After a night of dining, sledding, skating and get-to-know-you games,31 students formally joined Amarna, the College's second undergraduate society.
The retreat, held at the Dartmouth Outing Club House on Occom Pond, was designed to let prospective members interact on a "comfortable basis," said Duncan Hodge '94, one of Amarna's founders. Hodge said he thought the evening went extremely well.
The retreat started at 7 p.m. and ended at about midnight with a card-signing ceremony.
As an undergraduate society, Amarna has no rush or pledge period. Each person who signed a card became a full-fledged member of the organization.
Any other interested student may still join the organization by signing a membership card. Hodge said he expected the membership to reach about 35 to 45 students by the end of the term.
Of Amarna's 31 members, 16 are seniors, eight are juniors and seven are sophomores. There are 16 males and 15 females in the group.
The night began with a dinner catered by Dartmouth Dining Services. Then the students played games to introduce people to one another.
After the games the students broke into three groups, one went sledding on the golf course, one went skating on Occom Pond and the third group socialized by the fireplace.
Gen Kanai '95, who joined Amarna at the end of the evening, said he talked to other prospective members about why they were joining.
"You definitely got a chance to figure out if it was right for you, Kanai said. "There was a very diverse group of people."
The founders of Amarna formed the organization at the end of Fall term, envisioning it as a viable social alternative to the Greek system.
Susannah Schlichter '95, who called the evening "exciting," said she looked at Amarna because it didn't have a rush or pledge period.
"I was looking for more of a co-ed situation," she said. "Amarna sounded exactly what I was looking for, where men and women of Dartmouth could interact as equals in a social system."
But Schlichter said she knows people who opted not to join Amarna because they preferred to remain independent than join a social organization.
Marc Escobosa '95 said he is usually not the type of person who joins groups, but he still decided to join Amarna.
"I didn't think something was missing, but I've been sort of parasitic in my social life for so long, I figured it was time to give something back," he said. "I just couldn't think of a reason not to join it and contribute."
Escobosa said he liked the group of people who ended up joining Amarna.
"It's a really great group. It seems sort of crunchy, but in a good way," he said. "Everyone is so down to earth ... They don't have any outside agendas. They just didn't necessarily think the frats were for them any more."
Danielle Moore '95 said she went to the retreat with some reservations about Amarna and in the end decided not to join.
"I don't think at this point Amarna is right for me," she said. "I think for me I'm at the point where I'd like to concentrate on my community - people of color -and I'd like to be focusing my attention inside the community rather than outside of it."
Ann Marshall '95 also went into the retreat with some doubts about joining Amarna. "My reservations were specifically about being a woman of color and wondering whether or not I'd feel uncomfortable," she said.
But in the end she decided to join Amarna and said she was excited about having another social option at Dartmouth.
Dan Walker '96 went to the retreat but did not join at the end of the evening. He said he will probably join later this week.
"I hadn't seen their statement of purpose or their charge and I still questioned how they would be different than a Greek organization," he said.
"After the retreat I realize they're much different. I felt much more comfortable," he said. "The people seem to be a very diverse group. The one common interest was they didn't want to be involved with the Greek system."
