It is 4:00 a.m. After laboring through the wee hours of the morning to finish a paper and finally thinking you can get some sleep, you are awakened by the wail of your baby in need of a diaper change.
While the great majority of students at Dartmouthwill never have to live this scenario, there are a few undergraduates who must keep up with the academic demands of the College and manage to care for their infants as well.
The miracle of life
For the Cuevas family -- Ernesto Cuevas '98 and Natalyn Nailes Cuevas '96, who graduated in June -- the birth of three-week old Roberto Luis Cuevas completely changed their lives.
"People marvel over the idea of you having a child," Ernesto said. "It seems like the Dartmouth culture doesn't lend itself to a lot of acceptance in marriage and family life."
He said people at Dartmouth "have this idea of the socially acceptable timeline -- you go to school, you get a job and then you start looking to start a family."
"I wish people wouldn't think of it as an unspeakable thing to get married and have a child at this age," Natalyn said. "It has changed my life so much, I wonder how I got along before."
"I can't imagine not doing it this way," her husband added.
Ernesto and Natalyn met last January, and, according to Ernesto, "by the second date we knew we were going to be together."
They were married in Florida on June 14, the week after Natalyn graduated.
Another baby who might be seen around the Dartmouth campus is Isiah Marks, born last Sept. 24. He is the son of Tiayana Marks '97.
Marks lives in Sachem Village -- a mile away from campus -- with her sister, who takes care of Isiah while Tiayana is attending classes.
A sociology major, Marks was pregnant last Spring term, and then stayed in Hanover to take classes over the summer so she could take Fall term off and still graduate on time.
"Besides the heat, the summer was not so bad," she said. "I was tired more often and I took more naps, though."
Making ends meet
Ernesto Cuevas said when he was young, his family was in a much worse situation than he is now.
"We had nothing," he said. "But no matter what obstacles they encountered, the family was what they wanted. It is the same with us."
Natalyn said when she told her friends she was pregnant last spring and getting ready to graduate, they were shocked.
She said throughout her four years at Dartmouth, she never knew anyone who had a baby, but she said she knew of a few women who got pregnant and dropped out.
But the Cuevases said they have received a lot of support from their friends as well as administrators they know.
But overall, they said, the College regulations and administration really do not have much to do with Roberto.
The Cuevas family also lives in an apartment in Sachem Village.
They said their apartment was purchased through a Hanover rental office rather than through the College.
Natalyn said Sachem "is set up for Dartmouth students, grad students and professors. It is a great place -- full of families, like a community."
The College does not provide married students with housing.
"Dartmouth has a lot of resources and opportunity to help" married students and students with families, Natalyn said. "But they don't seem to be too supportive."
But Marks said most College deans have been very accommodating.
"It is difficult financially because I am in school and can't work, and I have been having trouble getting all my financial things straight in terms of the College," she said.
She said she asked not to be billed for a dining option, even though there is a College policy that all students pay for a dining plan, even if they live off campus.
"They ended up letting me not have to pay it since I don't use it," Marks said.
Ernesto said it is "extremely difficult" financially to have a family while still in school.
But Natalyn said she does not feel the financial impact every day, just when the bills come in.
"Things are hard," Natalyn said. "But when you have a baby, nothing else seems to matter."
Last term, Ernesto took classes while Natalyn worked full-time in the Student Activities Office.
But now that Natalyn is staying home with Roberto, Ernesto is working full-time as the office assistant for the Academic Skills Center.
He said next term will be tough, because he will be taking classes again and Natalyn will be working.
He said she hopes to find a job where she can work out of their home, because if she gets a full-time job outside of the house, "all that money will be going towards child care."
There is no child care facility available for undergraduates and their families, but Natalyn said she would like to see the College provide "something minimal, even if it is just part time."
According to Director of the College Child Care Resource Office Susan Lloyd, the College child care facilities are available to parents available for College benefits, such as faculty and administrators.
"The funding that supports it comes from the employee fringe benefit pool," Lloyd said.
Lloyd said child care in the Hanover area is expensive, and there are not many child care options.
But she said students can go to the Child Care Resource Office and a staff member "will refer them to whatever other child care resources we can identify in the community that may meet the family's needs."
Other child care options include child care centers and people who run small child care businesses in their own homes, Lloyd said.
If a student's income falls within the guidelines set by the states of New Hampshire and Vermont, Lloyd said, the student could be eligible for child care assistance.
But she said even with state assistance, students cannot use the College child care facilities.
Marks, who is in the teacher preparation program, will be here next fall to student teach in the Upper Valley. She said her sister will not be living with her then.
"I'll have to look for day care," she said. "Or someone who takes care of children in their home."
Marks said another problem she has run into is that she cannot take Isiah to Dick's House because they do not have a pediatrician on staff, and has to take him to a community heath center.
If Roberto gets sick, he needs to be taken to the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Ernesto said.
