The most serious injury of an otherwise uneventful Tubestock came early Saturday when a male participant jumped off the roof of a house on the Vermont side of the Connecticut River and was knocked unconscious upon hitting the water.
A Hanover police officer on one of the marine patrol boats noticed the injured participant and responded immediately, according to Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone. The officer jumped into the water and assisted in both resuscitating the individual and transporting him to shore, where he was treated at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and later released.
Several other minor injuries were reported; however, most of these injuries involved cuts and scrapes that were treated on site and did not require further medical attention.
No arrests were reported by police from both sides of the Connecticut River.
Participants congregated just north of the Ledyard Bridge on floats built by Greek organizations and buoyed on tubes and rafts they brought with them to the site. Marine patrol boats staffed by members of New Hampshire and Vermont police departments formed a perimeter around the floats to ensure the safety of participants and monitor the activity on the water.
Safety and Security officers monitored entry points on the New Hampshire shore to make sure no students entered the water from the New Hampshire side of the river. For liability reasons, the College forbids students from entering the river from New Hampshire. Instead, students were required to cross the Ledyard Bridge and enter the water from Vermont.
Police took numerous precautions before the event to ensure the safety of participants. Investigator Steve Waldo, who is the coordinator for the Windsor County START program, aided in efforts to curb underage drinking and prevent injuries during the event. START -- the Stop Teen Alcohol Risk Team -- coordinates with Vermont law enforcement officials to prevent alcohol consumption by minors.
"This year, most of the floats were reviewed by engineering students at Dartmouth," Waldo said. This was done to prevent some of the injuries that occurred in past years from poorly constructed rafts, he said.
A meeting will be held later next week with Waldo and other officials in which Tubestock '04 will be discussed and ideas for improving future Tubestocks will be brainstormed.
Even though there were no arrests reported, a festive atmosphere did prevail on the water. A number of students floated in the river with open containers of alcohol, and several students removed their swimsuits and jumped into the water.
"Tubestock was the most fun I've had since arriving at Dartmouth," Ryan Payne '06 said. "I've never seen so many Dartmouth people act so wild."
Many students worried about the success of the event due to weather forecasts earlier in the week that had predicted rain. However, the day turned out to be one of the most beautiful so far this summer, with sunshine and warm temperatures lasting throughout the event.
A new innovation for the annual event was the Greek Leadership Council -- sponsored bus used to shuttle students from Robinson Hall to entry points on the Vermont side of the river. Many students took advantage of this service, while others chose to drive or walk to the site.
Police officers set up a pathway of cones along Route 5 and monitored it to protect students who chose to walk to Vermont from traffic along the road. Onlookers also crowded along Route 5 to catch a glimpse of the event from the shore.
"It went very well this year," said Windsor County Sheriff Michael Chamberlain, whose department sent four deputies to assist with Tubestock. "All in all it was a great day."
The first Tubestock took place in 1987 when Richard Akerboom '80, Th '82 organized a summer festival for his friends and some local residents.
Since then, the tradition has been carried on every year by Dartmouth students despite the College's refusal to sponsor or recognize the event.
