Tag Archives: dartmouth

First-Year Trips

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General Information:
Informant: Evan Fu
Place: Hanover, NH
Date: October 22, 2021
Genre/Form of folklore: Customary/Ritual
Title: “First-Year Trips”

Informant Data: Evan Fu is a 21-year-old Dartmouth student who is part of the class of 2022. He is from Palo Alto, California, and he lives on campus at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire for most of the year. He is a computer science major and an active member in Dartmouth’s investing program.

Contextual Data: In the weeks prior to freshmen orientation, the Dartmouth Outing Club organizes the first-year trips, which take incoming freshmen on a wide range of outings such as mountain biking, fishing, hiking, etc. The groups consist of six to eight freshman and two upperclassmen. During the trips, the freshmen do not have access to their phones or showers and are expected to have all their belongings in one portable bag.

Social Data: The first-year trips can be an intimidating experience for freshmen since it requires them to spend a few days in the outdoors with people they didn’t know before. This experience allows for freshmen to create relationships prior to orientation week and learn about the outdoor activities available to them around campus.

Item: Every fall, freshmen go on a trip led by the Dartmouth Outing Club to experience the outdoors around Dartmouth’s campus.

Transcript: 
Collector: “How did DOC trips make you feel as a freshman coming into a new environment?”

Informant: “The first-year trips were definitely an interesting experience that made me feel like everything about Dartmouth revolved around the outdoors, and it felt like the Dartmouth Outing Club was attempting to force this focus on outdoors. As someone who isn’t very interested in the outdoors, I felt disillusioned which quickly changed when I came back to campus. Although I did meet a lot of people, the trip really felt like a summer camp and shouldn’t be a deciding factor for coming to Dartmouth”

Collector Comment: I was never able to go on my trip since they are held during fall camp for football, but I have heard a wide range of reviews and experiences.  

Collected by:

Carson Reich 21

Houston, TX

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS 013

Fall 2021

Highlighter Party

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General Information:
Informant: Keegan McHugh
Place: Hanover, NH
Date: October 23, 2021
Genre/Form of folklore: Customary/Ritual
Title: “Highlighter Party”

Informant Data: Keegan is a 22-year-old Dartmouth College student who is a member of the class of 2022. He is from Bel Air, Maryland, but he has lived around or on campus at Dartmouth continuously for the past 3 years. He is a student-athlete on the football team and is majoring in sociology.

Contextual Data: During freshmen fall there is a fraternity ban, which last for the first six weeks of the term. This ban means that freshmen are not allowed to enter a fraternity or Greek life house except for one party held by Chi Heorot. This party is referred to as “highlighter” due to the theme being neon or highlighter colored attire.

Social Data: The Highlighter party allows Dartmouth freshman to experience an alcohol-free fraternity event specifically designed for their class. This event allows the freshmen to enjoy a party while also building relationships within their class.

Item: The Highlighter Party is a dry event for the freshmen held at Chi Heorot during the fall term.

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

Informant: “The highlighter party at Heorot is one of my fondest memories of freshman fall since it allowed us to enjoy an actual fraternity party rather than being in a dorm room due to the fraternity ban. I was able to meet a ton of people outside of my team and built relationships with a lot of people that I am still friends with today.”

Collector Comment: I remember the highlighter party being so popular that individuals were doing anything possible to get inside. This tradition also provides a much more efficient way to meet people than dorm parties that typically occur during freshman fall since dorm parties typically involve people you have met previously.

Collected by:

Carson Reich 21

Houston, TX

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS 013

Fall 2021

Snowball Fight

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General Information:
Informant: Patrick Wright
Place: Hanover, NH
Date: October 27, 2021
Genre/Form of folklore: Customary/Ritual
Title: “Snowball Fight”

Informant Data: Patrick is a 20-year-old Dartmouth student who is a part of the class of 2023. He was born and raised in Georgia, but he lives on campus at Dartmouth in Hanover, NH for most of the year. He is a student-athlete participating on the football team and has an interest in studying economics. His grandfather, James Wright, was the President of Dartmouth College from 1998 to 2009.

Contextual Data: On the first snow fall of the year, Dartmouth undergraduates receive an email from Dr. Seuss to Robert Frost and the undergraduate community. The email entails a poem, which invites the students to partake in a snowball fight on the green at midnight.

Social Data: The first snowfall of the year can be a sign of a long winter coming for Dartmouth freshman coming from areas with a more moderate climate, but the snowball fight provides an opportunity for freshman students to see the positive aspects of Hanover, New Hampshire’s snowy weather. The involvement of the whole undergraduate community in a playful snowball fight introduces the freshman into a campus that celebrates the location of the college.  

Item: Snowball fight conducted at midnight on the first snowfall of the year, which is initiated by an email from Dr. Seuss.

Transcript: 
Collector: “Are there any other traditions we haven’t discussed that you think are important to freshman year at Dartmouth College?”

Informant: “The snowball fight was a pretty cool experience since I’m originally from an area that rarely ever sees snow. I prefer the warmer weather so the first time it really snowed; I knew that it was going to be a big adjustment for me. I was pretty confused when I randomly received the email about the snowball fight, but I ended up going and having a really good time. I think it definitely helped me adjust to the weather.”

Collector Comment: As someone from a warmer area, I understand how difficult it can be to adjust to the winter weather in Hanover, New Hampshire. The snowball fight allows students to see that they are not alone in cold, but they can actually turn the weather into something fun and constructive.

Collected by:

Carson Reich 21

Houston, TX

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS 013

Fall 2021

Learning Dartmouth Slang

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General Information

Informant: MC

Place: Dartmouth College

Date: October 21st, 2021

Form of Folklore: Verbal Folklore

Title: Dartmouth Dictionary 

Collector: Maria Angelino

Informant Data

The informant is in the 2024 graduating class at Dartmouth and participates in a variety of clubs on campus- including FORT and ABS. She is majoring in Psychology and is looking to do pre-med. She was born and raised in Georgia. She has a little sister and is very close with her family. 

Contextual Data

Social Data: The folklore was collected through an interview with the informant. Throughout her first term at Dartmouth, she learned different abbreviations or made-up words that Dartmouth students used to shorten the title of different buildings, materials, or events. “Dartmouth Slang” is usually learned throughout one’s first term on campus by interacting and having conversations with upperclassmen. The folklore is conducted all the time, in normal conversation or over social media platforms. 

Cultural Data: Dartmouth is located in the very rural, secluded town of Hanover, New Hampshire. The undergraduate population is usually around 4,000 students, and these students normally do not leave the campus often. The nearest big city is Boston, MA, which is two hours away. For this reason, students have created their own bubble within the Dartmouth community and over the years developed a language of their own. 

Transcript: 

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

Informant: “The thing I will never forget about my freshman fall is hearing words that I’ve heard before. I could tell they were abbreviations for things, but I would always have to ask what they meant. BEMA, FFB, FOCO, Frackets, Tails, Lines (for pong), Flitz, Blobby- those were just a few of the many different words Dartmouth students used in casual conversation. Once I learned them, I felt like I had to use them when I was referencing that building or item because that is how everyone else talked about it. I remember talking with family and friends at home about Dartmouth and frequently used the slang, and they would have no idea what I was talking about. They would make fun of it- saying it was a classic “Ivy League Student move”- but I think it is kinda cool that we’ve created our own bubble here. The slang is just one tradition of the many that makes this place so unique. “

Collector’s Comment:

The creation of verbal folklore by the Dartmouth students illustrates a lot about the culture on campus. The small, close-knit community of students developed their own way to talk about their surroundings and things that are specific to life as a Dartmouth student.

Dancing

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General Information

Informant: LH

Place: Dartmouth College

Date: October 13th, 2021

Form of folklore: Customary, dance

Title: Dances at Dartmouth

Collector: Maria Angelino

Informant Data

The informant is a Dartmouth student in the class of 2025. She wishes to remain anonymous.

Contextual Data

Cultural Data: The “The Salty Dog Rag”, among many others, are dance routines taught to freshmen during their First-Year DOC trips. Upperclassman trip leaders and H-Croo leaders tell the freshman they must learn and memorize the dance for future purposes. They often learn it upon first arriving at Dartmouth and on the last day of trips at Moosilauke Lodge. The freshmen barely know each other, but the dances are intended to bypass the awkwardness and help them embrace the unusual customs that Dartmouth students love. 

Social Data: The folklore was collected 2 months after the informant went on their first-year trips. She was interviewed and asked about her experience. 

Transcript: 

Collector: “How did DOC trips make you feel as a freshman coming into a new environment?”

Informant: “The trip was super important to making me feel more at home. I remember we learned the “Salty Dog Rag” and the one where you are singing in the shower, and there was other fun ones too. It felt very inclusive because nobody knew what they were doing so we were all doing it together. It was a lot of fun trying to come up with how to actually do the dances. I think everyone was super uncomfortable learning the dances, but it really brought us together as a community.”

Collector Comments:

The customary lore of dancing can be very impactful to a culture. In this case, the upperclassmen used dancing as a way to make the freshman feel more connected to the Dartmouth traditions and collective history that the college has. 

Pranks

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General Information

Informant: SW

Place: Dartmouth College

Date: October 12th, 2021

Form of folklore: Customary, ritual

Title: Pranks on Trips

Collector: Maria Angelino

Informant Data

The informant is a Dartmouth student in the class of 2022. She was born in Florida and is majoring in Women’s Genders Studies with a minor in Sociology. She works with the athletics department in management and social media skills, and is also affiliated with a sorority on campus.

Contextual Data

Contextual Data: In the week prior to Freshman Orientation week, the Dartmouth Outing Club organizes and oversees “Freshman Year Trips”, where students go on a 3 day trip with six to eight other freshman and two upperclassmen trip leaders. There is a wide range of activities- from hiking, to canoeing, to arts and crafts. Upon arrival, the freshman go to Robinson Hall (Robo) where they are greeted by upperclassmen dressed in random, flamboyant outfits (flair) to check in. They spend the first night preparing for the trip and then are sent into the wilderness of New Hampshire. Throughout this whole period, the freshmen do not have access to their phone and have all their belongings in one bag. This is often an intimidating experience for freshmen entering a totally new environment, but is intended to make them feel welcomed and comfortable. 

Social Data: This item was collected through a face to face interview of the informant. It had been 4 years since the occurrence of the folklore, but she says she still remembers it vividly. 

Item

Pranks are pulled throughout the duration of the trip by the trip leaders to keep their “tripees” on their toes and provide comedic relief. One of these pranks is informing the freshman that they are on a landing strip and an airplane needs to land immediately, requiring them to move quickly to avoid being hit by the plane. 

Transcript: 

Collector: “What do you remember most about trips?”

Informant: “The pranks were definitely the most memorable. They pranked us with an emergency plane landing. They told us we were on an emergency landing strip and some plane needed to come in right away. We had just been pranked with the “Robert Frost Ashes” so we didn’t really believe it, but then we saw it coming and it looked really realistic. In reality, it was just people with flashlights on top of a truck and they were coming down a hill. They brought us brownies afterwards, we were definitely fooled though. The trip leaders were super enthusiastic about everything we did, even if the pranks seemed far fetched. It was reassuring to have upperclassmen seem so excited about being with us in the middle of the woods.” 

Collector’s Comment:

The tradition of Freshman year trips sets the foundation for freshman as they enter into an entire new environment. This simulated rites of passage by physically separating the freshman from their parents upon arriving to Dartmouth, transitioning into independence through the trip itself, and being incorporated into the college community when they get back to campus and classes start. Having upperclassmen lead the freshmen on the trips is a form of guidance and expertise that make the freshman feel more comfortable. 

Returning as Alumni

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General Information

Informant: The informant is a Dartmouth graduate from the 2020 class and wishes to stay completely anonymous. 

Place: Hanover, NH

Date: October 19th, 2021

Form of Folklore: Tradition

Title: Returning as Alumni

Collector: Maria Angelino

Contextual Data

Cultural Data: Dartmouth was founded in 1769 and is one of the nine colonial colleges charted before the American revolution. Located in Hanover, New Hampshire, Dartmouth is a small, private liberal arts school and is a part of eight Ivy League institutions in the United States. The school is best known for its focus on undergraduate degrees, strong Greek life culture, and supportive alumni base.

Social Data: Homecoming weekend is an important weekend in the Fall term at Dartmouth College for both the freshman class and alumni. With so much activity going on, former students find this weekend to be a great opportunity to come back to campus and relive their “glory days”. This folklore was conducted via an interview a week after the informant went to her first homecoming weekend as an alumni, not a student. 

Item:

Alumni coming back to Dartmouth on Homecoming Weekend.

Transcript: 

Collector: “What do you know about the origins of the bonfire tradition?”

Informant: “ I don’t know much about how the whole thing started. I remember hearing about how the fire used to be way bigger and the classes would run, instead of walk, around the fire. I do know that it was always a time for a lot of alumni to come back because they warned us our freshman year to lock our dorms. They said alumni would try to come into their old rooms just to see what they look like now and reminisce on the good old days. I thought it was just another weird prank our UGA was pulling on us, but there were actually a ton of alumni that came back Homecoming Weekend when I was a student. This year was kind of weird for me because I experienced it as an alumni. It was crazy coming back and feeling like I was just another Dartmouth kid again. I love the adult life, but my four years here were the best years of my life. Coming back and seeing old friends reminded me of all the great memories and friendships I made. I definitely plan on coming back on Homecoming Weekend whenever I can.”

Collector Comment

This aspect of Homecoming Weekend often gets overlooked by the students because of the focus on the Bonfire and other events. The return of alumni speaks to the multiple existence and variation of Homecoming Weekend as students who graduate continue being apart of Dartmouth’s culture after graduation.

“Touch the Fire”

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General Information

Informant: KF

Place: Dartmouth College

Date: October 9th, 2021

Form of folklore: Customary, ritual

Title: Touch the fire” & “Worst Class Ever”

Collector: Maria Angelino

Informant Data

The informant is a female Dartmouth student-athlete in the class of 2023. She was born in California and has two younger siblings, but spends a majority of the year at school in Hanover, NH. She is a student-athlete on the pre-med track and is not affiliated with the Greek Life system. 

Contextual Data

Social Data:  Every term at Dartmouth has one big weekend of celebration, and in the fall this is “Homecoming” weekend for the incoming freshman and alumni. There are parades, speeches, and a large bonfire that the freshman class walks around. While the freshmen walk around the fire, the upperclassmen yell at them and tell them to “touch the fire”. This is one of the most well known traditions at Dartmouth that all students and alumni look forward to. At the time the folklore was collected, the informant was a junior and recorded her teammates as they passed by. A follow up interview was then conducted.

Contextual Data: Dartmouth was founded in 1769 and is one of the nine colonial colleges charted before the American revolution. Located in Hanover, New Hampshire, Dartmouth is a small, private liberal arts school and is a part of eight Ivy League institutions in the United States. The school is best known for its focus on undergraduate degrees, strong Greek life culture, and supportive alumni base. 

Item

The upperclassman taunt the freshman walking around the fire and tell them to “touch the fire”.  

Transcript: 

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

Informant: “I love to participate in all of the homecoming events. I think the whole thing is kinda odd, but I love that about Dartmouth in general. I remember when I was a freshman and had to walk around the fire. I thought it was so weird and it kinda felt like we were in a cult, but it made me feel like Dartmouth was really my new home. I was so happy to be a part of a place where everyone was so supportive and excited to be here. My teammates and I walked around the fire while people yelled at us that we were “the worst class ever” and “touch the fire”, but it was pretty funny. We just embraced it and cheered back at them. So this year when our freshman were walking, the upperclassmen and I did the same thing to them, and they also just cheered back at us.”

Collector Comment

The bonfire tradition represents a form of the rites of passage experienced by the freshman at Dartmouth. They are separated from the rest of the classes when they walk around the fire, and the transition period happens as the upperclassmen taunt them. It is similar to a task or hazing- when the freshman completes the lap and can handle being called the “worst class ever”, they can finally be incorporated into the community of Dartmouth students.

Dorm Parties

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General Information:
Informant: KS
Place: Hanover, NH
Date: November 1, 2021
Genre/Form of folklore: Customary/Ritual
Title: “Dorm Parties”

Informant Data: KS is a 19-year-old member of Dartmouth’s class of 2025. He is a student-athlete on the football team, who is interested in studying engineering. He is from Germany, making him a unique person on the football team as almost everyone who plays American football in college is from America. He lives primarily in Hanover, NH on his college campus now. 

Contextual Data: American college experiences oftentimes involve partying as a form of socializing. It is a great way for people to meet those who live around them as everyone is away from their home, often for the first time in their lives. The feeling of independence is usually new, and so students want to go and meet the others around them so that they have friends for their upcoming college years.

Social Data: Freshmen are banned from going to the fraternities on campus for the first 6-7 weeks of the fall. During this time, freshmen are forced to bond together in the dorms and spend social time there.

Item: Freshmen students are unable to go to the frats because there is a frat ban. In response, the social scene becomes dorm parties because there is not much else going on in the area. Many students rotate hosting and then they have a group of friends in their room for a weekend night.

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

Informant: “Dorm parties are fun because it allows me to meet new people outside of the football team. Because we cannot go to frats, it provides us with a fun way to blow off some social steam. I enjoy getting a break from schoolwork and being around my peers. I think the frat ban was good because it forced us to bond as a freshmen class.”

Collector Comment:

I remember dorm parties from my freshman year being rare and often they were broken up because of COVID. It was nice to hear this class of freshmen was able to be social this fall and make more friends.

Collected by:

Ross Parrish 20

Cincinnati, OH

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS 013

Fall 2021

Fall Camp

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General Information:
Informant: AG
Place: Hanover, NH
Date: November 5, 2021
Genre/Form of folklore: Ritual/Customary
Title: “Fall Camp”

Informant Data: AG is a 19-year-old member of the class of 2025 at Dartmouth College. He is from New Jersey but spends most of the year on the college’s campus in Hanover, NH. He is a student-athlete, a part of the college’s football team as a tight end, and he is interested in studying economics.

Contextual Data: Football teams across the country, whether it is high school, college, or professional teams, spend at least a few weeks before the first game to get prepared with a series of intense practicing. This is referred to as “camp” by almost everyone involved in the sport. At Dartmouth, it is a time when the team is on before most of the campus has arrived and they are all housed in the same building as a group and forced to do everything together.

Social Data: Football players across the country show up to campuses early to prepare for their upcoming season with a few weeks of intense practicing referred to as “camp”.

Item: Each fall, the football team at Dartmouth spends about 25 days before the rest of the student body arrives on campus doing a fall camp. During this camp, players spend roughly 14 hours per day in meetings, lifts, practices, and team meals. It is a major bonding opportunity for the team, as well as a chance to get prepared for a competitive football season.

Transcript:

Collector: “Why did you (or didn’t) participate in the DOC Freshman year trips?”

Informant: “I play on the football team and we had to be at camp, so we missed out on the DOC freshman trips that the rest of our class participated in. We were slightly bummed, but we came here for football and it was important for us to be here and bond with the team, as well as learn our plays and practice to get us ready for the upcoming season. Every player misses the trips, and at the end of the day, we prefer it that way because football is the reason we are here. Camp gives us the chance to meet our teammates and get used to campus before everyone else arrives.”

Collector Comment:
As a member of the football team, our class also experienced its first camp this fall. It was a good preparation period and I enjoyed the bond the team built from being on campus early.



Collected by:

Ross Parrish 20

Cincinnati, OH

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS 013

Fall 2021