"I mourn the lack of nudity," said Elisabeth Barbiero '97, reminiscing about Winter Carnival days of yore.
"I mourn the loss of the keg jump," she said.
Barbiero, a Tabardite who now works in Hanover, has witnessed 11 consecutive Carnivals. Sadly, she said, they have become decidedly less exciting.
Dan Phelan '03 told The Dartmouth, "Carnival seems like the deadest of the four weekends. It was mostly an excuse to ship up women [to campus] in the past. Now it's just kind of a party despite the cold."
A party despite the cold? Is this the best Dartmouth can do?
Two years ago, the administration threatened to end the traditional construction of a snow sculpture after four score years of ice art on the Green. Further, traditions like the keg jump at Psi Upsilon fraternity have been banned for safety reasons, and many parties, like Bones Gate fraternity's winter tea party, have all but disappeared.
Yet there seems to be a ray of hope. Vi Le '03 works in the Student Activities office, and she is optimistic that this year's Carnival might overcome its recently lackluster past.
"In my four years at Dartmouth, I didn't participate much in Carnival. The only part of it I saw my first year was the opening ceremony, which I saw walking to an exam," she said.
Then, when she was hired to work in Collis helping students plan campus events, she researched Carnival's history at Rauner Library to to get information for this year. "I was going through articles, reading up on the history of Carnival, and it made me sad I didn't participate more, because it looked like a great tradition."
"It was lost on me [as an undergraduate], but after I looked stuff up and saw pictures of the sculpture itself, I was amazed by some of the ones they had in the past. I realized Carnival is not just a party. It's a tradition," said Le.
"The history is what makes it great," she said.
Barbiero recalled the excitement that used to fuel Winter Carnival weekend and the spirit that brought the campus together.
"There was more energy, more of a sense of anticipation and excitement," she said. "People used to have their friends come visit, and the attitude was 'we're gonna party, and have a great time!'"
That mentality may have gone into hibernation, but it certainly has not died. Some areas of campus are abuzz and would bring a tear to the eye of any true-Green alum.
"Dude. Inferno, so hot right now. Inferno," Peter Simpson '05 enthusiastically said, preparing for the legendary party at The Tabard co-ed fraternity. "This weekend is going to rock."
Matthew Schwartz '06 emphatically agreed: "The Tabard has been and continues to be my living orgasm! Disco Inferno this Friday night at midnight will be the best one in house history."
Other fraternities and organizations have begun sending e-mails as well. It seems that the schedule of events for this year has grown.
Though Barbiero noted the administration's increasingly tight control on campus-wide partying, she hopes this year, the Dartmouth community will rally together to embrace the spirit of celebration. "It's about college spirit," she said. "It's about being a part of the Dartmouth community."
Le predicted success. "This year the students have taken over the planning, and they've done an amazing job. They've worked through our office, with publications, and more to really make it great. I'm looking forward to the weekend," she said.
Maybe the campus will come back to life the way this year's snow sculpture has risen so majestically out of the ashes of the once near-dead tradition.
And just maybe we'll see a naked alum or two running down Frat Row with a blue light bulb, for old time's sake.
