Although we have been reluctant to admit it, we are graduating. That means it is time for us to say goodbye to The Dartmouth. Serving as editors for the arts section has been one of the most rewarding — although at times grueling — things we have done. We hope that in our time as editors, we were able to bring joy to your day, teach you a bit about the Dartmouth community and provide a glimpse into the epic power of the arts in the Upper Valley. In the tradition of our predecessors, our parting words to this newspaper are the soundtracks to our time at Dartmouth.
For sitting on the Dartmouth Coach
By: Eleanor Schifino
I have found that I have been most reflective about Dartmouth when I wasn’t actually on campus but rather sitting on the Dartmouth Coach on my way home. Something about watching the trees and granite become a pretty blur as the coach drove by made me feel like the main character of a coming-of-age movie, looking longingly out the window. This introspective mood always had me reaching for my headphones — that, coupled with the desire to drown out the chattering freshmen in front of me and the snoring of the person behind me, and maybe even to make myself seem unapproachable so no one would sit next to me. I’ve had mixed success on that last one.
To me, there has always been a lingering sense of finality when I leave campus at the end of each term. Even though I knew I’d be coming back, our long breaks had me counting down the minutes until I would see my friends, sit on the Green, dip in the river or even be back in a frat basement — although I am not proud of that last one. This playlist is composed of songs that made me think of those moments on campus, serving as a way to hold onto them until I returned. It is a compilation of sorrowful songs about leaving, popular hits often played by student bands, folksy songs that encapsulate Dartmouth’s general crunchy demeanor and many more that just scream “Big Green” to me. Listening to these songs with nothing but open road ahead, I would reflect on my experiences, both good and bad, and fall further in love with Dartmouth. As I will soon take my last ride on the coach as a student, the sense of finality is real this time. I’ll be an alum next time I return, and who knows when that will be? Wait — I do. I will see you all at Homecoming, and you can bet I will be listening to this playlist as I take the coach up to Hanover.
Songs for the first fall of snow
By Elle Muller
Whether it’s late fall term or early winter, the first fall of snow is beautiful in Hanover. I’ve always had a special relationship with the snow. I grew up in the desert, and Hanover was in fact my first experience with snow. So rather than the snow provoking annoyance, I was so incredibly excited. During freshman year, my friend knocked on my door at 6 a.m., and we ran outside while it was snowing, still in our pajamas. People laughed, telling us it was hardly more than a flurry. When the winter is at its longest and darkest, I have tried to remember that joy. Sometimes, it’s as simple as walking in the deep snow on my way to class instead of on the sidewalk. In the slow quiet of my sophomore winter, I remember laying in the ice of Pine Park, stargazing. Break the silence of winter with the polar plunge, run home in your parka before your hair freezes and laugh and laugh in the 5 p.m. darkness that feels like midnight.
When winter is long, quiet, dark and sleepy, it’s so wonderful to find warmth. For me, Sanborn Library has always been a warm glow on campus. When you’re tired, you can sit in Sanborn and just watch the snow fall with a cup of tea as the sun sets through the window. It’s quiet, and winter gives you the space to think. These songs are for any and all of these winter moments. When you’re driving to the Skiway and stop at Lyme Country Store for a breakfast sandwich. When your eyelashes freeze on an Occom Pond walk with your best friends. When you’re alone, looking out the window and wondering. When you’re waiting for your tea to cool, and as you talk with your friends into the night. When it’s oh so quiet outside — but quietly beautiful.
For the first day it’s finally sunny enough to lay on the Green
By Jessica Sun Li
Spring term always starts out frigid — essentially still winter — so there’s a certain magic on the first day that it’s finally sunny and warm, finally actually spring. Everyone stretches their limbs, stiff from hibernation, and gathers on the Green. People come out to throw a frisbee around or play spikeball or read on a bench. Hanover residents bring their dogs and their young children to run around. I lay on the Green with my friends, basking in the sun, and think to myself that this is how I’m going to remember college. There’s a speaker softly playing music that takes me out of any middle-of-the-term worries.
Although my favorite season is fall, my favorite terms by and large at Dartmouth have been my spring terms. Even so, I entered this spring apprehensive, nervous after realizing that this is my final term. For the most part, it’s felt like a normal spring, but as we speed through week nine and quickly hurtle into week 10, contending with the end of my time here has become inevitable. In thinking about leaving Dartmouth behind, it brings me comfort to know that when I look back on college, I won’t be thinking about the stress of tests or papers. I’ll think about moments like this on the Green and these songs that brought me so much peace and joy throughout my four years in Hanover.
By: All of us
We know that graduation is supposed to be a joyous event, but we face it with dread. Graduation means leaving behind everything we have built over the past four years, and right now, the passage of time feels like the worst thing in the world. It also means saying goodbye to friends, traditions, places and moments. Sure, our futures are bright and ripe with opportunity — whatever it is that adults say to make us feel better — but attending Dartmouth has been such a pleasure. It’s been our own little bubble. We have felt our biggest triumphs here and our deepest losses. Leaving behind such a place is more than hard — it feels impossible.
Elle Muller is a ’24 from Tucson, Arizona. She is double majoring in English and creative writing & theatre. At The Dartmouth, she served as the news executive editor for the 180th Directorate. Before that, she wrote and edited for Arts. In addition to writing, Elle is involved with dance and theatre at Dartmouth.
Jessica Sun Li '24 is a sociology major and English minor from the suburbs of Chicago. She was the 180th Directorate's arts editor, and her passion project is the "Dear Mirror" column. Outside of The Dartmouth, she is involved in the figure skating team and sociology research. She really wants to adopt a cat.
