Free food was abundant at the second annual '02/'05 Revelations dinner -- perhaps a small part of the reason for the significant turnout at an event held for seniors and first year students in Alumni Hall last night.
The dinner was organized by the Student Life Committee of the Student Assembly under the leadership of seniors Bill Jaeger and Kendra Kemp, and freshmen Puja Dutt and Karim Nehdi.
An estimated 200 '05s and 50 '02s showed up for the dinner which was held to "foster communication between the freshmen and senior class."
"It went really well, the food was excellent. This weekend was kind of tough for freshmen because a lot of people went to Boston and homework was pushed back until Sunday, but we still had a great turnout," Dutt said.
Students drew numbers at the door and were seated randomly at round tables, because, according to Dutt, "We wanted to split up the usual friend groups that have formed." Each table had at least two seniors and five or more '05s that all engaged in lively discussions about just about everything.
In the middle of each table were some questions on topics ranging from academics to social life to the D-plan used to spark the conversation.
Sabeen Hassanali, one '02 that participated, thought the questions were helpful because they gave direction. "One question we had was 'Why did you choose Dartmouth?' which was good because everyone could give input on that subject. ... We discussed courses, grade inflation, and activities in the Dartmouth community."
All students '05s and '02s contacted by The Dartmouth said they benefited from the experience. "Freshmen and seniors were connecting ... I got a lot of insight on the more random things about Dartmouth," Nedhi '05 said.
"It gave seniors a chance to reflect on the past four years to see what they might have done differently and share advice on what they had learned," added Hassanali from the '02 point of view.
The dinner, like many others in its free food aspect, was unique in its purpose. "This is the only organized event in which first year students and seniors get a chance to talk amongst themselves," noted Kemp.
Besides the conversation, students said they appreciated the free food.
"Any event that has free food is a motivating factor whether students would go or not ... it definitely gets them out there," observed Kemp.
Based on the success of the first revelations dinner last year, the Student Assembly allotted money to sponsor the event with the understanding that similar events will be planned in the future.
This year's event was co-sponsored by several administrative offices.
Molly Stutzman, student-body president, thought the event was quite a success. "I wish we would have had an event [like this one] during my freshmen year ... I heard a lot of positive comments as people were walking out."
