When Green Key weekend is mentioned, people conjure up images of insobriety, block parties and exciting times. But the weekend draws its name from the student organization which has soberly served the Dartmouth community for the past 77 years -- the Green Key Society.
Since 1921, the Green Key Society, a group of 50 juniors, has remained prominent on campus as the foremost community service group.
The Society, which was formed by the merger of two sophomore societies, was inspired by a similar organization at the University of Washington.
The group from Washington, the Knights of the Hook, were the hospitable recipients for the Dartmouth football team on a road trip. The Knights met the Big Green 11 at the train station, guided them around the area and, most importantly, introduced them to some of the women in the area.
Orton Hicks '21, a member of the Big Green squad, returned with such amazement over the hospitality that he formed the Society as an undergraduate on May 16, 1921. The first society was comprised of 51 sophomores.
The newly formed society was named "Green Key," which, according to an article in The Dartmouth that year, "symbolizes Dartmouth in Green Key because of the word green and the hospitality in the word key."
The organization's original constitution set three goals: to provide entertainment for representatives of other institutions while guests at the College; to act as a permanent vigilance or freshman rule enforcement committee; and to select from its membership men who would compete for the prestigious positions of head cheerleader and head usher.
The task of "keeping freshmen under control" entailed the enforcing of the "freshman beanie" rule. Two years later, the rule was dropped by Green Key in favor of getting sophomores more involved with community service.
"It is a rather striking innovation, the worth of which must wait upon time to tell," the editors of The Dartmouth said in an editorial the day after the society's founding while wishing it "the best of success."
Soon after the rule change, the society changed into an all junior student organization whose main function remained the entertainment of visiting athletic teams. But, over the next 20 years the group became less affiliated with athletics and more so with service in the Hanover community.
The society seized responsibility for publication of the Freshman Handbook and assisting the College during both Orientation Week and Commencement Week.
For recognition purposes, members of Green Key, at the request of the faculty, wore uniforms of white trousers, green sweaters and green hats adorned with the key emblem. This made it simple for freshmen to identify those who could help them.
During the Second World War, the Society stopped its normal activities for two years in order to become the College's student government organization on campus. It resumed its regular functions after the war and began to publish the Day-By-Day calendar with photos of life at the College.
With the advent of the Dartmouth College Athletic Council, the Society's role in welcoming visiting teams was, for the most part, terminated. By the late 1980s, the Green Key Society was the organization it is today.
The Society is currently comprised of 20 at-large representatives who are elected during the general elections in April, and 40 other representatives of various organizations that are parts of the Committee on Student Organizations.
"We are really looking forward to senior week and Commencement, as well as welcoming the new members of the sophomore class into our society and helping them with their transition to inspire them to do good for the campus," Green Key Society President Liz Castellani '99 said.
The biggest role the Society plays is during Orientation and Commencement, but it also assists throughout the year. The Green Key is called upon by the College if it needs students to facilitate activities or organize events.
The society also helps with various departments on campus, including the admissions and public programs offices. In addition, members visit students at Dick's House as well as help with transfer student orientation and international students.
During Orientation week, members act as road guards, direct students and serve various organizational purposes.
Commencement entails many of the same organizational endeavors, as well as helping out with the candlelight ceremony.
In addition to the services provided to the College, the Green Key Society also sells class sweaters and the Day-By-Day, their student calendar. It serves as an integral part of Green Key -- as the society's primary source of funding.
"We have a really good group this year," Castellani said. "The only difficult thing is to get the representatives from all the different organizations, who are some of the busiest people on campus, to get everyone together at once. The Dartmouth-plan does not help either, but nonetheless, we all pull together and get everything done."