In response to damage wrought on the town of Hanover during last years freshman sweep, the College is taking a more active role in this years' Homecoming celebration.
A letter sent by Dean of the College Lee Pelton to all students warned that the future of both the sweep and the bonfire depends on the outcome of this year's events.
Pelton's letter contained a warning that, "Large numbers of students marauding around the town of Hanover presents a very real threat to the future of the entire Homecoming celebration."
Last year, a mob of '97s uprooted traffic signs and stomped on cars while waiting for the Homecoming parade to begin.
The freshmen sweep is a relatively new tradition in which the freshman class parades from dorm to dorm, gathering all the freshmen and heading out to the parade area.
"At a meeting of the bonfire committee this year, it was decided that the College would work in conjunction with the students to prevent a repeat of last year's mob," said Lalitha Otterness, an intern in the office of Alumni Relations.
This year, the sweep will begin at two points on campus and be timed so the freshmen will not arrive at the parade area until 7:40 p.m. Friday, 10 minutes after the parade is scheduled to begin.
At 7:10 p.m., a van filled with Green Key Society members will start at the River cluster and lead one group of freshmen throughout the west side of campus.
Joshua Marks '96, the Dartmouth marching band's bagpiper, will lead the other group from the Choates dormitory cluster and head through the east campus.
Last year, organizers chose to emphasize the sweep more than usual to counteract the down-playing of the bonfire in response to violence during construction in the previous year.
"Last year's sweep was directed by Freshman Office intern Andrea Darling '94 and organized as a well intentioned alternate meant to show class spirit," Dean of Freshmen Peter Goldsmith said.
"The difficulty last year was that many of the people in the Freshman class did not know where to go and ended up on The Green with no purpose or direction," he said.
Goldsmith said the future of the bonfire depends on this year. "If there are any difficulties this year than the entire bonfire and sweep celebration are in substantial jeopardy."
For the second year, construction on the bonfire will begin Thursday, end at dusk and resume Friday morning. No one will be allowed near the bonfire sight after dusk.
"If any destructive behavior occurs during the construction or lighting of the bonfire, bonfire activities will be suspended," Pelton's letter stated.
