Author Archives: Luke Hudspeth

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Title: How to ward off S & S.

Genre: Customary Folklore

S&S Folkore

Informant info: Krissy Saraceno. From Boston Massachusetts. Female Dartmouth ‘19 student. Lives on campus at Dartmouth in Russell Sage Hall. 19 years old.

Type of Lore: Customary lore, Ritualistic

Language: English

Country of Origin: USA

Social / Cultural Context: Students drinking in a dorm room can be faced with a lot of trouble if caught by S&S during one of their walkthroughs. The ritual described below is one that nearly every student performs, but very few notice, because we are all part of the folk. A lot of students at Dartmouth have their friends visit their rooms in order to hang out and possibly drink, therefore in order to escape notice from S&S, students perform this ritual.

Video: https://youtu.be/JQunnbKolsE This is a video interview with informant explaining the ritual. Krissy is walking the collectors through the process of how she would prepare herself and her room on the chance there would drinking taking place. 

Transcript: This is customary folklore, but verbally explained by informant. The informant describes how she locks the door, shuts the blind, and makes sure not to play loud music.

Informant’s comments: The informant described this ritual as a very common practice, and did not have very negative things to say about S&S, merely that many students obviously seek to escape possibly punishment.

Collector’s comments: This item is something I have observed myself in my time at Dartmouth, many students seem to practice this ritual.

 

Collected by Carter Copeland and Luke Hudspeth

May 23, 2016

 

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Title: Bells for S&S

Genre: Customary Folklore

S&S Folkore

Informant info: Daniel C. Reitsch, from Rockford, IL, VP at Chi Heorot Fraternity and Dartmouth class of 2016 President

Type of lore: Customary

Language: English

Country of Origin: U.S.A

Social / Cultural Context: Greek Houses tend to be lenient in regards to serving minors alcohol; therefore, they can find themselves in trouble if campus security discovers that they are doing such an act. Accordingly, campus security performs “walkthroughs” in which they knock on the fraternity door and then do a walkthrough to make sure that all college rules are being followed. Greek houses have rituals that they perform in order to make sure they pass walkthroughs.

Transcript: “At some greek houses, when someone believes that S & S is at their door, they initiate a buzzer or bell system to warn everyone in the house in case they are doing something that would get them in trouble.” 

Collector’s comments: The informant was very matter of fact about the rituals, he did acknowledge that he had never seen the bell system in use, but that it was a system that he had heard was used in the past very often.

 

Collected by Robert Moffitt, Class of 2016.

May 18th, 2016