Its been called "a giant one ring circus," and "a gladiator contest," One past participant said it was the "most intense adrenaline rush of [his] life." As Jarrod Tisdell '99 asked, "What would Winter Carnival be without the keg jump?"
Yet this year students will find out, as Psi Upsilon fraternity's famed keg jump goes the way of Snow Queens and permanent bars, making last year's 19th annual Keg Jump -- an event that has traditionally drawn huge crowds on Saturday afternoon -- the last ever.
But this is not the first recent year without a keg jump. In 1999, in the wake of the announcement of the Student Life Initiative, the keg jump was cancelled for a pro-Greek rally. Two years later, however, any future keg jumps remain doubtful.
"We probably should have put a stop to it long ago," said Robert Kaiser '39, treasurer of the fraternity's governing corporation.
The keg jump's troubles began early in winter term when the College announced that its insurer had withdrawn coverage of the event.Dean of Residential Life Marty Redman said that since Psi Upsilon is a college recognized organization it must have insurance coverage or the College could be held liable for any accident that occurred.
Redman also said that if the fraternity had found coverage they would have been able to hold the event.
The first jump was held in the early eighties when some brothers had just finished their fifth keg on a Saturday afternoon of Carnival and prepared to watch a tractor pull on television. After seeing the bravery of Evil Kneivil, who jumped five cars on his motorcycle, they donned hockey gear, lined up the empty kegs and proceeded to jump as many as they could.
The keg jump became a charity event in 1984, although the tradition of having a skating rink in the yard of Psi U dates back to before World War II.
Any Psi U brother could enter the event, provided that he paid the entrance fee or found a business to sponsor him. All proceeds from the event were donated to a local charity.
Entrance was limited to brothers, protecting the house from being sued. Dislocated shoulders and broken collarbones accompanied many keg jumps, although none have ever been "career ending," Marcus Coe '00 said.
In years past the Hanover Diabetes Clinic, Outreach House and Hannah House have been recipients of the over one thousand dollars raised annually by the event.
Preparing for the jump takes an entire term , as the fraternity has to ice over their front lawn to form a rink. Usually a brother would be assigned the job of ensuring a suitable rink.
During the course of the jump, kegs would be continually added to an ever-growing line. Brothers would then attempt to clear as many as possible, keeping their skates clear of kegs.
The record for most kegs jumps is held by David Mace '98 at 14 kegs.
After the jump last year, Psi U was put on probation for six weeks in April when the Judicial Committee of the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council determined the fraternity had violated Dartmouth's Community Standards of Conduct and the Student Alcohol policy.
