever.  This folklore is performed the day or night before the exam.
  • Cultural Context: This informant has always cared about her academics and needs to feel like she has some sort of control over the outcome of each exam.

Item:

  • This informant annotates all her notes for the exam again the night before. She also goes to sleep in a specific camp shirt the night before every exam. During the exam, she always has at least two pens or pencils out so she does not have to go back into her backpack. She feels that this will be distracting if she has to break her focus from the exam to grab another writing utensil.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The camp shirt is something I have been wearing before an exam for many years. It holds a certain amount of luck at this point, as it has served me well so far on exams.

Collector’s Comments:

  • The camp shirt, although a superstition, can also act as contagious magic, as she believes sleeping in it transfers some sort of success to her during tests.

Collector’s Name: Abigeal Aboaba

Tags/Keywords:

  • Superstition
  • Camp

Temperature

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Title: Temperature

General Information about Item:

  • Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Rachael Onserio
  • Date Collected: February 24, 2018

Informant Data:

  • The informant is from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Both of her parents were born and raised in Kenya. She is the oldest of four children. Her younger brother and sister both attend Harvard University and her youngest sister is currently in middle school. Her mother is a social worker and her father is a financial consultant. She attended a college prep school for high school.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Her parents are very focused on she and her siblings’ academics and education in general. She attended a college prep school in highs school which had a rigid set of rules and this translated into how she goes about taking tests. The also states that she has test anxiety so this is done to alleviate that. All of these elements together have shaped her test taking habits.
  • Cultural Context: African families really tend to stress the important of getting an education and doing well in the process. This could be a contributing factor to the way that she views and approaches exams.

Item:

  • She needs to be wearing layers while taking the exam so she can add and remove clothing as needed throughout the exam. She does this because her body temperature is not regulated while taking the exam, it distracts her and takes away from the attention she should be paying to her exam. She also needs to have a water bottle and a watch with her so she can keep track of the time remaining for the exam. These helps her with time management and allows her to allot the appropriate amount of time to each question. Many of these superstitions she learned from her friends at school, who had similar body temperature control issues and anxiety during exams.

Informant’s Comments:

  • Education is very important to myself and my family. I have to be prepared for anything during the exam and these superstitions make me feel prepared.

Collector’s Comments:

  • People have different ways of coping with stress, such as following certain superstitions to ease their mind.

Collector’s Name: Abigeal Aboaba

Tags/Keywords:

  • Superstition
  • Temperature
  • Water
  • Watch

Squash Match

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Title: Squash Match

General Information about Item:

  • Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Sean Oen
  • Date Collected: March 1, 2018

Informant Data:

  • The informant is from Princeton, New Jersey he is a Dartmouth sophomore currently studying government. Sean is an avid member of both the Dartmouth Varsity Squash Team and Psi Upsilon fraternity. The informant has one older brother.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant went to school in Princeton, New Jersey where he learned how to play squash. Sean played squash throughout high school while simultaneously focusing on academics. Squash has been a big part of Sean’s life and has allowed him to pursue his academics at a high quality school such as Dartmouth.
  • Cultural Context: Like many other athletes Sean also believes that school always comes before squash. Being involved in squash is not just about being a good player, it’s about being a good teammate. To foster growth within the team, many of the members share traditions that they pass on to other members of the team.

Item:

  • Before every test, the informant will play a match of squash with one of his teammate in order to get into the proper mindset of performance on the test. The informant even follows this strict tradition during finals. This is a common tradition among other member of Sean’s squash team.   

Informant’s Comments:

  • This is something that my team has done since I arrived at Dartmouth. I am proud to continue on with this superstition.

Collector’s Comments:

  • Many teams hold certain superstitions on their teams that they believe will lead to success in their sport and in their academics.

Collector’s Name: Matt Moniz

Tags/Keywords:

  • Superstition
  • Squash
  • Sports

Cross

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Title: Cross

General Information about Item:

  • Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Anonymous
  • Date Collected: March 8, 2018

Informant Data:

  • The informant is from the Bay Area in California. He lives with his two parents and younger sister in a middle-class home in the suburbs of San Francisco. He was raised Christian. He is currently a fifth-year senior at Dartmouth College, aged 22. The informant has requested anonymity for this collection.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Growing up in a Christian household brings with it all the superstitions of the faith, and the informant was exposed to these from an early age. The idea of crossing himself at church, in athletics, at school, and in life in general, was imparted on him through the actions of his family members, and the act itself became commonplace and ritual.
  • Cultural Context: Christians cross themselves during prayers, which are often recited or exercised in times of stress, before and after important events, and in everyday life. The sign is associated with giving thanks to God, and in ways as a ward of protection against evil and a request for strength to succeed.

Item:

  • The informant crosses himself before starting an exam.

Informant’s Comments:

  • I have been crossing myself for a very long time because of the religious background I have. Many other people I know also perform this action.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This type of folklore is well known and has been around for a very long time. This goes along with the transition from magic to religion to science for phenomena explanation.

Collector’s Name: Spencer Ross

Tags/Keywords:

  • Superstition
  • Cross

Good Pair

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Title: Good Pair

General Information about Item:

  • Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Anonymous
  • Date Collected: March 8, 2018

Informant Data:

  • The informant is from Queens, New York. He was raised in an upper-middle class Jewish family, although he does not practice the faith. He has 2 older brothers and is currently a senior at Dartmouth College. He is 22 years old. The informant requested anonymity for this collection.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant found that comfort and confidence often assisted him in taking exams under pressure. Given that the informant is graduating early, his workload throughout his years at Dartmouth has been rigorous and test-heavy. This environment conditioned the informant to ensure he was confident and comfortable for when exams rolled around.
  • Cultural Context: Most people find that their clothes serve them as a unique form of expression. Individuals choose outfits that best fit occasions, make statements about individuality of character, and are comfortable. The informant has always appreciated the value of being well dressed, whether it be formal wear or high quality casual wear, and believes that he performs better in situations where he feels comfortable in his clothes. Underwear is no exception.

Item:

  • The informant wears any of an assortment of “good pairs” of underwear for exams, something he described as being of a certain material to maximize comfort.

Informant’s Comments:

  • Certain clothes just make you feel good. They give off a positive aura when taking an exam.

Collector’s Comments:

  • Many people have this technique of wearing certain good clothing for an exam. Like “Dress Well Test Well,” certain clothes are associated with the magical quality of success.

Collector’s Name: Spencer Ross

Tags/Keywords:

  • Superstition
  • Underwear

The Run

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Title: The Run

General Information about Item:

  • Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Origin: Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Raiden Meyer
  • Date Collected: March 1, 2018

Informant Data:

  • The informant is from Marin, California, he is a Dartmouth Sophomore currently living part time in Hanover, New Hampshire. Raiden is an active member of the Dartmouth Ski Patrol at the Dartmouth Skiway. The informant has one younger sister.   

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: The informant went to school in Marin County California where he performed at the top of his class and had exceptional test grades. Throughout high school Raiden was very involved in cross country, competing at a very high level. After highschool the informant choose to focus on school and stopped running competitively.
  • Cultural Context: There are a number of traditions that runners on the informants cross country team shared. Members of Raiden’s cross country team lived by the motto, “student before athlete” and many members on the team took school very seriously. Being on a team helped spread the running folklore between team mates. Sports teams commonly share a variety of folklore. 

Item:

  • Before every test, the informant and a few of his teammates would go for a run to decrease stress and increase performance.

Informant’s Comments:

  • My team introduced me to this superstition and I truly believe it has worked throughout the years.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This superstition can be backed by folklore and even scientific data, as it can be scientifically proven that running decreases stress before an anxiety-heavy situation like an exam.

Collector’s Name: Matt Moniz

Tags/Keywords:

  • Superstition
  • Run
  • Stress