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The Dartmouth
March 28, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Attendance drops for Fieldstock festivities

This past weekend, students dressed in flair were seen playing tug-of-war outside of Baker, eating inordinate amounts of mozzarella sticks on Collis lawn and volleying serves on the Green as a part of the College's fifth annual Fieldstock weekend, which allowed students to form teams and compete against one another.

Despite the chariot race's long history as a Dartmouth tradition, the competition saw a decline in participation this year, though this summer's Fieldstock competition was deemed successful by organizers and most Fieldstock chairs interviewed by The Dartmouth.

The chariot race featured only six teams, while over 10 teams competed last year, according to Student Assembly Fieldstock chair Amrita Sankar '12.

The chariot race and the eating competition were two of the most well-attended Fieldstock events, Sankar said.

The large time commitment required by the competitions may have dissuaded many students from participating, according to Chad Hollis '12, Fieldstock chair for Gamma Delta Chi fraternity. Fewer Greek organizations participated in the weekend's activities than last summer, according to Hollis.

"People said, This sounds like a lot of work and effort, so we might as well not show up to anything,'" he said.

Hollis is a member of The Dartmouth staff.

Organizers implemented minor changes to the weekend from previous years, adding events such as a "capture the watermelon" competition, eliminating the obstacle course event and trying to schedule events in more centralized locations, Sankar said.

Although 42 teams officially registered for the weekend's events, significantly fewer showed consistent participation, Sankar said.

"We had 10 to 15 teams that were very active in participation," she said.

Zeta Psi fraternity Fieldstock chair Travis Blalock '12 said that the weekend's events were "drawn out" and could have been concentrated into a single day.

"[Zete] dropped out pretty early I think that was pretty typical for most teams," he said.

The chariot race was brought back to the College in 2006 after a 22-year hiatus, The Dartmouth previously reported. Originally instated as an activity for Green Key weekend, the chariot races were eliminated in 1984 due to safety concerns as students were often pelted with a variety of food and drinks. The difficulty of the race course also contributed to the danger of the event, as many chariots did not survive the course.

This year's race saw the collapse of one chariot Beta Alpha Omega fraternity's "StruggleBus" did not make it to the finish line and the use of alternative tactics by members of Psi Upsilon fraternity, who threw banana peels in the path of their opponents.

In a controversial decision, the Shebalite team was awarded 30 points for winning the co-ed division of the event giving them enough points to beat the GDX team for first place overall in Fieldstock despite facing no competition within their division and not being required to "run" their chariot in the race, Sankar said.

The Shebalite team led the competition before the chariot race event, and ultimately won by a close margin, according to Sankar. GDX received 45 points from the event 30 from winning the male division and 15 for winning a final race between the winners of the male, female and co-ed divisions.

Shebalite's chariot was deemed unsafe by organizers to run in the event but cleared to enter the race, Sankar said. The chariot featured a shopping cart as its base.

The chariot could have been walked through the race's course, Sankar said, though it was decided that doing so could create more "animosity."

"I guess basically they got an automatic entry because they were co-ed, and if there was other co-ed competition who knows if the results would have gone to GDX," Hollis said. "But we can't complain, they did very well in all the other events."

Miscommunication leading up to the event led to problems during the chariot race, Sankar said. She and Class Council's Fieldstock chair Nazar Alexander '12 had informed teams that there would be flexibility in chariot entries, but they should have provided clearer initial guidelines, she said.

"I think that the only thing I would say is that next year they should have very strict rules that they don't change or don't want to change from year to year," Shebalite Fieldstock captain Abella Rutahindurwa '12 said. "I was upset with everyone getting so overly competitive."

Some teams may have been discouraged from creating a chariot due to funding issues, Sankar said, adding that organizers hope to create a fund that competitors can draw from in the future, Sankar said.

Organizers and participants agreed that Fieldstock struggles to garner the same level of attention and enthusiasm that other big weekends generate.

"It's just our sophomore class and it's not as big a deal to [faculty]," Class Council secretary Mary Dang '12, who assisted in the weekend's events, said. "It's just a smaller-scale big weekend, but it's cool."

The Assembly also organized a fireworks display that took place Saturday evening. The fireworks, a new tradition to Fieldstock, cost approximately $10,000 including logistical costs such as permits, according to summer Student Body President Aaron Limonthas '12. Funding for the fireworks came from the Special Programming and Events Committee, as well as Programming Board and Class Council, Limonthas said.

Organizers could have better allocated their resources in a more efficient way, specifically by arranging for a "big-name" musical performer to come to campus, Blalock said.

Acquiring a musical act for the weekend was proposed but a performer could not be secured in time, Limonthas said.

Limonthas said that although Summer term's "busy" nature makes it difficult for some students to participate, Fieldstock weekend's new status allows for more student involvement and initiative.

"Especially with Dartmouth being such an old school, it's nice to put your own stamp on things," he said. "With Fieldstock, we have more say with what is going on and what we want to do it's our class."

To improve the weekend in the future, Limonthas said that the events must be planned earlier in order to generate a larger campus buzz.

"You hear sophomore Summer, sophomore Summer,' but you should be hearing about Fieldstock, too," he said. "It's a big weekend, and I think people underestimate how big it is."

Staff writer Jamila Ma contributed to the reporting of this article.