"We anticipate it's going to be busier, so I staff with extra staff," Bradley said. "I'm not sure how much busier we can get, but I will put one extra person for every shift." She added that hopefully, as in years past, Dick's House will be over-prepared and there will not be an unprecedented rush of students admitted on this weekend, especially those with alcohol related symptoms.
John Turco, College Health Services director, said there is typically not a significant increase in the number of incidents that require medical attention during big weekends on campus.
Dick's House treats five to seven students suffering from alcohol-related symptoms during Homecoming, versus three to five such students on a typical weekend.
"It probably isn't going to shock you to say that the number one concern is intoxication and alcohol and the effects of that," Turco said. "It's a time when people are partying, and there's going to be alcohol around, and I think people just need to be careful, especially freshmen."
Bradley recalled an incident several years ago when students ran so close to the Homecoming bonfire that their nylon shorts melted onto their legs, adding that she suspected the students were highly intoxicated.
Turco said that intoxication during big weekends can also lead to other problems, such as fights and assault.
These "interpersonal conflicts" are not only harmful in that students physically get hurt, but they also can impair students' social lives, he said.
Brian Bowden, coordinator of the Alcohol and Other Drugs Education Program at Dick's House, said that students should be careful to not drink more than their bodies allow, especially over Homecoming weekend.
"No more than one drink an hour, no more than three drinks a day, and not every day," Bowden said. "Your ability to detoxify alcohol doesn't get any better just because it's Homecoming weekend."
Bowden said students should not go out alone, even if they have a cell phone with them, as it is often difficult to contact students via phone who are thoroughly inebriated, he said.
"Have something in your stomach, go out with friends, drink responsibly, alternate beverages, you know, one alcoholic one and then one-non-alcoholic one and eat while you are consuming," Bowden said.
Bowden also warned students to be careful of the type of drinks they consume during the big weekend.
"Do not drink the punch," he said. "You never know what's in it."
Studies have found that excessive alcohol can affect one's ability to think abstractly for up to 30 days, according to Bowden.
An example of excessive drinking is five successive drinks in one sitting, Bowden said.
As a more immediate consequence, extremely excessive drinking can cause potential for serious physical harm and unexpected trips to the emergency room, he said.
Despite the large number of people on campus during Homecoming weekend and the increased possibility of medical emergencies, the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center will treat this weekend the same as any other weekend, according to Turco.
This is mainly due to the fact that DHMC is a tertiary care facility and handles emergency cases from this region as well as cases from smaller hospitals in the surrounding area, Turco said.
"If there's a big car accident or big snow storm, they respond quickly," Turco said. "They're used to what they call in the [medical] field as the surge.'"
