Congratulations '15s you have made it through that wonderful and peculiar form of coerced bonding we call "Trips" and are now poised for a radically different introduction to the Dartmouth community. If Trips are our highly structured attempt to provide every incoming student with a small circle of trusted friends, then Orientation is the exact opposite. This period before classes begin can best be characterized as a time of hedonistic chaos, briefly punctuated by a few "mandatory" events that leave little lasting impression on even the most attentive of freshmen. The social experience you have over the course of the next week will inevitably have a far greater impact on your conception of what Dartmouth culture is all about than any content brought to you by the administration, or even anything that you were told during Trips. Unfortunately, in these early days when every freshman is searching for social acceptance and stability, it is easy to fall prey to certain ideas about Dartmouth that arise from group think. So, when you find yourself in a mass of thirsty and bewildered classmates wandering about frat row, please keep the following things in mind.
Dartmouth consists of individuals. The College is not composed of 20 disparate Greek houses that can be placed upon an arbitrary social hierarchy, nor can it be described with a series of four-sentence stereotypes. Your trippee might think that she knows all about who hangs out where because her '11 brother brought her up to speed on the Dartmouth scene, but the truth is that no social organization on campus is as one-dimensional as some of your peers might lead you to believe. The propensity to simplify our social surroundings by judging people based on their social affiliations (or lack thereof) is a darker side of campus culture that we could all do without. Presumably, the Dartmouth admissions staff sought out students who they saw as having multi-faceted and dynamic personalities. Although it might sound simple, your freshman year will be much more enriching if you recognize that people are much more than the clubs, organizations and teams that they belong to.
Of course, for many people it will take some time before their true personalities emerge. The uncertainty of the first few weeks of college surely made me more conscious of the risk of social ostracism. As a consequence, I was much more cautious about what I said and did. In retrospect, I wish I had behaved the way I wanted to. When I discussed my freshman year experience with friends from high school, we all agreed that this initial ritual wherein everyone attempts to appear sociable was torturous the desire to be agreeable quickly became indistinguishable from a desire to conform to a common perception of what constituted the ideal Dartmouth student. This collective conception begins to take shape during your very first days on campus.
Those of you who venture out on these Orientation nights will likely join many of your older peers in cutting loose in frat houses with pong and various other forms of tomfoolery. Here at Dartmouth we definitely know how to have fun, but it is also important to recognize that such things should not comprise the totality of anyone's college experience. Although some people might look up to those who have an uncommon talent for throw saves, no one respects the guy who slept through his midterm because he blacked out the night before. I have made and cemented many close friendships in nights out at Greek houses, but all relationships should be based upon more than a shared commitment to inebriation and pong. Do not sacrifice your individualism, personal ambition or values for the sake of adhering to someone else's vision of the ideal Dartmouth experience.
When the '14s sat in your position a year ago, we had no idea which of those new peers surrounding us would be lasting friends, and which would ultimately become passing acquaintances. I can happily say that many of my closest friends from freshman year come from varied walks of life, and will likely follow differing paths through a number of Greek houses, campus teams and clubs, and academic departments. Remember to truly appreciate the wealth of personalities and talent that you are about to find yourself immersed in, and never fail to take advantage of the myriad opportunities that this college will offer you. After all, you only get to do this once.
To the worst class ever: Welcome to Dartmouth.