Reactions To The Polar Bear Plunge
On Friday morning, dozens of members from the local community lined up on the ice of Occom Pond, prepared to participate in an infamous Dartmouth tradition: the polar bear plunge. Here are reactions from a few of those who were courageous enough to take the plunge.
- Courtesy of Fiona Ewing
“I feel numb but satisfied.” – Catherine Kannam ’17
“I feel surprisingly warm and satisfied that I’ve participated in a Dartmouth tradition.” – government professor Michelle Clarke
“It’s chilly, it’s fresh and it’s fun.” – Madeline Brown ’16
“My reaction would be a curse word, so I don’t know if that’s okay. But yeah, it was worth it.” – Milan Huynh ’17
“When I was in the water, I was just focused on swimming to the other end and getting out because it was so cold. And so I didn’t immediately really realize what I had done. But it was cool knowing that I had done it, and then I look back at the beginning and saw people practically crying.” – Jared Boyce ’16
“My feet are slowly starting to feel frozen, but I can cross it off the bucket list.” – Christopher Given ’14
“I feel really good. It wasn’t that bad at all. My hands and feet are kind of numb, but I’m really happy I did it.” – Lily Lynch ’16
“I was very pumped up for it. When I was climbing up the ladder I felt like I was dying, but afterwards it was the best feeling in the world, knowing that I participated in a Dartmouth tradition.” – Hayley Snyder ’17