Last week, The Dartmouth reported that 14 students met to discuss possible changes in the Homecoming bonfire tradition ("Group Works to Improve Bonfire," Oct. 15, 2010"). During Homecoming, we freshmen are tasked with running around a colossal inferno while being taunted to "touch the fire." According to the article, this small group of students seeks to expose us to an "entirely positive experience" by eliminating the verbal hazing that is traditional to the bonfire. While I appreciate these efforts to protect my fragile emotional psyche from lighthearted jeers of "worst class ever!" I implore the administration and the Dartmouth community to prevent this vocal minority from sterilizing the bonfire. I can attest from my high school experience the watering down of these traditions will lead our community down a slippery slope where a passionate and energetic culture becomes stifled by micro-management and desensitization.
When I first entered my high school as an unsuspecting ninth grader, one of the first traditions I encountered was a yearly event called the "Back to School Barbecue." The word "Barbecue" was a bit of a misnomer. As per tradition, about an hour into the event was a pie eating contest which inevitably degenerated into a gleeful food fight involving the entire student body. Unfortunately, the times were a-changing. My passage through high school coincided with an increasingly conservative and image-conscious administration, one that was more and more eager to respond to some student complaints about ruined clothes and hurt feelings. By my senior year, the pies of old had been replaced with whipped cream, and the act of joyfully pelting one another with food and drink became strictly prohibited. The end of this tradition was not merely the transformation of one event, but was also emblematic of the ongoing sterilization of my school's culture.
Recent events suggest that this trend is becoming more pervasive here at Dartmouth. The infamous Psi Upsilon keg jump was discontinued in 2001 after the College pulled its insurance support from the fraternity. This summer, Dartmouth students were suddenly banned from swimming in the Connecticut River. While these are not examples of hazing comparable to the bonfire, they are all indications that traditions have been taken away from Dartmouth students even when they are extremely popular. It is always easy for an administration to justify banning things whether it be for reasons of safety or the concerns of a minority of students. Will a change in the bonfire be next?
I ask those students who are attempting to temper iconic Dartmouth traditions to take pause. It is one thing to hand out water to combat the pervasive problem of becoming dehydrated while running around a hot fire. It is quite another to ask the community to alter the way a tradition is conducted in order to address the dissatisfaction of a small few. If you did not enjoy your bonfire experience because you considered jeering to be hazing and were overwhelmed by "negativity," then you have a personal right to be disappointed. However, for me and most of my peers, the bonfire is an object of excitement, not trepidation. We understand that we are not, in fact, the worst class ever; and most of us will remain unmoved by your pleas to touch the fire (most of you didn't do it, either). If we find traditions to be outdated or mean-spirited then we can speak as a majority. We do not want the passion of this community to be changed or moderated on our behalf.
The parallel between my high school experience and my fears about what could come to pass at Dartmouth is far from absolute. Although I have been here for little more than a month I can already say for certain that this is a place with an infinitely greater sense of community and tradition than my high school. However, a fundamental change in the traditions that underlie a community will always produce a change in the culture of that community. Sometimes, these shifts are clearly for the better I for one am quite content with the fact that Dartmouth is both coeducational and no longer committed to a mission of evangelizing Native Americans. In this case, a change in tradition will produce negative consequences down the road. Do not let Dartmouth become characterized by hypersensitivity our vibrant culture should remain unbridled.
