Among snow sculptures and winter sporting events, general merriment is an enduring Winter Carnival tradition.
Known to many as the mid-winter party weekend, the celebration has grown in size and importance since its founding in 1910 by Fred Harris '11. But the essential theme of the weekend has remained the same -- drunken debauchery.
F. Scott Fitzgerald found this theme appealing when he came to the College for the 1939 Carnival. The author of "The Great Gatsby" spent the weekend drinking in the basements of Alpha Delta and Psi Upsilon fraternities.
After this binge, Fitzgerald was fired from the "Winter Carnival" movie he was supposed to be making, and was forced to check into a sanitarium to recover.
This tradition of Carnival partying was already established by the time Fitzgerald discovered the weekend in 1939, and it continues today.
Away with studies
Winter Carnival tends to be scheduled after midterms at the College. With their work complete for the time being, students usually sleep a little later into the morning and sometimes the afternoon, relax a little more during the days and party a little harder at night.
With today's classes canceled, many students choose to get an early start to the weekend.
One sophomore said he started partying on Thursday night last year because there were no Friday classes. He also said he drank more during Carnival last year than he would on an average weekend.
Another sophomore, a brother at AD, said he used the free time on Friday to "start drinking early."
A member of the Class of 1998 said he also begin his weekend on Thursday last year, and partied on Friday and Saturday nights as well.
Winter Carnival is popular enough to draw students on leave-terms up to the College for the weekend.
A senior brother at Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity said he came up for Carnival last year from an leave term in New York City.
"I hung out with friends, visited with alums of the [Sig Ep] chapter and went around to a couple parties," he said.
Some people, however, do not pay much attention to the parties.
Allison Sciortino '97 said, "I don't really get into the big party weekends."
Other students do not feel Carnival is any bigger or more exciting than other party weekends, such as Homecoming or Green Key.
Maren Stern '97 said "all the big party weekends are the same."
Fun in the sun and keg jumping
Traditional events like Alpha Chi Alpha fraternity's Beach Party and Psi Upsilon fraternity's keg jump continue to draw crowds year after year.
Alpha Chi Alpha Social Chair Arvidas Remeza '98 said his fraternity will bring a little summer sun to an otherwise cold and white Winter Carnival, as the brothers will import 15 tons of sand to prepare for the 20th Annual Original Beach Party.
The Beach Party was written up in Playboy Magazine as one of the Top Ten College Parties.
Remeza said people traditionally wear bathing clothes, dance on the sand, play volleyball and do other beach activities.
"We are planning some improvements to the party this year which we don't want to give away quite yet," Remeza wrote in a e-mail message.
This year's 15th Annual keg jump will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday morning.
Psi Upsilon fraternity President John Ladson '98 said the set-up and skating would begin earlier, but the actual "event jumping" will not start until then.
Ladson said the tradition began in the early 1980s, when Psi Upsilon brothers decided to mimic barrel jumping -- using kegs instead of barrels -- for Winter Carnival.
The kegs are, of course, empty. "We wouldn't waste beer like that," Ladson said.
The jumpers are all Psi Upsilon brothers or alumni. Each jumper must find a sponsor -- either himself or a local business -- to provide $25.
The brothers of Psi Upsilon also sell T-shirts commemorating each year's keg jump.
Ladson said all the money goes to David's House, a home in Lebanon for terminally-ill children.
"We usually raise around $1,000, but we never have a concrete number until after the event," Ladson said.
Ladson said the keg jump is fun because of the "festive air" surrounding the event. He also said he did not think alcohol played a large role in motivating the jumpers.
"Occasionally, someone who is too intoxicated to jump will jump," he said. "It's Winter Carnival, and there's a big crowd. There are a lot of things that go into people trying to jump more kegs than they can."
Last year's winners David Mace '98 and Will Jin '96 tied at 11 kegs.
Ladson said there would be "some good competition" at this year's keg jump.
Erik Weeman '97, who won the keg jump two years ago after jumping over 13 kegs, will come back this year after missing the keg jump last year because he was on a leave term.
Ladson said Weeman's 13-keg jump was a Psi Upsilon record.
"Somebody else might have done the same, but he definitely is a co-holder," he said. "It's close to the North American record."
Ladson said he thinks the North American record is 14 or 15 -- barrels, not kegs. Barrel jumping is a fairly common cold-weather sport in the northern regions of the continent.
Though Ladson admitted there are some safety concerns, he said serious injuries have been rare in the past few years.
"There have been no serious injuries since I've been here," he said. "Occasionally, a guy will sprain something or break a finger."
"The risk is definitely part of the fun," he said. "People come to be impressed by a 10- or 11-keg leap, or to see guys land on kegs."
Safety and crime concerns
Winter Carnival draws thousands of visitors. Alumni come back to relive their days at the College, while students' friends pour in to visit and enjoy the weekend's unique flavor.
Hanover Police Captain Chris O'Connor said this influx of people makes Carnival a busy time for his office.
"We make sure ... we have enough manpower to handle the amount of complaints we get during Carnival," he said. "Normally, we'll put on extra coverage based on past experience of what Carnival can bring."
O'Connor said his office's primary task is to deal with all the complaints involving non-students.
"Safety & Security can only enforce certain issues based on their being students or non-students," he said. "They have no control over anyone they come across that is a non-student. That's where the burden becomes ours."
Safety & Security Crime Prevention Officer Rebel Roberts said her office's top concern is "the safety of the Dartmouth community."
Roberts said the increase in the number of people, particularly non-students, on the campus leads to an increase in the number of reported offenses her office receives.
In 1995, Roberts said Safety & Security received 41 reports from the Thursday night until the Monday morning of Winter Carnival weekend. That number dropped to 31 reports last year.
Roberts said her office tries to make students aware of the possible dangers of the weekend.
"We put out posters for students and electronic bulletins, making them aware of different issues," she said. "With the influx of outsiders, we encourage them to lock their doors and report any suspicious activity."
