Category Archives: 18F Initiation Rituals

Dartmouth DOC First-Year Trips

Title: Matriculation Ceremony

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Dartmouth College
  • Informants: Fisher Katlin
  • Date Collected: October 23rd, 2018

Informant Data

  • Fisher Katlin is a senior at Dartmouth College, who has lived in Chicago for his whole life. He is a double majoring in Chinese and Chemistry and plans on going to medical school after college. He is an active member of the Dartmouth outdoors club and has lead Dartmouth freshman trips for two years. He was my trip leader and has remained one of my close friends at Dartmouth since then.

Contextual Data

  • Fisher has both been a trippee, which is what the freshman going on these trips are called, later served as an upperclassmen trip leader. His freshman year, he went to the Dartmouth grant on the “Climb and Hike” trip, where he was introduced to rock climbing. During his freshman trip, Fisher recalled becoming close with his upperclassmen trip leader, named Brad. Brad later introduced Fisher to the mountaineering club, a Dartmouth organization which Fisher is an active member of today. Fisher’s junior year, he led a “fishing” trip, and his senior year, he worked on “Grant Crew” and helped all of the “Hike and Climb” trips learn to rock climb.

Item

  • Every year, over 90 percent of Dartmouth first-years take part in a DOC First-Year trip, where they go on a five day outdoors trip all over New Hampshire. There are several different types of trips offered, including hiking, mountain biking, fishing, rock climbing, and many others.  These trips are characterized by various rituals, pranks, and verbal lore that encourage trippees to learn more about each other and Dartmouth culture as a whole. Fisher Katlin fondly remembers the “Robert Frost’s Ashes” prank as being a memorable and effective tradition, where the trip leaders tricked the trippees into thinking hot chocolate powder was famed Dartmouth alumni Robert Frost’s ashes. Additionally, trippees are not allowed to bring any technology with them, which creates an acutely solitary environment in which the group is intentionally coerced into being constantly engaged with each other and being present in the moment.
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Analysis

  • Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. In this ritual, the separation stage occurs when the trippees leave home and embark on their trip. Next, the transition stage happens while the students are on their trip, as they both overcome the challenges that the New Hampshire wilderness poses and learn about Dartmouth’s culture and traditions. Finally, the incorporation process occurs when the students arrive back on campus with a stronger sense of understanding and belonging in the Dartmouth community.

Meaning and interpretation

  • DOC First-Year trips serve as an important aspect of initiating freshman into Dartmouth. They welcome new freshman to campus and give them a chance to get their first taste of look into Dartmouth’s culture. While on the trips, the trippees and trip leaders are able to grow as they weather the challenges from the wilderness. Additionally, DOC First-Year trips allow Dartmouth first-years the make their first purely Dartmouth connection, both with their fellow trippees and with their upperclassmen trip leaders.
  • Comparison:
    • Comparison within the subgroup:  In this sub-group, we focused on Dartmouth College social initiation rituals. The main similarity with these initiation rituals is that they all have the three phases of initiation rituals: separation, transition, and incorporation. Another similarity between most of these rituals is that freshman experience. A student’s freshman year is a time learn about his or her new community and the traditions that form its unique culture. Freshman year is also the time that most students join the clubs or sports teams that they will be most involved in throughout their Dartmouth careers. Therefore, it makes sense that so many of the Dartmouth social initiation rituals take place during the freshman year, such as the matriculation ceremony.  The homecoming bonfire and many of the rituals in our subgroup also involve helping freshman feel like they have officially become members of the Dartmouth community, and it also forms a connection with the leader of their community.

    • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. One difference within our subgroup is who initiates and rums each initiation ritual. Sometimes these rituals are set up and funded by the Dartmouth administration, and sometimes, like in the case of DOC first-year trips, they are student-run. Another difference is the duration of each ritual. Some social spaces take a while to initiate into or involve various rituals to initiate new members, while others only require one short ritual.

     

    Transcript

    • Fisher Katlin on how DOC first-year trips act as an initiation ritual “The most important thing trips does is it gives you that first group of people from Dartmouth that you know.”

     

    • Collector: J.P. Mortenson, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

     

    • Tags/Keywords:
      • Initiation
      • Ritual
      • DOC first-year trips
      • Freshman class
      • Dartmouth

Matriculation Ceremony

Title: Matriculation Ceremony

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Dartmouth College
  • Informants: Charlie Pashlo
  • Date Collected: November 3rd, 2018

Informant Data

  • Charlie Pashlo is a freshman student at Dartmouth College and has lived in Newtown Connecticut his whole life. Because he is still in his first year at Dartmouth, Charlie has not yet decided on his major. He is on the Dartmouth Swimming team and is a teammate and close friend of mine.

Contextual Data

  • Cultural Context: I interviewed Charlie on the first floor of the Baker Library. Charlie was introduced to Dartmouth’s matriculation ceremony during orientation. He was surrounded by all of his fellow floormates during the ceremony, which took place in the early afternoon in president Phil Hanlon’s office.
  • Social Context: Dartmouth’s Matriculation Ceremony occurs during freshman orientation week. Orientation week involves many activities and traditions that help new students to bond with the other members of their class.

Item

  • Every year, all Dartmouth freshman dress up in formal attire and are led by their UGA to the school presidents office. They are greeted by the president who gives them a brief talk about the Dartmouth values. After the talk is over, he shakes the hands of every student one by one, concluding the matriculation ceremony. After they do this, they have officially concluded the matriculation process and are officially enrolled in Dartmouth College.

Analysis

  • Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. In this ritual, the separation stage occurs when the freshman gather with their floor and travel to the president’s office. Next, the transition stage happens when all the students arrive in the president’s office and listen to him speak. Finally, the incorporation process occurs when these students shake the president’s hand and return to their dorms.

Meaning and interpretation

  • The matriculation ceremony is a ritual that occurs each year during Dartmouth’s freshman orientation. It acts as a way for the students to both meet the leader of their new school and to formally enter the college. The matriculation ceremony is something that every Dartmouth student goes through, and many of them fondly remember it as it signified the official start of their time as a Dartmouth student.
  • Comparison:
    • Comparison within the subgroup:  In this sub-group, we focused on Dartmouth College social initiation rituals. The main similarity with these initiation rituals is that they all have the three phases of initiation rituals: separation, transition, and incorporation. Another similarity between most of these rituals is that freshman experience. A student’s freshman year is a time learn about his or her new community and the traditions that form its unique culture. Freshman year is also the time that most students join the clubs or sports teams that they will be most involved in throughout their Dartmouth careers. Therefore, it makes sense that so many of the Dartmouth social initiation rituals take place during the freshman year, such as the matriculation ceremony.  The matriculation ceremony and many of the rituals in our subgroup also involve helping freshman feel like they have officially become members of the Dartmouth community, and it also forms a connection with the leader of their community.
    • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. One difference within our subgroup is who initiates and rums each initiation ritual. Sometimes these rituals are set up and funded by the Dartmouth administration, and sometimes they are student-run. Another difference is the duration of each ritual. Some social spaces take a while to initiate into or involve various rituals to initiate new members, while others only require one short ritual.

 

Transcript

  • Charlie Pashlo on how Dartmouth’s matriculation ceremony acted as an initiation ritual “we weren’t really considered students of the college until we did it.”

 

  • Collector: J.P. Mortenson, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

 

  • Tags/Keywords:
    • Initiation
    • Ritual
    • Matriculation
    • Freshman class
    • Dartmouth

Lightweight Crew Initiation, Informant 2

Title: Lightweight Crew Initiation 

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Kyle Ziemer
  • Date Collected: October 30, 2018

Informant Data

  • Kyle Ziemer is a lightweight rower in the Dartmouth class of 2021. He hails from rural Minnesota, and is studying economics and computer science at Dartmouth. Besides rowing, Kyle is involved with his fraternity on campus as well as some student activist organizations.

Contextual Data

  • Cultural Context: Most of these rowers lead lives that are both academically and athletically intensive, with rigorous classes and practice most days of the week. Although Kyle is from the midwest, he estimates that 80% of his team is from the east coast.
  • Social Context: I collected information on this ritual from Kyle in the library, however this ritual is performed typically by sophomore rowers at Dartmouth College, who are around ages 19-20. The initiation as a “varsity” rower, through finding varsity jackets, begins at the Dartmouth crew boat house and then moves to the Dartmouth cemetery temporarily before returning to the boathouse. The rite is performed by the whole sophomore class of rowers, which is typically around 5-8 rowers (in Kyle’s case he was with five others). The ritual is usually performed after practice mid Fall, before the annual Head of the Charles race.

Item

  • After going through a separate initiation process to join the crew team as a freshman, Kyle underwent this process to become an official varsity rower as a sophomore. After a practice this fall, his sophomore teammates and him all went to search for their varsity jackets in the Dartmouth cemetery. After finding them, they return to the following practice wearing them, symbolizing their transition to being varsity rowers.
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Analysis

  • This ritual follows the three stages of all initiation rituals: separation, transition and incorporation. The separation stage occurs when the sophomores rowers leave the rest of the team after practice to go search for their jackets in the graveyard, which have been hidden by senior rowers. Once the sophomores travel to the graveyard they have begun their transition stage, in which they are in a liminal space (the graveyard) completing the challenging task of locating their jackets. They are incorporated when they return to the team with their varsity jackets the next practice.

Meaning and Interpretation

  • Sophomore rowers gain a strong sense pride by being initiated as varsity rowers through receiving these jackets. It distinguishes them from freshmen as experienced oarsman who have already dedicated a year of hard work to the team, and are now beginning to take on more senior roles.

Comparison

  • Comparison within the subgroup: In this sub-group of Dartmouth sports teams, this ritual is somewhat unique in that it is focused on sophomores rather than freshman. Most rites we have examined involve the initiation of freshmen onto their team, however the focus here is on someone becoming a more distinguished varsity member.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group. Like almost all initiation rituals, this one does conform to the three stages of separation, transition and incorporation.  

Collector: Elliot Adams, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Touching the Homecoming Bonfire

Title: Touching the Homecoming Bonfire

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Anonymous
  • Date Collected: November 5th, 2018

Informant Data

  • Due to the legal fallout stemming from the incident, the informant would like to remain anonymous. The informant is a close personal friend of mine who is also a Dartmouth Student in the graduating class of 2021.

Contextual Data

  • Cultural Context: I interviewed the informant in his dorm’s common room at Dartmouth College. Anonymous was repeatedly told to touch the homecoming bonfire by many upper-classmen in the weeks leading up to it. When he was running on the green around the 2017 homecoming bonfire, he decided to try and touch it, but the Hanover police tackled him, and he was arrested.

Item

  • During homecoming, freshman are told by upperclassmen to touch the fire, despite the fact that they can be injured or arrested. A class is called the “worst class ever” if it does not have a member who touches the fire. Several people have touched the fire in years past out of their own volition. It is a very difficult task to touch the fire, as doing so involves climbing a 10-foot tall fence and evading security officers and Hanover Police Officers. Many students have gotten caught attempting to touch the fire in years past and faced consequences from both the Police and Dartmouth College. However, in 2018, no freshman touched the bonfire due to increased security measures.

 

  • In order to best protect the informant’s anonymity, I left out the audio file and transcribed the interview instead.
  • Interviewer: Alright, so let’s start with the obvious question. Why did you want to touch the fire?
  • Informant: For the weeks leading up to it a lot of upperclassmen had talked to me about it and kind of made it seem they painted it as a very old Dartmouth tradition that was being threatened by the current administration. It’s actually only a 5 or 6-year-old tradition, but they kind of painted as this very old Dartmouth tradition that Phil Hanlon was trying to destroy. I had almost a contrarian impulse that I had to stop that and like because I hate when Dartmouth administrators try to change Dartmouth, well change isn’t always but, but I hate it when they change the things that people love about it. For example, the bonfire itself is just like this great unique thing that everybody loves.
    But now, this year, like it’s such a far cry from what it once was.
  • Interviewer: Can you walk me through what happened your freshman homecoming?
  • Informant: So, I didn’t think that I would actually do it so in the weeks leading up I kind of jokingly told everyone “ I’m going to do it.” Then the night of, I essentially was just running around a bunch of times people were screaming at me like screaming at everyone like touch the fire. And I guess In the Heat of the Moment I just did it you know. It wasn’t even really like thought our planned it out because, well, I obviously got caught.

Analysis

  • Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. In accordance with the old tradition, the separation stage of this initiation ritual occurs when the freshman class isolates itself from the rest of the student body and runs laps around the homecoming bonfire. The transition stage occurs when the freshman class proves their bravery and touches the fire. Finally, the incorporation stage occurs after the bonfire when the upperclassmen have gained more respect for the freshman class due to the bravery they displayed during the bonfire, and generally stop referring to them as the worst class ever

Meaning and interpretation

  • Touching the bonfire is a freshman tradition that had occurred for several years before the increased security measures in 2018. It acted as an opportunity for Dartmouth’s freshman to come together as a class by supporting and cheering on their classmates brave enough to touch the fire. Additionally, the stories and legends about the students who touched the fire served as a way for Dartmouth students to bond with one another.

 

  • Comparison:
    • Comparison within the subgroup:  In this sub-group, we focused on Dartmouth College social initiation rituals. Obviously, the main similarity with these initiation rituals is that they all have the three phases of initiation rituals: separation, transition, and incorporation. Another similarity between most of these rituals is that they are experienced by freshmen. A student’s freshman year is a time learn about his or her new community and the traditions that form its unique culture. Freshman year is also the time that most students join the clubs or sports teams that they will be most involved in throughout their Dartmouth careers. Therefore, it makes sense that so many of the Dartmouth social initiation rituals take place during the freshman year, such as the touching the fire ritual. The homecoming bonfire and many of the rituals in our subgroup also involve helping them feel comfortable in their new community and connecting them both with their own classmates and with the upperclassmen.
    • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. One difference within our subgroup is who initiates and rums each initiation ritual. Sometimes these rituals are set up and funded by the Dartmouth administration, and sometimes they are student-run. Another difference is the duration of each ritual. Some social spaces take a while to initiate into or involve various different rituals to initiate new members, while others only require one short ritual. 

 

Transcript

  • The informant on how touching the bonfire acted as an initiation ritual “I really feel like because touching the fire was an event that was exciting and that the whole class experienced together, it definitely helped bring the class closer both with each other and with the upperclassmen.”

 

  • Collector: J.P. Mortenson, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

 

  • Tags/Keywords:
    • Initiation
    • Ritual
    • Homecoming Bonfire
    • Freshman class
    • Dartmouth

Initiation into Dartmouth Social Spaces – Dartmouth Housing System Initiation

Title: Dartmouth Housing System Initiation

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Trevor Ballantyne
  • Date Collected: November 1, 2018

 

Informant Data

  • Trevor Ballantyne is a close friend of mine who was born on March 31st, 1999. Trevor attended elementary school in Hopkinton, Massachusetts where he grew up and he then attended Rivers Academy for high school. After graduation, Trevor matriculated to Dartmouth College where he is currently a sophomore. Trevor is involved in a fraternity on campus, and he is on the Dartmouth Varsity Lacrosse team.

 

Contextual Data

  • Cultural Context: I personally interviewed Trevor in the Collis Café at Dartmouth College. Trevor was first introduced to the housing community when he arrived on campus for freshman orientation. Trevor was surrounded by all incoming freshman who were all going to their specific housing communities at the time. After that, Trevor was first introduced into South House when he attended a South House dinner at a professor’s house who was affiliated with South House. During this, Trevor was surrounded by all of the other members in South House, including me. The process of being initiated into a housing community always occurs during freshman orientation
  • Social Context: Trevor is a first-generation Dartmouth student who planned on being affiliated with a fraternity from freshman year. Before Dartmouth, Trevor was unaware of the housing system and did not expect the housing system to have an effect on his time at Dartmouth. This initiation occurs during freshman orientation which involves a countless number of activities and traditions that allow students to bond with other members of their class

 

Item

  • As Trevor arrived on campus during freshman orientation, he was first initiated and welcomed onto campus by fellow South House members excitedly cheering for their house. Trevor went to the South House desk and was given a black South House shirt and water bottle. Trevor felt this initiation ritual to be welcoming due to the hectic nature of the day as all freshman arrived on campus. Days later, Trevor was further initiated into the South House community when he attended a South House dinner at a professor’s house. Trevor ate food, met fellow South House members, and signed a book that all South House members signed. Trevor was especially grateful for this initiation ritual because he was able to meet other freshman in South House and start relationships with kids that he would one day possibly live with.

 

Analysis

  • Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. For the South House dinner initiation, the separation stage occurs when South House members leave campus and the rest of the student population and go to a house with only South House members. The transition stage occurs when students enjoy food and meet their fellow South House members. Finally, the incorporation stage occurs when students sign the South House book and officially join South House.

 

Meaning and Interpretation

  • Every Dartmouth student is a member of a specific housing community. Many students feel a strong sense of pride regarding their house, and the initiation ritual into South House acts as the first way for students to officially join South House.

 

Comparison

  • Comparison within the subgroup: In this sub-group, we focused on Dartmouth College social initiation rituals. One similarity between most of these rituals is that they are experienced by freshmen. A student’s freshman year is a time to learn about his or her new community and the traditions that form its unique culture. Freshman year is also the time that most students join the clubs or sports teams that they will be most involved in throughout their Dartmouth careers. Therefore, it makes sense that so many of the Dartmouth social initiation rituals take place during the freshman year, such as the homecoming bonfire ritual. One difference within our subgroup is who initiates and runs each initiation ritual. Sometimes these rituals are set up and funded by the Dartmouth administration, and sometimes they are student-run. Another difference is the duration of each ritual. Some social spaces take a while to initiate into or involve a few different rituals that initiate new members, whereas others only require one short ritual.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Transcript

  • Trevor Ballantyne on the South House initiation dinner, “It was a good way to meet everyone and there is a huge book that you sign your name, say you were there, everyone from the house does it and you can tell it’s the foundation of a tradition that’s going to go on for a long time.”

 

Collector: Reg Anderson, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

 

Tags/Keywords

  • Dartmouth
  • Housing System
  • Freshman
  • Orientation
  • South House
  • Initiation Ritual

Initiation into Dartmouth Social Spaces – Dimensions Initiation Rituals

Title: Dimensions Initiation Rituals

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Dartmouth College Club
  • Informant: Ian Harris
  • Date Collected: October 31, 2018

 

Informant Data

 

  • Ian Harris is my good friend who I first met freshman year of high school in 2013. Ian was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 28th, 1999 and has lived in Boston with his family ever since. Ian attended the Noble and Greenough School from grade 7 to 12 and he is currently a sophomore at Dartmouth College. Ian plans to major in economics. Ian’s father also attended Dartmouth College, but he was not in the club Dimensions.

 

Contextual Data

 

  • Cultural Context: I personally interviewed Ian in his dorm room at Dartmouth College. Ian was first introduced to Dimensions as a senior in high school when he attended a Dimensions event in Boston to welcome the incoming Dartmouth students into the Dartmouth community. This Dimensions event occurs every year in Boston and is attended by incoming Dartmouth students. At this event, those that participated were the incoming Dartmouth students and the current Dartmouth students in Dimensions who perform different dances and songs. After Ian discussed his experience with Dimensions as a senior in high school, Ian then elaborated on the initiation rituals for Dartmouth students joining the club. Ian originally learned of these rituals by participating in the initiation process of Dimensions after being accepted into the club. Ian was surrounded by the upperclassmen in Dimensions and the other new members of Dimensions while they participated in a hike to a cabin.
  • Social Context: I collected this initiation ritual from Ian Harris, a current member of Dimensions. Ian is not the first person in his family to attend Dartmouth, but he is the first person in his family to be in Dimensions at Dartmouth.

 

Item

  • As a senior in high school, Ian was initiated into the community of Dartmouth College by attending the Dimensions event and watching the various dances that were performed by the Dartmouth students in Dimensions. Ian felt more welcomed and initiated into the community after talking with different students in Dimensions, who attempted their best to initiate Ian into Dartmouth. Then, after joining Dimensions, Ian was initiated into the club Dimensions by participating in an annual hike. Ian and the members of Dimensions all hiked to a cabin in the woods and were then initiated into the club with a dinner at the cabin.

Analysis:

  • Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. In the first initiation ritual that Ian participated in, separation occurs when Ian leaves his high school community and goes to the Dimensions event in Boston. The transition period occurs when Ian watches the various dances and performances put on by Dimensions and is welcomed into the Dartmouth community. The incorporation stage then occurs after the performances when Ian is able to speak with current members of Dimensions and meet his fellow classmates. Regarding the initiation ritual that Ian experiences as a member of Dimensions, separation occurs when Ian and the other members of Dimensions leave the Dartmouth campus to embark on the hike. Then, the transition period happens when Ian hikes to the cabin where the initiation dinner is held. Finally, the incorporation stage occurs when Ian eats dinner at the cabin with all of the Dimensions members and is officially initiated into the club.

 

Meaning and Interpretation:

  • Dimensions is an extremely important club on campus and being initiated into the club is a great way to bring the members of the club closer together. As a senior in high school, the Dimensions performance to initiate incoming students to Dartmouth acts as a way to welcome incoming students and allow them to meet current students and fellow incoming freshman.

 

Comparison

  • Comparison within the subgroup: In this sub-group, we focused on Dartmouth College social initiation rituals. One similarity between most of these rituals is that they are experienced by freshmen. A student’s freshman year is a time to learn about his or her new community and the traditions that form its unique culture. Freshman year is also the time that most students join the clubs or sports teams that they will be most involved in throughout their Dartmouth careers. Therefore, it makes sense that so many of the Dartmouth social initiation rituals take place during the freshman year, such as the homecoming bonfire ritual. One difference within our subgroup is who initiates and runs each initiation ritual. Sometimes these rituals are set up and funded by the Dartmouth administration, and sometimes they are student-run. Another difference is the duration of each ritual. Some social spaces take a while to initiate into or involve a few different rituals that initiate new members, whereas others only require one short ritual.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

Transcript

  • Ian Harris on the tradition of the initiation ritual into Dimensions, “That’s a tradition. The upperclassmen that went with us did that too. They’ve been doing this for as long as Dimensions has been around which is really cool because you have the same experience as older kids.

 

Collector: Reg Anderson, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

 

Tags/Keywords

  • Dartmouth
  • Dartmouth Clubs
  • Freshman
  • Initiation Ritual

Initiation into Dartmouth Social Spaces – Candle Light Ceremony

Title: Candle Light Ceremony

General Information about Item:

  • Initiation Ritual
  • Dartmouth College
  • Informant: Arvin Kumaran
  • Date Collected: October 31, 2018

 

Informant Data

  • Arvin Kumaran was born in Westwood, Massachusetts on July 28th, 1999. Arvin attended middle school and high school in Westwood and is now in his second year at Dartmouth College. Arvin is on the pre-med track at Dartmouth College and is planning on majoring in Economics. Arvin is a close friend of mine who I met the fall of my freshman year at the college.

 

Contextual Data

  • Cultural Context: I personally interviewed Arvin in his dorm room at Dartmouth College. Arvin was first introduced to Dartmouth’s candle light ceremony during orientation. Arvin was surrounded by all of his fellow classmates during the ceremony in the woods surrounding the East Wheelock dormitory. The ceremony took place as the sun went down and this ceremony occurs every year with Dartmouth’s freshman class in the same place.
  • Social Context: The candle light ceremony occurs during freshman orientation week. Orientation week involves a countless number of activities and traditions that allow students to bond with other members of their class.

 

Item

  • Every year Dartmouth freshman all gather in the woods outside of East Wheelock dormitory where they first listen to a member of their class talk about what Dartmouth values. After that, each student is given a lit candle and walks in a group towards Dartmouth campus. Every Dartmouth freshman participates in this ceremony and it really acts as the first initiation ritual while at the college.

Analysis

  • Initiation rituals consist of three stages: separation, transition, and incorporation. In this ritual, the separation stage occurs when the students leave the main campus and go to the woods outside of East Wheelock. Next, the transition stage happens when all the students are gathered in the woods listening to a member of their class speak. Finally, the incorporation stage occurs when all the students receive a candle and collectively walk back to campus.

 

Meaning and Interpretation

  • The candle light ceremony is a ritual that occurs each year during freshman orientation. The ritual acts as a way for students to be initiated into the Dartmouth community while also allowing students to meet their fellow classmates. The candle light ceremony is many Dartmouth students first memories on campus and the image of thousands of lit candles resonates with the entire student population.

 

Comparison

  • Comparison within the subgroup: In this sub-group, we focused on Dartmouth College social initiation rituals. One similarity between most of these rituals is that they are experienced by freshmen. A student’s freshman year is a time to learn about his or her new community and the traditions that form its unique culture. Freshman year is also the time that most students join the clubs or sports teams that they will be most involved in throughout their Dartmouth careers. Therefore, it makes sense that so many of the Dartmouth social initiation rituals take place during the freshman year, such as the homecoming bonfire ritual. One difference within our subgroup is who initiates and runs each initiation ritual. Sometimes these rituals are set up and funded by the Dartmouth administration, and sometimes they are student-run. Another difference is the duration of each ritual. Some social spaces take a while to initiate into or involve a few different rituals that initiate new members, whereas others only require one short ritual.
  • Comparison with the rest of the subgroups: The subgroups differ dramatically across the board. Some of the subgroups focus on various ethnic groups while others focus on groups within Dartmouth. The initiation rituals of the groups within Dartmouth usually have the purpose of welcoming new members into their community and are symbolic. Ethnic-based group rituals have the purpose of testing the new members. Additionally, ethnic groups’ initiation rituals tend to be related to religious practices. Initiation rituals of Dartmouth groups are not religious in character. What all groups have in common though is the fact that the process of initiation creates closeness with the rest of the group and makes one feel completely immersed into the group.

 

Transcript

  • Arvin Kumaran on how the candle light ceremony acted as an initiation ritual, “This was our first bonding experience and it is probably one of the few events where we’d all be at the same place at the same time.”

 

Collector: Reg Anderson, Dartmouth College, Russian 13, Professor Valentina Apresyan, Professor Mikhail Gronas, Fall 2018

Tags/Keywords

  • Dartmouth
  • Freshman class
  • Orientation
  • Initiation Ritual

Sweet Sixteen Speeches (2)

Title: Sweet Sixteen Speeches

General Information:

  • Folklore Form/Genre: North American Initiation Rituals
  • Informant: Sarina Kothari
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Place Collected: Baker Lobby
  • Date: 11/13/18

Informant Data:

  • Sarina Kothari, 19, was born on March 20th, 1999 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She moved to Orlando, Florida when she was very young, and she has lived there for most of her life. When Sarina turned sixteen, her parents chose to help her celebrate by throwing an elaborate party where many of her friends and family members were invited.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Sarina attended Trinity Preparatory School, a small Catholic private school. Despite going to a Catholic school, Sarina herself is not of the Catholic faith. Her family is upper class, and she comes from an Indian background.
  • Cultural Context: Many girls in Orlando, Florida celebrated their sixteenth birthday with a large Sweet Sixteen celebration. More than half of the girls in her grade had sweet sixteens.

Item:

  • During her sweet sixteen, there was a part when all of the people important to Sarina got up and read her speeches that they had written for her. They were all people that Sarina was very close to including her parents and her boyfriend. The speeches spoke about how special Sarina was and about different aspects of her life and her future.

Audio:

Transcript:

E: Alright Sarina, could you please describe the tradition that happened at your sweet sixteen?

S: So basically around five people gave speeches at my sweet sixteen, so it was my mom, dad, my brother, my boyfriend at the time, and then my best friend, and they all, like, had prepared it before, and they did like two minutes or three minutes each, and it was really nice because everyone was, like, in a circle just, like, listening to them and, like, laughing and it went on for, like, ten minutes.

E: So how did this specific tradition symbolize your transition into womanhood?

S: I thought it was a good transition just because I had never really heard all of the, like, important people in my life at the time speak at the same time, so it was nice to, like, hear them, like, in success[ion] and, like, one after another, and I felt like they all really cared about me, and it was really nice for like all my other friends to hear that just because everyone really felt like in the moment, like, super happy and I felt like really grateful to have all these, like, people who cared about me in my life and I just make, it more made me feel, like, at home and, like, at peace with, like, becoming sixteen, rather than like transitioning I guess.

E: Alright, thank you.

Informant’s Comments:

  • It was so nice to be able to have all of the special people in my life in one place and it was so nice hearing them talk about how much I meant to them and how I had changed their lives. It was just such a great way to mark my transition from girl to woman.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I feel like the speeches are one of the staples of a sweet sixteen celebration. Since sweet sixteens are a fairly new concept, they don’t have many set traditions, but it appears that most people choose to do the speeches and I think it’s because it’s a way for the girl to hear from those who mean the most to her.

Collector’s Information:

Edward Lu, 18

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Russian 13, Fall 2018

Professor Mikhail Gronas

Professor Valentina Apresyan

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Adulthood
  • Womanhood
  • Speeches

Sweet Sixteen Cake Feeding Ceremony

Title: Sweet Sixteen Cake Feeding Ceremony

General Information:

  • Folklore Form/Genre: North American Initiation Rituals
  • Informant: Sarina Kothari
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Place Collected: Baker Lobby
  • Date: 11/13/18

 

Informant Data:

  • Sarina Kothari, 19, was born on March 20th, 1999 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She moved to Orlando, Florida when she was very young, and she has lived there for most of her life. When Sarina turned sixteen, her parents chose to help her celebrate by throwing an elaborate party where many of her friends and family members were invited.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Sarina attended Trinity Preparatory School, a small Catholic private school. Despite going to a Catholic school, Sarina herself is not of the Catholic faith. Her family is upper class, and she comes from an Indian background.
  • Cultural Context: Many girls in Orlando, Florida celebrated their sixteenth birthday with a large Sweet Sixteen celebration. More than half of the girls in her grade had sweet sixteens.

Item:

  • Before the party started and the other guests arrived at her sweet sixteen party, Sarina’s grandparents one-by-one fed her pieces of her birthday cake by hand. This is actually an Indian tradition that Sarina chose to incorporate into her sweet sixteen celebration.

Audio:

Transcript:

E: Alright, so Sarina, could you please describe the tradition that occurred at your sweet sixteen?

S: So one of the traditions that occurred was that when my grandparents flew in, they had to each feed me a bite of cake, and so basically, like, they were just in a line, and they each, like, gave me a spoon of cake and then I, like, gave them a hug.

E: Now was this cake part of the birthday cake, or did they have to bring their own separate baked goods?

S: No, it was part of, it was just, like, a piece of the birthday cake.

E: Okay, and so how did this ceremony symbolize your transition into adulthood?

S: Like the ceremony or the tradition?

E: That specific tradition itself.

S: I think what they were trying to do was, like, basically show, like, one piece of, like, cake from each of the grandparents was just, like, them showing their love for me and, like, them like having, like, good wishes and, like, with each piece from a different grandparent, like, they were, like, each giving their blessing, and so it was really nice, ‘cause like, they all come from different parts of, like, America so when they all flew in it felt like I was, like, getting, like, blessings from everyone around the world, so, like, that was really nice and made me feel like I was, like, blessed and stuff.

E: Alright, thank you.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The feeding of the cake by hand is a sign of respect. Usually, the birthday girl would feed the guests; however, since this was a special occasion, her grandparents fed her instead. It was also very special to be surrounded by her grandparents who had all travelled very far to attend the party and to see their granddaughter.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I thought this was a very interesting tradition because it wasn’t like any other American tradition I had heard of. It was nice to see that Sarina was able to incorporate parts of her Indian culture into her sweet sixteen.

Collector’s Information:

Edward Lu, 18

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Russian 13, Fall 2018

Professor Mikhail Gronas

Professor Valentina Apresyan

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Adulthood
  • Womanhood
  • Cake
  • Indian Traditions

Sweet Sixteen Father Daughter Dance

Title: Sweet Sixteen Father Daughter Dance

General Information:

  • Folklore Form/Genre: North American Initiation Rituals
  • Informant: Lindsey Beaudoin
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States of America
  • Place Collected: First Floor Berry
  • Date: 11/8/18

Informant Data:

  • Lindsey Beaudoin, 19, was born on February 8th, 1999 in Pensacola, Florida. She then moved to Virginia for three years, then to Massachusetts for five years, and finally Bedford, New Hampshire for the rest of her childhood. Lindsey herself did not have a sweet sixteen, but she attended her close friend, Jill Tokac’s, sweet sixteen.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Lindsey Beaudoin and her friend Jill Tokac both grew up in Bedford, New Hampshire and they both attended Bedford High School, a public high school with approximately fifteen hundred students. Jill Tokac is Caucasian, and she comes from an upper middle-class background.
  • Cultural Context: Only a few people in Bedford, New Hampshire celebrate their sixteenth birthday with a sweet sixteen celebration. However, those who did have parties had very elaborate parties.

Item:

  • Jill Tokac’s sweet sixteen consisted of an elaborate party to which approximately two hundred people were invited. During the celebration, one important event that happened was the dance between the father and daughter. Before the dance party started, Jill and her father got up and danced in front of the other party guests. They danced to a song that meant a lot to both of them, and it was reminiscent of the dance that happens between the bride and the groom at weddings. Later in the night, her father was also one of the people who gave a speech about her, talking about how much he loved her and about her bright future ahead of her.

Audio:

Transcript:

E: So Lindsey, could you describe the tradition?

L: So, the tradition at this party was, it was a pretty, like, formal “you’re in dressed up” and there was a dance party, and it started out with a dance between Jill, the girl who was celebrating her sweet sixteen, and her father.

E: And can you explain how this ceremony symbolized her transition to womanhood?

L: It was kind of a, like, I don’t know, I guess very formal, like, ceremonial thing, like it happens at weddings, and her father was also one of the people that kind of, that gave a speech about, like, how she had grown up and changed and sort of, like, become an adult over the sixteen years, so like, it was kind of, like, tangible representation of her, like, becoming a woman, and turning sixteen.

E: Alright, thank you.

Informant’s Comments:

  • The dance was symbolic of her father being the first man in her life, and it was a moment for the father to cherish his daughter one last time before she went into womanhood. Everyone was just watching them dance and it was such a great moment to witness.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This tradition reminds me a lot of the father daughter dance that happens during quinceañeras. It’s interesting to see how aspects of other cultures have found their way into sweet sixteens since the USA is considered to be a melting pot of cultures.

Collector’s Information:

Edward Lu, 18

Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

Russian 13, Fall 2018

Professor Mikhail Gronas

Professor Valentina Apresyan

Tags/Keywords:

  • Sweet Sixteen
  • Quinceañera
  • Father Daughter Dance
  • Adulthood
  • Womanhood