Drinking and cultural norms at Dartmouth have been documented time and time again, from blacking out to booting and passing out on an uninhabited couch. With an array of students constantly inhabiting cities across the country for work terms or after graduation, it seems natural to wonder how much of what defines the Dartmouth party scene is tied to the campus, and how much is more deeply ingrained.
Whether because of the expense of buying drinks or different attitudes toward blacking out in the real world, many students found they blacked out less frequently when not at Dartmouth.
"My drinking habits have definitely slowed down. I drink way more infrequently and I haven't blacked out since I've been out here, so that's good news," said David Jangro '09, who is working in Los Angeles this term.
The presence of other Dartmouth students, however, can prompt students to continue their Dartmouth drinking habits instead of adopting working world standards.
"With other Dartmouth students, nobody will judge you if you do boot. Three guys booted last night," said Leah Williams '09, an intern in Washington, D.C. " You can't really do that at a bar -- they kick you out. Nobody judges you, but yeah, there's a lot less drinking, even in the Dartmouth scene. Kids went home before one in the morning and I was getting upset. That's unheard of at Dartmouth."
Jarred Colli '08, who worked in New York city in the fall, said it's difficult to black out in the city since a student generally has to be together enough to make it home. "You end your nights at your apartment, you can't end your night passing out somewhere," he said.
Williams agreed. "I have to moderate my drinking so I can walk home safely," she said. She noted that she has at times crashed with fellow Dartmouth students.
Students who practice Dartmouth drinking in the real world can run into problems locating their apartments. Williams recounted a story of a fellow student who struggled her first night out in D.C.
"My friend got really, really drunk because she decided to pregame the bars. But when she got wasted she didn't know where she lived or her address. So she had to direct a taxi driver around with no concept of where she was. Later, her roommate's mother had to let her in because she couldn't open her door," Williams said.
On a weekend trip to New York City, Rembert Browne '09, also an intern in D.C., found himself far from home and without public transportation.
"Me and my friend got lost in New York and had to walk like 30 blocks at 5 a.m. because we forgot the subways weren't running," he said.
Though Colli noted that one of the challenges from working in New York was the fact that he couldn't crash where he was partying and had to find his way back to his apartment, he recounted an experience from Barcelona when public transit threw him for a loop he wasn't trained for at Dartmouth.
"When I was in Spain I got absolutely hammered and didn't want to take a taxi back, because taxis are expensive, so I got on the night bus, fell asleep, and rode it for four hours until the sun came up. I got off the bus on the whole wrong side of the city and had to take the train home," Colli said.
During his internship in New York, though, Colli took on the Dartmouth approach and let friends from another college pass out on an abandoned couch at a bar, since he was friends with the bartender.
"I was drinking with these college girls so they got absolutely blasted, dancing on the bar, drinking so much a couple of them couldn't walk. They did what people do at a frat only they were at a bar," Colli said. "So we took them down to the store room and let them stay down there."
Although Dartmouth students are getting lost, sticking together, spending money and getting kicked out of venues, there is a definite element of adjusting to new settings and waiting to get back on campus to resume their old ways.
"I've gotten blacked out once [this term], and that was when I came up for Winter Carnival," Browne said.
