Spring's arrival doesn't immediately guarantee warm, sunny days here in Hanover, but it does promise the return of a massive number of students who have been off for a term or two, doing everything from trying to save the world to selling out on Wall Street. Such diversity of experience is one of the so-called wonders of the D-Plan.
Frankly, I've yet to save any orphans or have a 'real' job. Aside from an amazing transfer term I took this past fall and going home my freshman summer, I have been in Hanover for every term since the fall of 2005. My enrollment pattern has always seemed boring compared to others. But as I'm beginning to find out, the D-Plan only sets up high expectations that add more pressure to our lives -- pressure we don't really need.
People like me have elected to stay on campus term after term for many different reasons. Many decide to take the "Hanover FSP" -- that is, staying on campus to just hang out, using research or day jobs as their excuse to rage at Dartmouth while their friends are in class. Others, like international students, have to conform to a traditional academic year (fall, winter, spring) because of certain visa restrictions that require them to be enrolled in classes for a minimum of three terms at a time. Some people change their majors or add on minors, forcing them to take unexpected or additional terms at Dartmouth.
In my case, taking classes buys me time to just be a student, without the pressure of the "real world" haunting me. But staying in Hanover isn't the equivalent of curling up in a ball on your bed with the covers over your head -- though I sometimes question if that's what I have been doing. After all, students feel the effects of the D-Plan whether at home, abroad or in Hanover, and leaving Dartmouth doesn't grant full escape from stress and deadlines. The D-Plan is like a tiny man chasing us, stopwatch in hand, wherever we go. Unless students have a definite idea and desire to do something non-academic, there's no reason to feel pressured to use the D-Plan in the seemingly adventurous or career-advancing ways of others.
Despite the stress level, maybe people like me come back to Hanover because after everything, college is college -- and these four years are precious. As rewarding as interning or volunteering abroad may be, students like me might not feel a rush to go and do these things right away. It's only when I am confronted with the glamour of the D-Plans and experiences of others that I sometimes doubt my decision to sit tight in Hanover. While I'd desperately like to live abroad for a while, volunteer for a country in need and intern at the BBC, it's easy to forget that I'm only 20 years old. Life may be short, but there's no need for me to sprint towards the finish line or limit my sense of adventure to these four years alone.
We can afford to wait a little in our pursuits of adventures abroad or i-banking jobs in New York. And as much as Dartmouth kids like to rage and deny their inner nerd, what better time than the present to let that inner nerd come out? Keeping it local is also a rare thing to do -- I for one don't plan on settling in Hanover after graduation. And though off terms are sometimes necessary for people to feel any love for Hanover at all, an off term need not make someone feel ashamed for opting to rest at home instead of advancing their career, for example. Whatever students choose to do with their terms, they should be listening to what their own bodies and minds are telling them -- not to any outside pressures that might indirectly influence them.
Ultimately, it seems the D-Plan is symptomatic of a greater trend not just at Dartmouth, but in the US itself -- time pressure. Americans run around so much that they can't even enjoy a cup of coffee, and before they know it, time passes them by. My time at Dartmouth is already flying before my eyes, and while eliminating the D-Plan wouldn't prevent that, it might at least grant us all a little more peace of mind.
