Four College alumni recounted Saturday their unique experiences with Dartmouth traditions, but each said changing traditions are healthy for the College community.
"The College is evolving as society is evolving," Putnam Blodgett '53 said. "It would be stuck in a rut if not."
Blodgett was joined by Edward Chamberlain '36, Joe Medlicott '50 and David-Alexandre Gros '95 for the panel discussion, which was part of the Class of 1995 Senior Symposium, "Lest the Old Traditions Fail: An Examination of Tradition in America."
History Professor Jere Daniell '55 moderated the discussion in Collis Common Ground and contributed his own memories from his days as a College student.
Each alum discussed a different tradition from his days at the College, demonstrating how traditions change with time.
Chamberlain spoke about Old Timers' Day and moving Commencement to the front of Baker Library.
Every spring, Old Timers' Day celebrated the seniors' position as the oldest members of the College community.
Chamberlain said the day consisted of seniors cutting classes, dressing in outrageous costumes and parading around Hanover in open-topped cars drinking bootlegged liquor.
Chamberlain also described the change in Commencement location from the Bema to Baker in 1953, due to security reasons when United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower came to speak. College President John Sloan Dickey chose the library over Memorial Field.
Chamberlain praised Dickey's decision to hold the ceremony at the center of intellectual life at the College and thus start a noble tradition at Commencement.
The College is faced with a similar decision in 1995, as President Bill Clinton will deliver this year's Commencement address. Acting Colleg President Jim Wright is evaluating whether the Baker location can accommodate the security and seating needs associated with President Clinton's speech.
Medlicott said he and many of his classmates came to the College after serving in World War II, which made many College traditions seem juvenile.
"It was tough to wear beanies and wrestle in the mud if a year earlier you were flying over Tokyo in a B-29," Medlicott said.
However, there were traditions which Medlicott remembered fondly.
"The term 'road trip' was part and parcel to every undergraduate," he said, referring to undergraduate trips to schools such as Smith or Mount Holyoke to meet young women.
Medlicott said road trips were dangerous because many men would take these all-night drives while consuming large quantities of alcohol.
"Most of us should have died," he said.
Blodgett reminisced about the fierce competition between sophomores and freshmen which often turned violent.
The "Vigilantes" were a group of sophomores who would force freshman to uphold certain traditions, according to Blodgett.
These traditions included making freshman wear their clothes inside-out.
Blodgett and some friends decided to disobey the Vigilantes and were consequently prevented from entering the freshman dining hall, which was where the Collis Center currently is located.
The two parties soon started a fight which escalated into a "brawl" between sophomores and freshman on the lawn in front of the dining hall.
Gros discussed Dartmouth traditions in a more current context.
Gros focused on the Foreign Study Program as a relatively new Dartmouth tradition that is extremely meaningful to students. He also compared the traditions of Dartmouth today to the older traditions of society in general.
He said although many College traditions seem old, there are traditions in religion and society which are considerably older.
"As we look back on Dartmouth, consider what is really old and what is really new," he said.
Daniell said many traditions continue to evolve, citing the current FSP as an extension of the road-trips described by some of the older alumni.
"There is a long-standing tradition of complaining about the lack of tradition," he said.
Daniell said there have always been groups at the College that bemoan the lack of tradition.
The senior symposium is an intellectual gift to the College from the departing senior class.