Eight Dartmouth students discussed the influence of their sometimes-woeful freshman years at a panel discussion last night in Brace Commons in the East Wheelcok residence cluster.
The panel discussion, titled "This is My Dartmouth," drew a crowd of about 30 people.
Most of the panelists said their first year at Dartmouth was often disappointing.
"The hardest thing in my life my freshman fall was that I didn't get into the Dodecaphonics," a coed a cappella group, said Kelii Opulauoho '96, Student Assembly vice president. Later, Opulauoho said he started seeing "things in a context that wasn't roses" after his Undergraduate Advisor was suspended from the College.
Determined to "get involved in helping solve problems," Opulauoho became a UGA himself the next year and became Area Coordinator of the River Cluster his junior year.
Opulauoho said he had other traumatic times at Dartmouth after his first year. He said it was difficult to admit his homosexuality to his brothers at Sigma Nu fraternity last year.
Citing what he considers a problem with the Greek system, Opulauoho said, "I'm sorry that drinking and booting on each other won't make us bond any more."
Lisana Gabriel '96 recalled the difficulties of adjusting to the enormous difference between Hanover and her home in New York City.
"I'm used to there being other outlets than the actual campus," Gabriel said. She said there is very little to do in Hanover compared to New York.
Gabriel, who is African-American, said she and her freshman-year roommates -- who also were African-American -- "made a bubble," seldom mingling with students of other races.
Former Dartmouth Rainbow Alliance co-Chair Alexis Sainz '96 said she was disturbed to observe that fraternities would exclude freshman men from parties while welcoming freshman women with open arms.
"Little by little, I found that Dartmouth wasn't sitting right with me," Sainz said. "If you're not heterosexual or white, it's a difficult place to be."
Sainz said she dealt with her own bisexuality by becoming involved with the Dartmouth Rainbow Alliance and by working "with queer youth in the area."
Erika Meitner '96, a former editor of The Spare Rib, a gender issues publication, echoed Sainz, saying she disliked the "fraternity-based social system" and Dartmouth's conservative character.
Meitner said she found her niche at Dartmouth her sophomore year working with Spare Rib, which offered a chance to combine "the personal and the political."
"Try to always build something positive out of rage," she said.
Student Assembly President Jim Rich '96 said he was intimidated by his "rocket scientist" freshman-year roommates, and said he focused exclusively on academics and tennis.
"I was worried I wouldn't succeed here because everyone was so smart," he said. Rich said he decided to become more active on campus during his junior fall, when he realized he had never taken advantage of many campus activities.
Joining the Committee on Standards, Rich said he "got to see the problems my peers were going through." The COS hears and adjudicates cases of students accused of violating College rules.
"I really got to grow up," Rich said. "It's fun to balance things."
Yun Chung '97 said she was a "basket-case" her first year at Dartmouth, because she served on a huge variety of campus committees and task forces.
Chung also complained that her name and political convictions "seemed to precede me with a lot of people."
After a "tragic and traumatic experience" within her family during her sophomore winter, Chung left campus for a few months.
When she returned to campus, Chung said she was determined to "establish a balance" and limit her extracurricular activities.
"I've learned that it's okay to take care of yourself," she said.
Mario Barge '96, who came to Dartmouth expecting to become an orthopedic surgeon specializing in shoulder injuries, surprisingly found that he did not like his science classes.
