Author Archives: f0024z6

Sleeping in Leverone

General Information about Item:

Genre (Subgenre): Customary Folklore (Traditions and Customs)
Language: English
Country/State: United States/New Hampshire

Informant Data:

Senior (Class of 2018) from Texas
First participated in trips his freshman year (Fall 2014)
Led Hiking 3 trip during Fall 2017 term

Contextual Data:

Social Context: Many first-year students are often nervous about meeting their peers and upperclassmen trip leaders. There is often still an atmosphere of forced friendliness after the initial dinner on the green and journey to Leverone.
Cultural Context: First-year trips is a tradition-rich practice that is conducted every year for incoming freshman students. The program is run primarily by upperclass students (both trip leaders and Croo members), who utilize lore in the form of traditional songs, dances, and customs to welcome new students to campus and create a sense of community.

Item:

On the first night of trips, all first-year students from a single trip section camp together in Leverone Fieldhouse with their trip leaders. They depart early the following morning for their trip-specific destinations.

Transcript of Associated File:

“By the time you get to Leverone with your trip, it’s not quite as awkward anymore, because you’ve already done the icebreakers on the green. So now people are more familiar with the other kids on their trip and with their trip leaders, and a lot of times you’ll see them making friends with kids on other trips at Leverone when the entire section is together. My freshman year, we also got read a story by Dr. Suess, which I remember thinking was childish at the time, but now as a trip leader, it kind of makes me reflect on the importance of the traditions that we do on trips and how that’s similar to the way that Dartmouth in general holds its traditions so near and dear, even if some of them are kind of silly.”

Informant’s Comments:

The informant mentioned camping in Leverone as an important tradition that the trips program has continued for several years. According to him, the shared group bonding activities conducted at and directly before heading to Leverone – along with the uncertainty shared by first years about what the following day will look like – help create a shared bond among tripees and between trip leaders and their trippees.

Collector’s Comments:

The first night at Leverone is a way for first year students to meet other first years and trip leaders in their section that are not on their trip, and as such, is an important part of most students’ initial impression of life at Dartmouth.

Collector’s Name: Abhishek Bhargava

Tags/Keywords:

Customary Folklore, Traditions & Customs, Leverone

The Salty Dog Rag

General Information about Item:

Genre (Subgenre): Customary Folklore (Dance)
Language: English
Country/State: United States/New Hampshire

Informant Data:

Senior (Class of 2018) from New Jersey
First participated in trips his freshman year (Fall 2014)
Led climb and hike trip during Fall 2017 term

Contextual Data:

Social context: The Salty Dog Rag is a customary dance led by trip leaders and Croo members and performed by large groups of first year students shortly after they assemble at Robinson Hall after arriving to campus. Most of the students do not know each other or any of the upperclassmen.
Cultural context: The dance is supposed to help first-year students embrace the novelty and unfamiliarity of college in a welcoming and supportive atmosphere, as most people (especially upperclassmen) look silly performing the dance.

Item:

The Salty Dog Rag is a whimsical dance that involves a lot of awkward motion while silly music is playing loudly.

Transcript of Informant Interview:

“You do the Salty Dog Rag before even meeting your trip leaders, so most of the freshmen don’t really know any upperclassmen, and they’re just dancing in a large mob.”

Informant’s Comments:

The informant highlighted the Salty Dog Rag as a sort of introduction to trips, wherein new members were initially exposed to what is probably the most iconic dance of trips lore.

Collector’s Comments:

The informant fondly recalled both his memory of observing first-years perform the dance this fall and his memory of performing the dance as a first-year himself.

Collector’s Name: Abhishek Bhargava

Tags/Keywords:

Customary, Tradition, Song/Dance, Salty Dog Rag

Games on the Green

1 Reply

General Information about Item:

Genre (Subgenre): Customary Folklore (Games)
Language: English
Country/State: United States/New Hampshire

Informant Data:

Senior (Class of 2018) from New Jersey
First participated in trips his freshman year (Fall 2014)
Led climb and hike trip during Fall 2017 term

Contextual Data:

Social context: The games are played in trip groups on the Green; trip leaders lead and explain the games as necessary.
Cultural context: The games are all meant to help trippees and trip leaders bond and get to know one another better.

Item:

Mafia and Llama, Llama are popular icebreaker/introductory games played by first year trippees and their trip leaders when they assemble on the green for the first time as a group.

Transcript of Informant Interview:

“…then you go to the green and meet your trippees, and you play llama, llama or Mafia, and not everyone knows what those games are, so you explain them, and while you’re doing that everyone’s still getting to know each other, and the same thing is happening at all of the other group circles around you.”

Informant’s Comments:

The informant discussed the significance of games on the green as the first real conversations that many first-years have with each other and with their trip leaders. He indicated that he especially enjoyed that games on the green conveyed to first years that “it’s okay to be weird, because you’re trip leaders are upperclassmen that are settled into Dartmouth, and they’re still into playing weird, childish games.”

Collector’s Comments:

The informant’s face lit up as he described both the games played on the green and his personal experiences with these games first as a freshman and later as a trip leader.

Collector’s Name: Abhishek Bhargava

Tags/Keywords:

First-year trips, games, traditional lore