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The Dartmouth
April 18, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth
Joanna Patterson
The Setonian
Mirror

Life Outside the Bubble

After four years, I've picked up some pretty critical Dartmouth survival skills. Sean knows my breakfast wrap order, I've memorized the pattern at the traffic light and I know to count the remaining cups to figure out whose turn it is to drink. My pants are hemmed about two inches shorter than they should be, and my favorite pair of frat shoes is made of plastic, so any griming up leaves them only a quick rinse away from being wearable again. I've accepted that the paths on the Green are both asymmetrical and nonsensical, and happily cut across the grass. With this skill set happily in place, I've begun to realize that these don't exactly hold up as exemplary transferable abilities.

The Setonian
Mirror

Point: Alternative Spots

Alternative social spaces often get a bad rap as poorly executed attempts by Student Assembly and Programming Board to offer students something -- anything -- other than fratting it up on any given Monday, Wednesday, Friday or Saturday night.

The Setonian
Mirror

Counterpoint: Spring Service

I need to begin with a confession. The most productive part of my spring break is going to be my semi-annual visit to the dentist for a cleaning, so writing this article makes me a hypocrite.

The Setonian
Mirror

Identity Crisis: I'm Canadian

I have a confession: I am an international student. You probably can't tell from my surname, and you won't pick up on an accent unless I happen to say "sorry," but I'm in this country on a visa, nonetheless.

The Setonian
News

Point: Sculpture and the Seven

When wondering whether or not the snow sculpture qualifies as one of the Dartmouth Seven, I racked my brain to identify what the true Seven actually are: BEMA, President's Lawn, Baker-Berry Stacks, steps of Dartmouth Hall, 50-yard line, the center of the Green... Uh oh, that's only six.

The Setonian
Mirror

Counterpoint: Eating alone - Time to chill, or total loser?

I have a confession. I am petrified of eating alone. Sit me down in a table at Collis with an open textbook, laptop and crossword and I'll be cozy, but dining solo sans props is an entirely different beast. It has occurred to me that I'm not alone in this boat -- I did a casual survey of Food Court on Saturday at lunch and found one brave luncher dining alone, tucked away in the back corner reading with her laptop open, and her head resting on her hand in an effort to block her face from the rest of the lunch crowd.

The Setonian
Mirror

Counterpoint: Getting picked up

Bad choices happen. Too much alcohol happens. S&S happens. Even with these inevitabilities, however, there's no reason that getting picked up should constitute a necessary element of the essential Dartmouth experience.

The Setonian
Mirror

Point: Hometown Friends

I admit it, I drank the Kool-Aid. I came to believe that all things Dartmouth were the best ever, and that all parts of my past life -- everything from lingo to pals -- were just that, part of the past.

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