The existence of Winter Carnival -- as students currently know it -- is due almost entirely to a dedicated group of students who make up the Winter Carnival Council.
The Council is responsible for numerous events surrounding Winter Carnival including the selection of both the theme and the Carnival poster, the constructionof the sculpture and the organization of the majority of the activities for the weekend.
"We make sure everything runs smoothly," Co-Chair of the Winter Carnival Council Andrew Louis '00 said.
Preparations for the weekend began in the Fall term with the selection of this year's theme. For 1998,the Council chose "The Roaring -'20s" as a representation of both the exciting decade of the 1920s as well as the frigid temperatures of Hanover in the middle of February.
Of all the entries submitted to the committee, the selection of this theme was the least political in nature, Louis said. And it gave the Council "something to build events on."
"It was catchy," said the other winter carnival council co-chair, Ben Moor '00. "It suggested images which could be easily recreated."
Another important aspect of the Council's responsibilities is the construction of the snow sculpture. The Snow Sculpture Committee Co-Chair Todd Garfield '00 made a few sketches over Thanksgiving break and spent his winter break building a model of the intended structure.
There is a huge time commitment which accompanies seeing the sculpture through to completion. Garfield lamented, "It's taken over every aspect of my life."
Moor also said that his responsibilites as a co-chair are extremely time consuming. But participating in the Council itself holds little responsibility for students who wish to join.
Anyone who wishes to contribute to the weekend can join, Louis said. Membership in the Council is entirely voluntary, and meetings attract anywhere from 15 to 50 students.
Although the activities of the Winter Carnival Council are highly visible on campus, little is known about the council's history.
While Winter Carnival was formerly a Dartmouth Outing Club event, it has in recent years come under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Student Organizations.
Moor said, "It's hard to keep up with the history. Last year went by relatively undocumented."
The Council consists of several smaller working bodies including the Snow Sculpture, Publicity, Marketing and the Polar Bear Swim Subcommittes. Though these groups have specific responsibilities, membership is too small to actually classify them as committees, Moor said.
Both Moor and Garfield became involved with the Winter Carnival Council last year. The two said the retiring seniors asked them last year if they were interested in having a leadership role in the Council for the following year.
Moor, Louis and Garfield are joined on the executive board of Winter Carnival Council by Sculpture Co-Chair Matt Dickman '00. Associate Director of Student Activities Linda Kennedy advises the Council.
