As student directors sift through applications for this year’s student show at Dimensions of Dartmouth — the College’s prospective student weekends — they said that no major changes are in store for the program, following administration-mandated changes between the 2013 and 2014 shows, as well as the Dimensions weekend programming as a whole, such as barring current students in the Dimensions performance from posing as prospective students.
The only concrete change from last year’s show and programming is pushing to have the Dimensions show all three weekends instead of during the last session only, show directors Sam Glick ’17 and Rosie Mahoney ’17 said. Currently, the show is scheduled for April 23.
Despite College President Phil Hanlon’s “Moving Dartmouth Forward” social policy initiative announced last month that touched on plans to mitigate high-risk drinking, sexual assault and exclusivity and included a new plan for residential housing, directors said there has so far been no direction from administration on changing programming.
“I think they trust us to represent campus,” Glick said.
Around 30 freshmen will be chosen to write songs and skits and perform them for prospective students. Over 1,000 prospective students are expected to attend one of three sessions of the Dimensions of Dartmouth weekends, which feature student panels, information sessions, tours, academic showcases and the student-organized show.
Once chosen, members of the Dimensions performance team will also take the time to get to know current freshmen. The directors said that they will be trying to talk to a diverse group of members of the Class of 2018 with the aim of gathering feedback from as many diverse viewpoints as possible.
“‘Moving Dartmouth Forward’ will affect ’18s experiences, and we want to express that,” Glick said.
In recent years, the Dimensions performance has been a subject of controversy. During the April 2013 show, a campus group called Real Talk Dartmouth protested the show, chanting “Dartmouth has a problem” and holding signs that criticized the College for homophobia, racism and lack of action on sexual assault. A video of the protest was posted to YouTube, titled “Another Dimension of Dartmouth.”
Last year, the administration stopped students from posing as prospective students, a prank which had been a tradition to help facilitate social interactions between current students and prospective students.
Glick and Mahoney said they applied to Dimensions last winter despite not attending the program when they were prospective students. The performance will feature six songs touching on topics such as academics, social life, food, traditions, Hanover and general fears about college. Skits will portray the College’s diversity, the array of student backgrounds and students’ opinions on Dartmouth and issues the school faces, Glick said. The show will be an hour and a half to two hours long.
Mahoney said that the purpose of Dimensions is not to try to show what the College will be like for each student, but rather what the experience of being a Dartmouth student has meant for each student involved.
The performances are also designed to show students how much current students want them to attend the school, Glick said.
The programs will attempt to present as accurate a representation of student life at Dartmouth as possible, directors said. Glick and Mahoney said that they have been consulting with both administrators and prior directors while planning this year’s program.
Last year’s Dimension’s director Emily Leach ’16 said that she became involved because Dimensions played a large role for her feeling a sense of home at the College, as anyone who was willing to spend that much time on the show is probably content with their choice.
While Dimensions is not exactly indicative of life at the College, Leach said the show is an accurate representation of how students involved feel about the school.
While it’s difficult to integrate serious dialogue into the show, Leach said the show could help start dialogues on campus regarding the issues Dartmouth has been facing.
One benefit of the show is that current students can talk about fears that they had coming into Dartmouth, Leach said.
Talking to the prior directors made the transition smoother as Glick and Mahoney have been able to receive advice as to how to contact freshmen and how to gain access to the Class of 2018 Facebook group, Glick said.
Mahoney said she became involved partially to help students make the decision about where to enroll.
“I think it is a great feeling that you could help someone make a decision that really is a turning point in their life,” Mahoney said.
Devina Kumar ’18 said that the Dimensions weekend last year was the deciding factor in her choice to attend Dartmouth. Kumar said that the students involved made her feel like she was already a member of the Dartmouth community when she attended the event. As she attended the two-day Dimensions program, however, Kumar said she would have liked for there to be more engaging activities earlier on, as opposed to having the skits and songs at the end of the weekend.
The directors of the Dimensions performance are chosen from students who participated the prior year.
“Rosie and [my] job is to make sure things run smoothly, but the ’18s do everything,” Glick said.
Starting in spring term, rehearsals for the student-organized show will be held every Sunday.
