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The Dartmouth
August 19, 2025 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth
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News

Posters now valued as collector's items

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Freshly-fallen snow, skiers hurtling down the trails of Dartmouth Skiway and the giant snow sculpture on the Green are all iconic images of Winter Carnival, but the face of the February weekend has long been the annual Winter Carnival poster. Past posters detail the unique themes of each Winter Carnival, often featuring skiers, ice skaters and smiling students, sketched in the familiar shades of Dartmouth green.


News

I'm having some issues...

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Dear Carol, I've heard that this year's snow sculpture, potentially large enough for a midnight rendezvous, will present the opportunity to experience one of the "Dartmouth Seven" in a Winter Wonderland.



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Women flocked to 'magical' Carnival before 1973

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When she was chosen as Queen of the Snows at the 1972 Winter Carnival, Margee Farnum Cullinan, then a freshman at the all-female Colby Junior College, told the Associated Press that being recognized by the Dartmouth community was the greatest thrill of her life.


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Upper Valley residents lament loss of Carnival spirit

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As a young child living in Hanover in the 1960's, Bryan Smith always looked forward to Winter Carnival. However, like so many other locals, today the manager of International DVD & Poster and resident of Lebanon, N.H., believes recent Winter Carnivals have paled in comparison to those of the past. "It used to be one of the highlights of the winter," he said.


News

Skiers use carnivals to build momentum for NCAA

While most students view Winter Carnival as a welcome release from the midterm crunch, Big Green sking won't have time to relax as they play host to the Dartmouth Carnival races. With the national title skiing title up for grabs, the Big Green skiers hope to capitalize on peak-season action at home and garner momentum heading into the NCAA championships. With three carnival victories already under their belts, things seem to be falling into place for the skiers this season.


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'Carnival' cowriter recalls College visit

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In what F. Scott Fitzgerald would later call "one of the silliest mistakes I ever made," the renowned author and recovering alcoholic visited campus in 1939 for an infamous weekend of drunken revelry while attempting to research for a screenplay about the College's Winter Carnival with co-author Budd Schulberg '36. Hollywood producer Walter Wanger, a member of the class of 1915, originally gave Schulberg the task of writing the 'Winter Carnival' movie in the fall of 1938, according to an article in a 1939 issue of The Dartmouth.



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Counterpoint: Sculpture and the Seven

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While the Dartmouth Seven is a firmly agreed-upon tradition that students learn of early on in our illustrious careers at the College (I heard about it from an '07 frat boy during Orientation, shortly before he invited me to check Blitz in his room), there is a slight problem -- no one ever wrote down the exact places or any guidelines, and Wikipedia is depressingly silent on the issue. Sure, the concept is simple: have sex in seven places, make sure someone calls you out at meetings to highlight your massive legit-ness, and brag about it. But what of the countless ways you can violate the unofficial rules?


News

Point: Sculpture and the Seven

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When wondering whether or not the snow sculpture qualifies as one of the Dartmouth Seven, I racked my brain to identify what the true Seven actually are: BEMA, President's Lawn, Baker-Berry Stacks, steps of Dartmouth Hall, 50-yard line, the center of the Green... Uh oh, that's only six.


News

Other colleges also host winter events

As the 11 ski teams of the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association make their way around the Northeast for the league's annual races, several member colleges of the EISA will also celebrate the season by holding winter carnivals similar to Dartmouth's. Dartmouth held its first carnival, centered around skiing competitions, in 1910, and fellow New England colleges followed suit soon after.




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One decade after Carnival protests, SLI lives on

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With the fervor of Winter Carnival once again descending upon campus, students might forget that this weekend also marks the 10th anniversary of the Student Life Initiative -- a policy whose release dampened the 1999 Winter Carnival festivities with student protests, confusion and disappointment. The Board of Trustees issued a release on Feb.



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Carnival's indoor options include crafts, alumni chat

Although this year's Winter Carnival theme, "Summitting a Century: 100 Years of the DOC," emphasizes Dartmouth's traditional outdoor events, students can find relief from the frigid weather with indoor activities hosted by various campus organizations. This year's Winter Carnival Council will offer several such activities to supplement traditional outdoor and sporting events, according to Grace Dowd '11, council co-chair. "Being outside in the snow isn't for everyone, so having indoor events is a nice way to balance [Carnival activities] out and make sure everyone can find something to do," she said. Celebrations began with a screening of "Winter Carnival," the 1939 film about old-time weekend festivites, on Thursday night at the Top of the Hop. Students will also be able to create dream catchers using natural materials, such as twigs collected from nearby Oak Hill, during a winter-themed movie screening tonight at Collis Common Ground, according to Sarah Frostenson '11, chair of the Council's arts and crafts committee. "It's a fun, indoor way to celebrate the [Dartmouth Outing Club]," she said. Frostenson is a member of The Dartmouth staff. Saturday night will see the return of the fireside chat, a traditional Carnival event which was not held last year due to concerns about student interest, Dowd said. The chat will feature a panel of past members of the Outing Club who will discuss the organization's history and its co-evolution with Winter Carnival, according to Carsten Hansen '12, chair of the council's fireside chat committee "We wanted to remind people that there's more to Carnival than activities, like the chance to interact with alumni," she said. Student Assembly organized the second annual Mr. and Ms. Big Green School Spirit Competition on Thursday night in Collis Common Ground, according to Uthman Olagoke '11, co-chair of the Assembly's student life committee. The participants were judged in a dancing contest, talent show, question-and-answer session and a flair walk-off, he said. The event's organizers hoped the competition would promote school spirit by bringing together students from different parts of the Dartmouth community, Olagoke said. "It's a fun way to celebrate the diversity of the student body and show that students just love Dartmouth," Olagoke noted. A number of student organizations will also hold performances over the Carnival weekend. The Vagina Monologues was performed Thursday evening in Dartmouth Hall, while the Brovertones will host the annual Winter WhingDing a cappella show tonight in Spaulding Auditorium. On Saturday night, the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble will present its "Coast Goes Latin" concert, featuring guest pianist Arturo O'Farrill, also in Spaulding Auditorium.


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Carnival funds remain intact despite budget cuts

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The College's newly announced budget-reconciliation plan will cut jobs, dining services and offered courses, but the upcoming Winter Carnival's predetermined funds will not be affected, according to assistant director of the Collis Center and Student Activities Brian Dye. "So far, it's going to be the same Winter Carnival as we've always had," Dye said. The total cost of Winter Carnival is approximately $12,000, which does not come from the College's general budget but the Student Activities fee that undergraduates pay each term, according to Dye.


News

Honey in a Bear Market

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With two Dartmouth Mirror articles already dedicated to sex in the snow sculpture, I was stumped by the Herculean task of producing 500 words about the illustrious Winter Carnival.



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Despite warm weather, most activities will continue

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Students wary of the winter chill will be hard-pressed to find a reason not to go outside this Winter Carnival, thanks to this year's efforts by Dartmouth Outing Club to highlight outdoor activities. "[Winter Carnival] is a celebration of the outdoors," Brian Dye, assistant director of Collis Center and student activities, said. The Dartmouth Outing Club will play a large role in this year's festivities, particularly because the 2009 Carnival theme, "Summiting a Century: 100 years of the DOC," honors the organization's centennial. The unseasonable weather has put a dent in some plans, however. One new activity planned this year had been the inclusion of an ice luge set up behind the Bema, according to Ellen Ludlow '10, who is helping to organize the luge.