I lost my best friend’s lion mask after a night out during sophomore fall. Leaving your friends’ property in a fraternity basement is always a careless mistake, and this certainly wasn’t the first time I had done it. I soon learned, though, why this absentmindedness was particularly upsetting to my friend. I hadn’t just lost any lion mask — I had lost his bequest.
I retraced my steps from the night before, scouring every nook and cranny of Collis and venturing into the dark alleys behind FoCo before returning to my dorm empty handed and demoralized. I knew that if I wanted my friend to get his lion mask back, I was going to need to be more proactive in my search, and like any young adult in 2014, I turned to the Internet. I reverse Google image searched the mask and immediately rush-ordered it from eBay. I even rubbed dirt on it to make it more convincing. When I gave my friend the mask, though, he was a little puzzled. I thought it looked just like the mask he lent me until he pointed out the difference. The new mask didn’t have the initials its previous owners scribbled in Sharpie, and therefore was not his bequest.
At Dartmouth, a bequest is a very special thing. It’s not just an SAT word used by pretentious students describing an ordinary gift. A bequest, rather, is something passed down from an upperclassman to an underclassman, generally though some campus organization, like a sports team, a dance group or a Greek house. This tradition might seem odd to those unfamiliar with it, so perhaps a few examples will help clarify just what a bequest is.
A Pair of Pink Overalls: These loose, pink overalls hit mid-calf and feature a large pocket on the chest with small white fish and palm trees. The cuffs and bottom trim of the pants also feature some tropical-themed designs.
Lineage: SS ’13, JK ’16.
Group: Grant Croo.
Meaning of bequest: The exact significance of the overalls isn’t totally clear within Grant Croo. Jon Kubert ’16, the current owner, said that their uniqueness is essentially what makes them an excellent bequest. “There really isn’t much meaning other than they go to someone who deserves them,” he said.
Favorite memory with bequest: Kubert said he stole the overalls from Sam Streeter ’13 nearly every day while the two were on Grant Croo. After the first time wearing them, the overalls became an integral part of his wardrobe for the entirety of Dartmouth Outing Club first-year trips. Although they weren’t bequested to Kubert until the end of Grant Croo, he says the game of stealing them from Streeter was one of his best memories of being a Croo member. Perhaps the perseverance to obtain them on a daily basis is what “deserving them” entails.
Best part of bequest: These overalls are the ultimate theme trump card. Kubert said the pink overalls are an easy solution when you don’t have anything to fit the theme of a party. Disco? Pink overalls. Tropical? Pink overalls.
Kubert’s advice: Don’t just walk around campus letting everyone know that you are wearing a bequest with its own history. Instead, wait until someone points it out or asks where you got it from before you tell them the story.
The Blue Dress: Short, old-fashioned looking prom dress covered in blue lace.
Lineage: Rachel Moncton ’12, Holly Foster ’14, Molly Stifler ’14.
Group: Delta Delta Delta sorority.
Meaning of bequest: According to the three women, the blue dress is given to someone who the original owner knows will put it to good use. Moncton said she gave this dress to Foster as a symbol of their friendship, in the hopes that Foster would follow in her footsteps by having even more fun at Dartmouth than she did. Foster, though, is now passing it to Stifler, who she described as a very special person who will “live life to the fullest and wear the dress to the fullest.”
Reaction to receiving the bequest: The over-the-top, shiny sequins seem to capture the attention of future owners as well as onlookers, says Moncton. After being given the dress, Foster says she was “really excited to get a fun, sparkly looking outfit as a bequest.” Clothing bequests are always tricky, she said, because you never know if something is going to fit. The perfect fit of the dress, the two agreed, was a clear sign that she was meant to carry on its tradition.
Favorite memory with bequest: “I wore it for round one of rush and I had a baton and a headband. I felt fun and confident and had a really good time meeting new people,” Foster said.
Foster’s advice: Be very cautious if you lend your bequests out. The person who left it to you has trusted you to take care of it, and you don’t want to disappoint them when they come back to visit campus and find their prized bequests have been lost.
Mindy Kaling ’01 Croo Application: Red piece of laminated paper with a copy of Kaling’s application for Croo.
Lineage: Monz ’10, Reese ’13, Fugi ’16.
Group: Rockapellas.
Meaning of request: According to Carolina Alvarez-Correa, or Fugi, Reese Ramponi ’13 said she wanted to give it to someone who she thinks is hilarious but whose hilarity is somewhat hidden. “I feel like she just thought I was ridiculous, which Mindy’s croo app definitely is,” Alvarez-Correa said.
Favorite memory with bequest: “Reese had just given me a Jason Aldean poster,” Alvarez-Correa, said. “She felt like I would have a Jason Aldean poster in every room and when people asked why I would just say, ‘You don’t need to know.’” This habit of accepting the absolute absurd without question, much like Kaling’s comedic persona on “The Office” does, is why Alvarez-Correa, ultimately received the bequest, she said.
Fun fact: “It belonged to Mindy,” Alvarez-Correa, said. “I think that’s pretty cool in itself.”
Almost every group on campus has its own ideas of what should be passed on to younger members. For many, it’s a way of preserving history. For others, it’s a fun way to share ridiculously unique items that won’t fit in a one-bedroom New York City apartment. For every group on campus, though, it’s a special way that upperclassmen can share their experiences with the underclassmen with whom they’ve made lasting memories.
If you hear someone mention a bequest, ask them to tell you the story.
