Unlike the majority of students here, I would actually consider the Winter to be my favorite Dartmouth term.
Winter gets a pretty poor rap on this campus, although as an avid snowboarder, I am hopelessly biased toward cold temperatures and lots of the fluffy white stuff.
So while a shocking number of my '14 classmates fled to Barcelona, Rome or Australia this term, I chose to duke it out with the elements (come at me, wind chill), not just to quench my craving for powder, but also for that crown jewel of winter at Dartmouth Winter Carnival weekend.
Ask the average non-Dartmouth person what they know about the College, and after mentioning our sterling academic reputation and the Greek system, they'll probably make some remark about that big and crazy winter festival we've hosted since 1911.
There's nothing quite like Winter Carnival I would challenge readers to find another winter celebration anywhere with the same mix of history, camaraderie, snow and, for better or worse, alcohol.
As far as our big weekends go, Winter Carnival unquestionably takes the (cup)cake.
Homecoming is a largely freshmen-centric event that tends to lose steam after the bonfire and football game, while Green Key is mainly about intoxication and enjoying the spring weather.
But Carnival is the perfect and happy medium between the two it's that wild fusion of the tradition of Homecoming with the party-until-Sunday-morning mentality of Green Key. The product is something uniquely Dartmouth that offers something for everyone.
Carnival is one of the best examples of Dartmouth's singular character and indeed, a big part of why I love this school.
There are not many other college campuses where classes are canceled on a Friday in February simply in celebration of winter, let alone where you can watch some of the best winter athletes in the country compete in downhill and cross-country skiing, then sprint around the Green yourself in the human dogsled race and top it off at a party with a ton of imported sand and live music, all in the same weekend.
And those are just a smattering of the activities available to students on Carnival weekend, provided that you're not looking to sleep or get work done. Even if you're a Bay Area kid who's only on this term because the D-Plan screwed you over, you've got to embrace the fun and revel in this environment.
On a very basic level, Carnival weekend is a tacit acknowledgment that we go to school in New England, where it tends to be cold and snow a lot.
As Dartmouth students, we grudgingly accept the treks across campus in below-zero weather and get irrationally excited when the thermometer cracks 30 degrees.
Unfortunately, what many students miss is that the frigid temperatures and piles of flakes typically make for one of the most serene and beautiful scenes that nature can create.
So logically, the Carnival celebration makes a lot of sense it morphs what some might term the dreariness of the season into an event that is infectiously fun.
One of my favorite memories from last winter involved watching my friends stumble across the finish line in the human dogsled race and collapse victoriously into a snowy and flaired-up heap.
It's that perfect blend of the spirit of Dartmouth with the spirit of winter that makes Carnival one of my favorite weekends of the year.
The bottom line is that it will be winter in Hanover until mid to late April anyway, so instead of hiding in your dorm or the library this weekend, why not bask in the glory of taking part in this unique spectacle?
Especially in light of the recent hazing controversy, let's make this weekend about something we can agree on.
At its core, the current dialogue on campus reflects how much we all care about Dartmouth's institutional integrity.
That being said, we can remain cognizant of how our culture needs to change while still taking part in the weekend's festivities.
The controversy can remain relevant and productive without obscuring one of the College's most hallowed traditions.
So happy Carnival, and I hope to see you out there.
