It's 6:30 p.m. on Monday night. While most Dartmouth students are enjoying a relaxing dinner at a half-empty Food Court or still hanging out at the docks, 16-year-old Burdie Renik is in the Bissell-Cohen connecting tunnel of the Choates dormitory cluster, barely breathing.
She is in the midst of delivering a rapid argument about why the United States should change its foreign policy toward China as part of preparation for next year's high school debate tournaments.
Renik, from Berkeley, Calif., is at Dartmouth with about 60 other high-school students as part of one of the two debate camps that operate in the Choates during the summer.
In many ways, the campers may be working harder than undergraduates.
The camps operate on a fairly rigorous schedule, at least by Dartmouth standards.Days begin at about 8:30 a.m. and run until 11 p.m., with breaks for meals.
Hanover's quaint New England charm has also left an impact on the campers.
"It's like in the middle of nowhere," said Blake Trask, 17, of Vashow, Wash.
Renik had the same opinion. "It's way too isolated," she said.
Darcy Corso, 17, of Washington, D.C. said Hanover is remarkably small compared to her hometown.
"I kind of like the atmosphere, I guess," she said. "It's kind of like nothing else to do."
"It blows my mind that things close early on Saturdays," she said.
The camps operate almost entirely separate from day-to-day college life.
When asked what she thought about Dartmouth students, Renik said "Dartmouth students? The only ones I know are the ones at camp. They're cool," she said.
Miranda Johnson '97, a two-year veteran of Dartmouth debate camp, said while she got a feel for the College during her stay here, she met few undergraduates.
"We talked to more of the grad students," she said. "They were the only ones in the libraries."
But that is not all. Imagine a Dartmouth where the Choates are the only dormitory cluster and Full Fare is the only cafeteria.
The College's food seems to have developed a bad reputation among the campers.
"It's not the greatest food on earth," said Andy Diamond, 16, of Lexington, Mass.
Grilled cheese sandwiches were universally hailed as the entree of choice -- but only by default.
Trask complained about being allowed only to eat in Full Fare.
"Grilled cheese is the only thing to eat, and that's bad," he said.
A universal chorus of groans arose from the surrounding campers.
Detractors do exist. Later in the evening, Josh Friess, 15, of Milwaukee, Wis. asserted that the Full Fare grilled-cheese sandwiches weren't all bad.
"The stuff with the bacon in it is disgusting, but the stuff with just cheese is real good," he declared.
Driven out of Dartmouth Dining Services, many of the campers have turned to local establishments for nourishment.
Delivery people are not strangers to the Choates this summer.
"EBA's comes here at least 10 times a night," he said.
Ken Strange, the College's debate coach and director of the camp, said 190 students will come for one of the two sections of the debate camp this summer.
The camps can also serve as recruitment tools for the school.
Dean of Admissions Karl Furstenberg said Dartmouth does some recruiting at the debate camps, but not at any of the sports camps also taking place at the College during the summer, because the students are generally older and "the debate camp is academical in focus."
"We spend some time with Ken Strange to try to interest them in Dartmouth," he said.
The debate camps have two sections: one for students who will be juniors in the fall, and one for seniors.
The senior debate camp has yet to begin.
Though no overnight camps were in session this week, a number of sports camps also run during the summer.
According to the College's Conferences and Events office, there are 16 athletic camps, both overnight and day camps, operating in College facilities this summer.
Approximately 1,250 athletes will converge in Hanover during one point or another during the summer, to improve their skills at pursuits ranging from field hockey to baseball to running to squash.
Some of the largest camps are ice hockey, soccer, men's lacrosse, football and women's and men's basketball, with between 100 and 200 participants each.
Hitchcock, New Hampshire, Topliff, and Wheeler residence halls are all being used during the summer for campers.
The Choates cluster is being used for debate camps for high school juniors and seniors. Other unoccupied dorms are sometimes used for conferences.
