General Information:

Informant: Macklin Ayers 

Place: Dartmouth College

Date: October 9th, 2021

Form of Folklore: Customary, Parade

Title: Athletes parade   

Contextual Data: 

Social Data: The folklore was collected during an interview with the informant. The person I interviewed is a 24’ who experienced their first Dartmouth homecoming this year. Every homecoming weekend, athletes parade around the city handing out candy in celebration of homecoming weekend.  

Cultural Data:

Dartmouth Homecoming is something that is very special and dear to the town of Hanover. Dartmouth athletics serve as a key event to attend, not only for the students of the college, but also the residence of the city as Dartmouth College is said to have a college town.    

Associated File:

Collector:

“Why do (or don’t) you take part in traditions such as the homecoming parade?”

Informant:

“ I like to take part in the Dartmouth parade because it shows everyone my involvement within the college. Coming into Dartmouth and being part of a sport is one of the best decisions I have ever made. While on the parade you get to interact with other sports teams and learn more about them and their sport ultimately bringing athletes  closer together.  

Collector’s Comment:

This folklore demonstrates a tradition that is shared within Dartmouth athletics.

Tags/ Keywords

Dartmouth Athletics

Elite

College Sports

Ivy League

Hanover  

Collectors Name: Leonard St Gourdin

General Data:

Informant: Tevita Moi Moi 

Place: Dartmouth College

Date: October 25th, 2020

Form of Folklore: Customary

Title: Lous Challenge  

Social Data:

The folklore was collected during an interview with the informant. The Lous challenge gives participants the task of staying up throughout the night, something that is referred to as “pulling an all nighter.” It is typically done with a group of friends which at the end brings a closer bond amongst everyone. 

Cultural Data:

Dartmouth is located in the town of Hanover which is also home to the Lous restaurant     

Associated File:

Collector:

“Are there any other traditions we haven’t discussed that you think are important to fall of freshman year at Dartmouth ?”

Informant:

“A challenge that I have taken part of is the Lous challenge. So how the challenge goes is that you will have to pull an all nighter. Typically I have heard of students taking on the challenge after finishing finals. After completing the all-nighter, students will grab a meal at 7AM at the Lous restaurant in Hanover as a token of completion. This challenge has definitely given me great memories my freshman fall and also brought me closer to the group of friends I had the privilege to get to know.” 

Collector’s Comment:

This piece of folklore shows an activity done by freshmen with the outcome of bringing the group’s bond closer together through the challenge.

Tags/Keywords:

Custom

English

Freshman Fall

All nighter

Collectors Name: Leonard St Gourdin

General Information 

Title: Sun Hike to Gile

Form of Folklore: customary, Gile Moutain

Language: English

Place of Origin: Hanover, NH, United States

Informant: Bamlak Messay

Date Collected: September 14th, 2019

Informant Data:

This informant is a member of the Dartmouth Class of 23′ and is on the pre med track. She is a native of Virginia where majority of her family resides.

Social Data: 

This piece of folklore was collected through an interview process with the informant. The informant is currently a ‘23 at Dartmouth and discussed a tradition she remembers from her freshman fall of 2019. During freshman fall, Freshmans at Dartmouth go  on hike early in the morning at 4:40 AM to Guile mountain to view the sunrise as well as the scenery of the fall leaves.

Associated File:

Collector:

“Are there any other traditions we haven’t discussed that you think are important to fall of freshman year at Dartmouth ?”

Informant Comments:

“One of the special experiences that I had the privilege to be a part of was the Sun rise hike to Gile mountain. I went with the majority of my classmates at about 4:40 AM which was a big sacrifice but worth it. The scene was beautiful as it showed the changing colors of the trees around as well as bodies of water really giving a great view of nature around Dartmouth. 

Collector Comment:

This folklore demonstrates a shared experience of freshmans when they enter the Dartmouth community in order to familiarize themselves  with the area that they will spend a lot of time in. 

Tags/ Keywords:

Hike

Freshman trip

Dartmouth first years

Gile Mountain

Collectors Name: Leonard St Gourdin

General Information 

Title: Dartmouth Alma Mater

Form of Folklore: Verbal, Chant

Language: English

Place of Origin: Hanover, NH, United States

Informant: Dario Arazi

Date Collected: October 9th, 2021

Informant Data:

This informant is a member of the Dartmouth Class of 24′ and is also a member of the football team. Outside of Dartmouth, he is a New York City native who has a strong interest in Climate activity.

Social Data: 

The folklore was collected during an interview with the informant. In 2020 the fall season for all Ivy sports were taken away. This student athlete did not have the opportunity to experience every aspect of being part of the team he participates in which is football. This folklore is the Dartmouth Alma Mater which is sung after a win by the football team post game. The team locks arms together and sings with participants of the crowd to celebrate victory. 

Associated File:

Collector:

“Are there any other traditions we haven’t discussed that you think are important to fall of freshman year at Dartmouth ?”

Informant Comments:

“Something that I feel very grateful to be a part of is the Alma Mater song that we sing after games. My freshman year we were still heavily in a pandemic so we did not get the opportunity to experience it freshman year because of Ivy League sports getting shut down. It’s been pretty special seeing the culture of the team after a hard fought win singing with Dartmouth students, staff, and supporters.”

Collector Comment:

This folklore demonstrates a tradition within the football community. There is the verbal folklore that sings a song special to Dartmouth only, its Alma Mater. 

Tags/Keywords:

Chant

Dartmouth alumnis

Dartmouth Students

Dartmouth Football

Collectors Name: Leonard St Gourdin

General Information 

Title: Fire Prep

Form of Folklore: Customary, Indoors prep event

Language: English

Place of Origin: Hanover, NH, United States

Informant: Sarah Allen

Date Collected: October 9th, 2019

Informant Data:

This information is a female student at Dartmouth college in the class of 2023. She resides in Jamaica and spends her time in Hanover, New Hampshire during the year. She also plans to gain her degree in Math upon graduation in 2023. 

Social Data: 

Each homecoming weekend at Dartmouth there are a series of events taking place on campus, mainly the bonfire. Prior to the bonfire each dorm and floor tend to have events for freshmen to get them better acquainted with each other, giving a sense of interaction beforehand to give the bonfire more of a community look.

Item: The residents of Mid Faye 1st floor annually have a gathering where they prepare a variety of things for the homecoming bonfire.

Associated File:

Collector: “Why do (or don’t) you take part in traditions such as the homecoming bonfire?”

Informant Comments:

“Being a part of traditions at Dartmouth is very unique. Coming in as a regular student compared to athletes we do not come with a team. Having a tradition for our floor such as the event before the fire made it a lot easier for me to be able to talk to classmates before such a social and memorable event. It was also very fun because we were able to create glow stick necklaces, glasses, and also meet other people through the games we played in playsets. 

Collector Comment:

The Midfaye first floor event is an example of rites of passage because it is strictly experienced by the members of the first floor of Fayerweather Mid. This event can also be looked at as they are transitioning into the bigger Dartmouth community through these interactions of playing games as well as grabbing their glow sticks. 

Tags/ Keywords:

Homecoming

Mid-Faye

First Floor

Bonfire

Collectors Name: Leonard St Gourdin