Responses to the notorious question of dating at Dartmouth -- does it exist? -- are usually filled with excuses of the D-Plan, the fraternity basement scene and the lack of things to do in Hanover as evidence of its nonexistence.
With a large number of '04s leaving the College with a degree and an engagement, however, dating clearly does exist -- and flourishes -- at Dartmouth.
"You have to be flexible," Julia Keane '04 said. "I think a lot of people get discouraged by the D-Plan, and that is true for some people, but I think you can make it work if it's important to you."
Keane met her fiance Dave Seidman, who has since transferred to Boston University to pursue a master's program, one month into their freshman year here.
While walking outside around Bates Mansion, Seidman proposed to Keane at her Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority formal May 21.
"It was a complete surprise to me, but really, really nice," she said of his proposal. She had to run back inside to actually see the ring. "I still fiddle with it all the time."
Keane and Seidman plan to get married in either the summer or fall of 2006, and until then will live together in Boston.
One of Keane's sorority sisters, Kristin Steinert, '04 has also recently become engaged in late May, to Alex Talcott '04. In fact, Talcott and Seidman coordinated their proposals. On May 20, Talcott proposed to Steinert in the gazebo on the Norwich Green after they had spent the day together.
"We went home and basically called everyone we knew," Steinert said.
She and Talcott started dating during UGA training Fall term of their sophomore year.
"We really knew within two weeks that we were going to get married," Steinert said.
Steinert spent her off-term at Dartmouth to be close to Talcott, saying that their time apart sophomore spring was difficult.
Emphasizing that she and Talcott "do everything together," Steinert said that they are "that couple that's together 20 hours a day."
Steinert said that spending time together is important to making a relationship work at Dartmouth.
"I think the thing is to try to do as much as you can together," she said.
Next year Talcott is attending Notre Dame Law School, and Steinert is working in Chicago, so they intend to see each other on weekends.
"It'll be a transition because we won't be spending as much time together, but I don't have any worries," Steinert said.
The experience of engaged couple Chad Dooley '04 and Shannon Rogers '04 has been somewhat different. Dooley and Rogers, both UGAs, have been together since the end of their sophomore year in high school.
Dooley, who transferred to the College after one year at Northeastern, proposed to Rogers on May 1.
Dooley had asked Rogers' parents at the beginning of April about the planned proposal, and they worked with a family friend in the jewelry business to pick out a ring for Rogers.
"I told Shannon it was going to be late to try to surprise her," Dooley said.
Even Rogers' mom was in on the surprise.
"It was the first lie she ever told me," Rogers said, referring to the "delay" of the ring.
Both Rogers and Dooley said they are each other's best friends. They shared a typing class together their freshman year of high school in southern New Hampshire, but "we really got to know each other in Driver's Ed," Dooley explained.
Dooley needed a ride to driving class, and found it in Rogers' mom. Dooley also joked that he needed a route into golf and sought out Rogers, a member of the Dartmouth golf team.
Both Rogers and Dooley candidly admitted that they dislike the "dating scene" at Dartmouth.
"We don't appreciate the dating scene here; it doesn't really promote dating," Dooley said.
"Our idea of a good date is playing tennis or going to Walmart," Rogers added.
Next year, Dooley and Rogers look forward to living together in the Boston area.
"It'll be way more fantastic," Dooley said. "There'll be more stuff to do."
