A crowd of Dartmouth students braved the traffic and driving rains to get to Cambridge, Mass. this weekend -- some to see the Big Green football team crush the Harvard University Crimson and others just to get a taste of the nearly-forgotten city life.
"I've always loved Boston," Noah Rubin-Schneiderman '98 said. "The trip was just an excuse to go down there, see some friends, and get out of Hanover."
Some students drove their own cars and others took buses down to Boston for the big game with Harvard, traditionally known as "Harvard Weekend."
Melissa Rikard '99 chose a different option -- she rented a car.
"We 'rented-a-wreck', and a wreck it was. But it was the best way for freshmen to get to Boston," Rikard said. "You can't have a road trip without a car."
During the game on Saturday, Dartmouth students were treated to heavy rains, leading some students to forego the game altogether.
"I didn't go to the game. I hung out in my host's room at Harvard instead. It was raining all day," Meylysa Tseng '98 said.
Barrett Willingham '96, who attended the game, said, "The weather was pretty poor, but the game was exciting."
"It's always good to kick Harvard's ass in their backyard," he said.
Besides just the big football game, Boston also offered a whole new night-life for Dartmouth students to explore. While some students said they enjoyed Boston's scene, others were unimpressed.
"As for the night-life at Harvard, all I can say is, 'What night life?'" Wesley McLaggan '98 said. "The best part of the trip is that I finally got some rest because there was nothing to do at night."
"I don't care what the college guides say about Boston being the ideal city for the college student," Daniel Indelicato '99 said. "That place sucked."
But Willingham said, "Boston was a blast."
"There is just so much to do. We went to a friend's house after the game for food and drink and then to a party on Commonwealth [Avenue] in an apartment full of alums," he said. "After that we went bar hopping."
Dartmouth students also had different opinions of the Harvard students they met.
"My friends and I were not impressed with Harvard boys, in general," Sommer Pio '99 said. "Most of the ones we met were geeks and freaks -- except for a few cute preppy boys, the rumors are true."
Tseng said, "They seemed much more liberal than Dartmouth students would be. It was a real eye opening experience."
Tseng said she was surprised that Harvard students did not take the football game as seriously as the Dartmouth fans.
"It's kind of funny how we think we have this big football rivalry with Harvard when none of them really care about the game at all," Tseng said.
Ryan Calo '99 said, "Harvard had no school spirit at all, they were really pathetic."
And Indelicato said, "There were about fifteen Harvard students supporting their football team, including the cheerleaders. The rest were probably holed up doing their homework."
James Hutt, a Harvard freshman, also said that Dartmouth supporters clearly outnumbered Harvard fans at the game.
"I thought it was so funny how many Dartmouth students were running around in their green jerseys," Hutt said. "It was like it was St. Patrick's Day or something."
