Social life initiatives. "Structured" choices. The end of the Greek system "as we know it." These loaded phrases, so instantly recognizable on today's campus, have made the last nine months of my Dartmouth career ones of anger and frustration. Like many students on campus (particularly those in the Greek system), I feel both threatened and ignored, and last week's steering committee hearing did little to assuage my fears.
So it was with a great deal of anxiousness that I applied to be a DOC trip leader for the incoming '03 class. Would I be able to re-discover the Dartmouth enthusiasm necessary for such a task? If so, could I, in good faith, assure my tripees that they would attend a school that was as fun and crazy as the one I've loved for four years? In spite of these misgivings I looked forward to my hiking trip with the hope that a group of recent high-school graduates and committed trip leaders could restore my faith in the school I had grown apart from.
I should probably mention that I am, in no way, qualified to "lead" anyone into the wilderness. I've always placed a premium on the social element of my weekends, preferring beer to backpacks when offered the choice. Fortunately for me (and my tripees), I was paired with Ms. President-of-the-DOC Lydia Dixon, a sweet girl who sides as a veritable mountain woman on the weekends. Together we made a pretty awesome team, and our first night at Titcomb cabin was a blast, complete with a raid from Hanover Crew who smeared SPAM all over Lydia (I was spared).
Lydia and I met our tripees the following day, six awesome kids hailing from as far away as San Francisco and as nearby as Hanover. Our initial meeting was somewhat brief due to the all-important swim test, a gigantic upperclass conspiracy to check out all the freshmen in their suits. However, after a few ice-breakers, pizza, and a fantastic H-crew show that managed to discuss bongs and feces with surprising grace, our strenuous hiking crew was surprisingly close-knit.
We had mixed luck with weather and shelter on the trail, but as any trip veteran knows, rain and hardship have very little to do with the success of an outing. Indeed, the personalities I got to know and enjoy for four days made it one of the best weekends of my life. The crews at Hanover and Moosilauke were incredible, and I found myself ebulliently praising Dartmouth just as I had done before I began doubting the college's commitment to its students.
What amazed me about DOC trips, aside from their capacity for endowing freshmen with an instant love for Dartmouth, is that they are managed and run entirely by students. Dana Loebman, Hanover and Lodge Crew, and people like Lydia and myself are responsible for providing one of the few common shared experiences on campus. There are no administrators involved. That it is one of the most successful and defining programs at Dartmouth is no coincidence.
The increasingly contentious debate concerning Dartmouth's social life seems to be revolving around one important and essential question: should students be entrusted to manage their own social lives, or should the College offer them increased guidance and structure? The Trustees seem to be acting on the assumption, best articulated by The New York Times, that "colleges are offering and students are often demanding greater supervision of their lives." Funny, I didn't see any of those kids at Moosilauke. Instead, I saw a sleep-deprived Lodge Crew put on two incredible shows a night. I saw an equally exhausted Hanover Crew boycotting their four hours of sleep to raid trip leaders at Titcomb Cabin. I laughed at 100 uninhibited freshmen dancing on the lawn and acting like, well, freshmen. In short, I witnessed a group of incredible students who demanded nothing, and gave everything.
It is part of the essential character of this school that, by virtue of its rural isolation, Dartmouth will always attract students interested in making fun, not those who expect the college to bestow upon them a good time. When formulating their new social vision, the Trustees might take a cue from those countless numbers of people who volunteer their time and energy to programs like DOC trips, or for that matter, the Greek system. Independent institutions like these endear themselves to alumni and students precisely because they thrive without college supervision or structure. In the end, whether or not the Trustees can implement their principles without compromising this independent and humorous spirit so intrinsic to the Dartmouth experience will be their greatest challenge.
