This article is featured in the 2026 Freshman Special Issue.
Dear Class of 2030,
Welcome to Dartmouth!
You’ve just joined a community with a very unique identity, and we’re sure you have a lot of questions: What’s with all these scooters everywhere? Why is New Hampshire called the Granite State? Why does the bell at Baker-Berry Library play the same song every day?
Flip through the pages of this issue to find out. But, as a spoiler, the bell plays the melody of “Dear Old Dartmouth,” a song that has been a part of the Dartmouth community in one way or another since 1894. The lyrics speak to our core values — a sense of community, love for the natural world and global consciousness. The melody connects past and present — from the twilight ceremony to graduation; from the 19th century to the 21st. So we thought it only right that “Dear Old Dartmouth” be the thread that connects the articles in this special issue we made to introduce you, the Class of 2030, to your new home.
Throughout the issue, you’ll get to learn a lot more about the College and hopefully feel more familiar with it as you venture through orientation and your first fall on campus. Over the next few months, you’ll be inundated with new information, and by winterim you might find yourself dizzy with how much you have learned. From socials and auditions to club wake-ups and more, you might look back on orientation and see a totally different version of yourself. We hope this special edition offers a sneak peek at what the next four years at this special place will look like.
And if you’re still a little overwhelmed with starting college and entering this new chapter of your life, don’t fret — this issue has advice to spare. Flip through the pages, and you will get many new perspectives of people telling you what to do. In this vein, it’s only fitting we try to do the same: We think you should join The Dartmouth! Okay, maybe that’s a little biased… but, really, writing for The D has given us a new way to look at the Dartmouth community, connecting us to people who help us view it through different lenses each and every day. We hope that you will soon be able to do the same. Through the new friendships you form, the new clubs you join, the new classes you take and the new experiences available to you, you will soon also get to know Dartmouth through different avenues. So even if it’s not by writing for The D, we still hope you are open to all these perspectives to help you see and understand Dartmouth to the fullest.
Give a rouse for the Class of 2030!
With a hail,
Isa, Jared, Kay and Ryan
Kay Alvito ’29 is a news reporter from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil studying comparative literature and creative writing. On campus, she is very involved with the arts as a member of the Rude Mechanicals classical theatre company and the dance group Street Soul.
Isabela Pierry '29 is a reporter from New York and is majoring in comparative literature and government.
Jared Gonzalez Arce '29 is a news reporter from California majoring in history. Out of The D, Jared is in surf club and loves music.
