The 73rd Green Key Weekend at the College was interrupted for more than an hour Saturday because of a power loss that shut down electricity throughout most of the campus.
Heavy winds brought down a large pine tree on Greensboro Road that collapsed on 13,000-volt power lines at about 1:30 p.m.. The fallen high voltage power lines ignited a brush fire that burned more than a half-acre, the Valley News reported yesterday.
According to an employee at the College power plant, the power lines at Dartmouth are tied to the ones on Greensboro Road.
When part of the system collapses, it causes "a voltage spike" that triggers connecting lines to shut down, he said.
The power outage caused several College buildings including Baker Library and the Collis Center to lose electricity temporarily.
The Swinging Steak, a band performing on the Green that afternoon, was also affected by the power outage.
Except for the interruption, most Green Key Weekend events went smoothly. The most well-attended event of the weekend was the "Helldorado Hootenany" held on the Green Saturday afternoon.
For four hours, students on the Green were entertained by two bands, Skaboodah and The Swinging Steaks, comedian Chris Foley '95 and Dartmouth's improvisation group, The Dog Day Players.
Meanwhile, the more adventurous sumo wrestled, gyroscoped, tie-dyed or hung out at the petting zoo.
The athletically inclined participated in the Green Key Olympics or tried to dunk well-known students, including Student Assembly President Nicole Artzer '94 and "Weekend Update" creator Kenji Sugahara '95.
Thursday night's sold-out concert featuring Cracker and The Meat Puppets at Webster Hall kicked off the weekend's festivities.
Two of the College's a capella groups, the Decibelles and the Aires, also performed to a sellout crowd at Friday night's Spring Sing, along with visiting groups from Tufts University and the University of Pennsylvania.
Later that night, students danced to big band and swing music in the Collis Common Ground at the Green Key formal. At times there were at least 150 students present, according to co-chair of the Programming Board Bob Bordone '94.
"It was just beyond our expectations," Bordone said of all the weekend's events organized by the Programming Board. "I think people had a really good time."
Chi Gamma Epsilon's party closed early around midnight Saturday night when a water pipe broke.
Chi Gam's President Brett Thibodeau '95 said he did not know how the pipe was broken but said there was minimal damage.
"There's not really any water damage," Thibodeau said. "We don't have all that much in our basement."
Hanover Police arrested one Dartmouth student early Saturday morning for driving while intoxicated, according to Hanover Sergeant Lawrence Ranslow.
Hanover Police took four Dartmouth students into custody over the weekend because the students were inebriated. Three friends of Dartmouth students visiting Hanover for the weekend were also taken into custody for drunkenness, Ranslow said.
Hanover Police released one student to the care of Dick's House.
Ranslow said he could not release the name of the students because official reports have not been filled yet.
