Editor's Note: This is the first in an occasional series chronicling the lives of young Dartmouth alumni as they make it on their own.
At 50 Vanderbilt Avenue stands the vaunted Yale Club of New York City, a pillar of collegiate afterlife on Manhattan Island. And sharing that space, the Dartmouth Club.
For members of the Dartmouth community in the New York City area -- whether lifelong residents or current students just here for an off-term -- the Dartmouth Club of New York is highly-regarded as a great place to hang out or work out, to build new friendships and to establish professional connections.
A look inside its lavish, spacious physical plant -- where the Club's partner organization, the Dartmouth Alumni Association of New York City, also holds about 90 percent of its events -- provides a glimpse as to why.
"We are unique in that we are the only Dartmouth alumni club to have our own space and staff," said board president Bruce Eaken '60.
As the sole full-time director of a Dartmouth alumni group, Barrett Weeks '72 agreed, describing himself as "a voice in the wilderness ... but with a lot of teammates."
DAANYC automatically extends membership to all Dartmouth alumni living in the five boroughs and nearby Westchester County, but the Dartmouth Club of New York is a private club with a physical plant and required membership dues. Some who are not members of the Club still enjoy its facilities from time to time due to their involvement in DAANYC.
A place of our own
The Club didn't always occupy space with Ivy League rival Yale. According to Chris Robinson '86, the Club once had its own building, rumored to have burned down while its members were drunkenly carousing. The Club subsequently held a wing in the Princeton Club and a floor of the Hotel Commodore before taking up its current residence in January of 1975.
The stay with Princeton came to an end when the Club was evicted for members' "drinking and immoral behavior," Robinson said.
New digs don't appear to have entirely altered the spirit of the Club -- while alumni account for only 10 percent of the Yale Club's 10,000 constituents, they generate 20 to 30 percent of the bar revenue.
Among the faces who frequent that bar is LaCary Sharpe '01. For Sharpe, the Club has been a part of his routine almost since he moved to New York in July 2001. He joined in December of that year, around the same time that many of his college friends joined.
Sharpe works out at the Club's gym every morning and often meets friends at the Club for drinks after work. He cited the Club's restaurants and reciprocal relationships with other clubs as benefits of membership.
Through reciprocal agreements, members of the Club can use the facilities of other private clubs such as the New York Stock Exchange Club.
Extracurriculars
For others, appeal comes in what Ken White '82 termed the "exceptional" lecture series put on by DAANYC and the Club. Although not a member of the Club, White has been active in DAANYC since moving to New York in 1985 and has served as an executive board member since 1996.
White, who originally hails from New Hampshire, credited DAANYC with grounding him in New York.
"Many of the people I have met here have become my best and closest friends, people I wouldn't have met at Dartmouth because we were there at different times," White said. "These relationships make me feel like the city is my home."
DAANYC social events are frequent and range from small get-togethers to group cultural excursions and large fetes. The Club hosts two large annual parties, the September Kickoff party and a December Holiday event. Other gatherings recently organized by DAANYC include attendance at a concert in Central Park and at the play "Say Goodnight Gracie."
In addition to fostering a sense of community, DAANYC provides Dartmouth alumni with opportunities to give back to their surroundings. Recently DAANYC members spent a day working on a Habitat for Humanity house in The Bronx. Volunteers installed drywall on the ceiling of the house. Goldman Sachs underwrote DAANYC participation, providing food, transportation and tools.
Members also volunteer their services to the College in particular by conducting admissions interviews in the New York area. Every spring, the Club hosts a welcoming event for newly accepted high school seniors. And in August, the Club will convene an informational panel for eager members of the incoming Class of 2007.
