After nearly two years of anticipation, sophomore summer has arrived like a gift dropped from the gods of higher education. Asking our parents to pay our tuition for a summer at Dartmouth taking a light class load would be a hard sell to make -- if it were not required. If for no other practical reason, sophomore summer at Dartmouth exists to teach us the value of compromise.
Dining hall and gym hours have been grossly cut short, class offerings have plummeted, class sizes have sky rocketed and hundreds of campers have invaded our campus. Air conditioning is reserved for everyone but students, as we sophomores are left to melt in the very heat that we have looked forward to since our first winter in Hanover, and Tubestock -- a big weekend of impossibly legendary proportions -- has been canceled. Yet who could complain?
In times like these, it is appropriate to remember that the legacy of sophomore summer lies in the willingness of past generations to embrace the same spirit of compromise. Sophomore summer itself is a direct product of Dartmouth's decision to admit women, which stipulated that no fewer men be admitted, creating a housing crisis that is still being resolved today.
Notwithstanding, the compromise of today -- like the compromise of 1971 -- seems to bear more prosperity than meets the eye. Sophomore summer makes it possible for Dartmouth students to take unique off-terms, effectively cornering the off-season internship market. Our season in the sun also affords us the opportunity to rekindle old friendships that have dwindled and meet our classmates with an enthusiasm that harkens back to DOC Trips. Summer term truly is a welcomed interruption to our social spaces and routines.
Sophomore summer is both a reminder of the comfort that surrounds us during the regular school year and of how lucky we must have been to find this College.
In eight more weeks, like most things at Dartmouth, sophomore summer will have passed all too quickly. Soon enough, we will be juniors, then seniors, and then adulthood will officially be upon us. Luckily we get to learn the lesson of compromise now while it still means spending a beautiful summer with our friends.
