With just one term left until Commencement, The Dartmouth’s Editor-in-Chief Charlotte Hampton ’26 sat down with senior class president JJ Dega ’26 to discuss his role and plans for the Class of 2026’s final rodeo.
What are your responsibilities as senior class president?
JD: I am distinct from Dartmouth Student Government. I have a Class Council, along with the senior class vice president, Brooke Kries ’26. We strive to build class community — that’s the purpose of class councils. Our main responsibility is planning Senior Week and some of graduation.
This is my last couple weeks as Editor-in-Chief. I’m very much, in these last few weeks, looking towards graduation and passing the torch here at The D. Tell me a little bit about what you guys have planned for Commencement. What fun stuff do you guys have in store for Senior Week?
JD: I’m personally looking forward to infusing a lot of the ’26-specific traditions and things that have been important to us into Senior Week.
I think the Dartmouth Skiway has been a very important aspect of the Dartmouth experience for the ’26s. We’re exploring options for some of our fun events, like senior prom, thinking about things that were important to our sophomore summer, like StreetFest. I was in a summer dance group — shout-out Splenda! — and so I would love the opportunity to have my parents and grandparents and those visiting at graduation watch us perform.
One of the staples of Senior Week is Around the World Tails, an event around Hanover where your post-grad location matches up with a bar or restaurant in town. You get to see your community. Maybe you still need a roommate, and you’re at Boston club at Murphy’s, and then you connect with someone who you haven’t seen since sophomore year and it goes from there. It helps bridge that gap between graduation and post-grad life.
In this conversation, you’ve mentioned a lot of things that are specific to the Class of 2026. How do you see our class identity?
JD: Our only memory of COVID is taking a test before trips. Our Dartmouth experience was largely indirectly affected by COVID, not directly.
The ’26s came into clubs and organizations that were starting back up again because of COVID and have really taken on that leadership mantle. The part of the ’26 identity is reshaping Dartmouth College’s identity through rebuilding its culture.
We have seen that through projects like the Seltzer Project, which has provided non-alcoholic seltzers to Greek spaces to provoke inclusivity and reduce high risk drinking. It’s those cultural aspects that will not have a ’26 label attached to them, but will really leave a mark.
Each year, the graduates’ sister class attends Commencement. Ours, the Class of 1976, is the first co-educational cohort. Is there going to be any recognition of that?
JD: I can’t share specifics that I’ve heard on that yet, but I will say that the co-education piece really makes our class special, and so it will be a lens for Senior Week and some of the activities.
You’ve been senior class president since September. What has been the biggest success of your tenure so far?
JD: Our class council has been focused on two main areas: health and wellness and AI.
One of College President Sian Leah Beilock’s main priorities has been health and wellness. We’ve been able to help bring that to the forefront of the College, whether that’s working with the chief health and wellness officer, or initiatives like the Seltzer Project and teletherapy.
We want to make sure that those policies and practices reflect our culture and really create safe and healthy communities.
In terms of AI, Dartmouth is really special. Seventy years ago, the term “artificial intelligence” was coined by the Dartmouth Summer Research Scholars. And with the widespread release of ChatGPT during our freshman winter winterim, our class has been at the forefront of AI. So now our goal is making sure that the institutional practices and those who are making decisions about AI policy at Dartmouth have our perspective from the pre- and post-AI period that we’ve experienced as a class.
What senior tradition are you looking forward to the most?
JD: Graduation. There’s a representation and reflection of Dartmouth values, whether it’s the attendance of the ’76s, our 50th reunion class, or the full circle moment from matriculation when we walked into the president’s office. I’m really looking forward to sharing that one final day with our Dartmouth community — as well as Class Day, the day beforehand, where we’ll hear speeches from a faculty member who has really influenced our time at Dartmouth and others who have either won awards or who have been elected to post-grad offices on the Alumni Council.
What about anything more fun and crazy?
JD: You’ll have to wait until the Senior Week schedule is announced to know.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Jackson Hyde ’28 contributed to reporting.
Charlotte Hampton is the editor-in-chief of The Dartmouth. She hails from New York, N.Y., and is studying government and philosophy at the College.
She can be reached at editor@thedartmouth.com.
