Like many Dartmouth students this past Homecoming, I was disappointed to hear the College’s plan to supplement the traditional bonfire celebration with a light and laser show. I still vividly remember my freshman-year Homecoming. Huddled together, my friends and I stared in amazement, the heat radiating off of our awe-filled faces and warming us against the chilly New England night. We were staring at 137 years of Dartmouth tradition.
Dartmouth — as an institution, as a student body, as a force in the world — has evolved with time, but what has remained central throughout its dynamic history is its deep-rooted sense of place. This isn’t just another admissions office tagline; it’s an intergenerational sense of community. Throughout my time at Dartmouth, climate change has begun to threaten that institutionalized commitment to tradition.
On Sept. 22, New Hampshire issued a state-wide ban on open fires due to amplified summer drought conditions, a fiery tradition snuffed out by another adverse effect of climate change. An August 2021 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has high confidence that for every 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit the atmosphere warms, the intensity and frequency of droughts will increase.
Homecoming isn’t the only Dartmouth tradition facing the adverse effects of climate change. Since its induction in 1911, Winter Carnival festivities have evolved to include ski races, an ice sculpture contest, and the infamous Polar Bear Swim, with students swapping winter coats for bathing suits and plunging into an icy Occom Pond. Unfortunately, in 2024, winter thumbed its nose back at Dartmouth. The Polar Bear Swim was cancelled due to thin ice; the ice sculptures barely lasted a week, and half the trails at the Dartmouth Skiway closed. I remember trudging across the Green, a sodden patchwork of mud and dirty snow, sweating as profusely as the thawing ice sculptures, wishing I’d opted to ditch the winter coat. Not the best introduction to a century-old Dartmouth tradition.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration states that February’s average temperature in 2024 was 34.6. Last year’s Winter Carnival, held in mid February, saw highs of 52 degrees Fahrenheit. NOAA’s Monthly Global Climate Report for February 2024 found that the average global surface temperature was 2.52 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average of 53.8 degrees, making it the warmest February since global records began in 1850. If the trend holds, last year may have been Dartmouth’s last Polar Bear Swim.
This spring saw another century-old Dartmouth tradition under threat: Green Key weekend. Originating in 1899 as a series of fraternity parties, it now sees a host of campus-wide live music events, notably Programming Board’s headliner artist. This year’s Green Key, however, saw heavy rainfall, turning “Gold Coast” Lawn to mud.
Many students simply shrugged off the adverse weather, choosing to make the best of the festivities. Rainy weather is typical of spring months, but rising temperatures are increasing extreme precipitation events, which, according to a Dartmouth study, are projected to increase in the Northeast by 52% by the end of the century. This will lead to increased flooding, landslides and erosion, which can wash out roads, trigger agricultural runoff of pollutants and damage recreational areas. Recall the devastating flooding in Vermont in 2023 and 2024.
It’s easy to feel sheltered from the anxiety-inducing state of the world here. Hidden away in our ivory tower in the woods, it’s more convenient to shut off our brains and go about our lives. We convince ourselves we can make no tangible difference, but power lies in resolve. Now, climate change threatens Dartmouth’s traditions, serving as a wakeup call to believe in our resilience and do our part.
Opinion articles represent the views of their author(s), which are not necessarily those of The Dartmouth.
