Freshman Traditions
“Tradition is Everything”
| R.W. Tokyo, Japan Fall 2015 |
Informant Data:
RW was born in Tokyo, Japan in January of 1997. He attended high school in the suburbs of Tokyo as well. At Dartmouth, he studies as Economics and Computer Science. RW is a member of the Class of 2019, the 250th graduating class at Dartmouth. Outside of work, RW enjoys playing club basketball and singing with his friends.
Contextual Data:
Cultural Context:
Dartmouth College was founded in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock and is the ninth-oldest institution in the United States. Dartmouth currently has 4,310 undergraduates. It is located in Hanover, New Hampshire. Dartmouth is known to be a small, research university that emphasizes a liberal arts curriculum to its students.
Social Context:
As a college that is over two centuries old, Dartmouth offers a distinct series of events that provide every new student with an iconic freshman year experience. Freshmen go through first-year outdoor trips, a matriculation ceremony, and more. The College on the Hill has unique traditions and rites of passage that welcome freshman into the Big Green community.
Item:
Dartmouth traditions stretch beyond the formal events such as the bonfire. They go beyond formal traditions set by the institution. They include traditions by organizations that share another common factor: singing, dancing, sports, acting. Since freshmen cannot rush Greek houses in their freshman year, they can fulfill the aspect of joining a more niche group through activities like trying out for a singing group. RW was part of an all-male acapella group on campus and it was significant part of his Dartmouth experience. The smaller, more personal group truly made Dartmouth feel like home. The members of his singing group became like an extended family. He knows that will definitely return to Dartmouth to visit his friends from his Greek organization in singing group. He still loved the traditions from freshman fall. Alumni coming back to campus during the bonfire also felt like a recreation of the Dartmouth experience to him. It makes seniors like himself reflect more on his time here. It shows that these traditions are not only few newcomers to be initiated. It helps older members want to give back as well as introspect on their time being a member of a folk group.
*(RW preferred not to be filmed or recorded)
Transcript:
What do you think is the strongest “need” Dartmouth is trying to accomplish with traditions like the Bonfire?
I would say the strongest need is a need to love the school and feel cohesive to one another. Its something I struggled with usually as well as most of my friends
I think if there was an emphasis on the tailgate I would enjoy it more
Is there anything you could change to make it better?
Maybe after the fire, people can go to moosilauke or something, or even after the football game
I don’t think I can think of anything that will make me want to come back to Hanover every single year. It is very hard to get to. I rather spend the money to go out in the city with friends
But for future students, I would focus on keeping the freshman together after the fire is absolutely key. They waste the good vibes and positive energy with such a disorganized setup
A lot of my friends really enjoyed homecoming weekend as a whole while others it just another weekend to get f***ed up.
I really hope they bring back running next year.
The more underclassmen I speak to, the more I reflect poorly about our homecoming changes. I don’t think it will completely deter from their Dartmouth experience, but in the aspect of tradition, it definitely hurts more
Tradition is half of the reason I fell in love with Dartmouth and the first thing alums tell me is what makes The College on the Hill so special
It would be nice to sing the alma mater with my school if I was a freshman
Collectors Comments:
Feeling incorporated into the campus does not happen in one night. Each stage of the rites of passage can take different amounts of time and many individuals part of the same folk group experience variations in this duration of time are present. Social groups on campus also play a role in adjusting students to the community to where one still feels part of the community after their time at Dartmouth is complete. This can range from acapella groups, to dance groups, and to sports teams. This extra sense of community fuels the aspect of nostalgia stems from the strong experience in the beginning of their Dartmouth career that helped them feel part of the history of the institution. It adds to the desire to help incorporate future members of their folk group.
| Aneeq Chaudhry Dartmouth College Russian 13 Spring 2019 |