These red cups, part of the Dartmouth Social Cups program, present a new social option for students in the dining hall. If a student chooses to drink out of a red cup as opposed to the typical clear cups, he or she indicates to fellow diners an openness to sitting with strangers.
The project, launched Tuesday, is a reaction to the dining hall's propensity to give students unnecessary stress. Students often feel uncomfortable or awkward when they are eating alone in '53 Commons, founder Christopher McMillan '13 said.
"Foco is a place that everyone goes to, but it's also a place that a lot of people stress over," McMillan said. "A lot of people just go upstairs and pretend to do work on their computer if they're alone, so this is just a solution I thought up."
McMillan came up with the idea after a conversation with a friend at '53 Commons made him aware of some student culture problems. Students often feel as if they cannot approach people who they do not know without feeling awkward, he said.
"I think our community withers in a place that it should thrive," McMillan said.
Students interviewed in '53 Commons said that while they feel the project is a good idea, they do not believe that students will be proactive about approaching peers.
"I don't know if people are brave enough to sit down next to random people," Audrey Landis '16, who used a red cup Wednesday night, said.
While Henry Franco '15 said he used the red cup to approach other students, few had done the same. Many students with red cups sat with groups of people they already knew.
Other students who used red cups expressed disappointment that nobody had approached them.
"Nobody said hi' to me all evening," Jon Vandermause '16 said. "I don't know if I'm ugly or if the cups aren't working."
William Brogan '15, an exchange student from the University of California, San Diego, said that he and his friends would participate in the program. Brogan said he appreciates the iniative as an exchange student who does not know many people.
McMillan manages the project by himself and said he was inspired to work with administrators at '53 Commons after receiving positive feedback from other students.
"I was overwhelmed by the positivity of the feedback," McMillan said. "I took it to DDS's manager who responded within 24 hours saying they had already bought the cups."
Dartmouth Dining Services Director David Newlove said that DDS staff members were immediately enthusiastic about the idea.
"He emailed us as a suggestion of his and we thought it was a good idea as soon as we read it," Newlove said. "It just makes sense."
DDS spent $100 to buy the cups and print posters advertising the project. Other students have used Bored at Baker and Facebook to advertise the initiative. McMillan is optimistic that the project might affect social life at Dartmouth, especially during fall term.
"Going forward to fall, I feel like freshmen will adopt this very quickly because during freshman fall it's acceptable to introduce yourself," McMillan said.
Freshmen may primarily use the cups, since they have a different mindset, said Kaitlin Whitehorn '16, who used a red cup Wednesday evening.
Although students said they were uncertain about the project's results, they agreed that the initiative should continue.
"If everyone ends up doing it, I guess it will catch on," James Pleat '13 said.
