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The Dartmouth
April 9, 2026
The Dartmouth
News
News

A Weekend Mystery

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There are some mysteries that are never meant to be solved, and I am now almost convinced that Green Key weekend is one of them.


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Getting To Know...

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Following in the footsteps of such journalistic luminaries as Mike Wallace, Barbara Walters and Ed Bradley, The Dartmouth's Mark Sweeney catches up with the big names on campus and asks the questions that others have too much professionalism or integrity to ask.




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A Tale of Two Togas

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I am 21 years old, and I admit, I still like to play dress-up. When I was little, I would twirl and prance around in ballerina gowns, play princess, pretend to be in fairytales.


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Class combat returns for more

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Class Combat, the event billed by organizer Dan Chang '03 as Dartmouth's "newest, biggest tradition," will return to the Green tomorrow after last year's inaugural competition proved a well-attended success. The competition, which last year was won by the Class of 2002, pits students from each of the College's four classes against each other in a variety of contests ranging from pie-eating challenges to a giant four-way tug of war. "If you do it twice, it's a tradition," said Chang, who conceived the event in response to a perceived lack of activities associated with Green Key. "Green Key weekend is crying out for a greater purpose," he said.


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S&S plans for active weekend

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While incidents over Green Key weekend have fallen in recent years, Hanover Police and Safety and Security will take some additional measures to provide for security and encourage students to be alert. Hanover Police said the volume of calls they receive is no higher than most weekends, though Capt.


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'Egil's Saga' is a powerful work

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"Let me read your unspoken words," repeats Asgerd (Katia Asche '04), with increasing frequency as Kristjan Thorgeirsson's adaptation of "Egil's Saga, Depictions of a Viking Poet," makes its way through eight episodic sections.


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Many traditions of Green Key weekend endure today, but in a weaker form than those of yesteryear

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More than any other Dartmouth holiday, Green Key weekend has seen its traditions ebb and flow by way of intermittent administrative intervention and escalating student involvement in planning alternative social options. Centered around music and alcohol, student-organized activities for this year's weekend reveal the development in campus culture since the birth of the annual spring rite in 1924. In the footsteps of former Green Key musical guests like the Grateful Dead in 1978, Phish in 1989, and Blues Traveler in 1988, the Programming Board selected contemporary rock band Guster to headline this weekend's events. "I think I could safely say that [Green Key weekend] has toned down to some degree," said College Proctor Robert McEwen, citing an overall decrease in outside guests and fewer traditional activities and competitions. McEwen, a Dartmouth employee since 1967, added that more bands performed in the past, as modern acts are more expensive to book and tour less frequently than their predecessors. In the 1960s, all 24 fraternities on campus featured bands for the weekend. Music will still dominate the Greek scene.


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I Don't See No Key!

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When I think of Dartmouth, a number of things come to mind. Most memorable, however, are those moments that unite us all as a campus, those moments when we are brought together annually around our beloved bonfire, our snow sculpture and our Green ... Key.


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AD lawn party remains Green Key weekend highlight

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Tomorrow afternoon, Alpha Delta fraternity will continue its decades-old tradition of outdoor alcohol and live music despite increased pressure from the College to control underage and dangerous drinking. The atmosphere of wild abandon that has characterized the AD lawn party in past years will most likely be toned down as Safety and Security officers and six sober monitors scan the crowd for incidents of students without wrist bands drinking alcohol not provided by the AD basement. Weeks ago AD went through a grueling process of acquiring an exception from the Office of Residential Life, Safety and Security and Dean of the College James Larimore to allow outdoor alcohol consumption for students over the age of 21. While fraternity members would likely have been even more dissatisfied with an outright ban on all outdoor drinking, AD officers expressed frustration and disappointment with the College's strict new policies. Unlike past years, students who bring their own alcohol to the lawn party -- classically disguised in opaque Nalgene bottles -- face not only an Safety and Security write-up, but also the wrath of AD brothers who are eager to avoid a backlash of alcohol policy violations. AD social chair Scott Rutherford '03 expressed doubt about the ability of his house to control the drinking habits of the hundreds of students from all classes that come to the lawn party. "We're going to put forth our best effort, but the idea that no one will bring their own alcohol doesn't seem feasible.


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Area offers many options to sate Green Key appetite

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As the next Green Key party awaits, give your DBA a reprieve and sample one of the many fine restaurants in Hanover and its environs. While the Upper Valley may not be known for its gourmet delights, an array of enticing yet economical dining options are available only steps away from Thayer. Got bread?


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Weekend namesake has served for 80 yrs.

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Who would have guessed that the raucous weekend immortalized in "Animal House" -- Green Key Weekend -- gained its moniker from a junior honorary society? For over 80 years, the Green Key Society has devoted its service to the College. Founded in 1921, the Green Key Society was established to provide hospitality to other college students during their visits to Hanover.



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Wallowing in Dartmouth

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Ah, Green Key. It's kind of like the Tampa Bay Devil Rays of Dartmouth big weekends: there's no real justifiable explanation for why it still exists, but we enjoy it anyway every time it comes to town.



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A Note from the Editor

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It's easy to criticize Green Key for what it is not. The weekend features no signature event, while the chariot races and keg throws of old only survive in photographs. Although the rowdiest traditions have been largely left by the wayside, the spirit of Green Key remains undimmed by time. Since the weekend's early origins more than 100 years ago, Green Key has offered a chance to set aside work and celebrate the coming of spring and warm weather after months of frozen dreariness. Freshmen commemorate the completion of their first year at the College, while for seniors, the event takes on special meaning as the last big weekend they will experience as Dartmouth students. So disregard those who would say that Green Key is a failing tradition: in the end, your Green Key weekend will amount to little more than what you choose to take from it. Exams, papers and presentations are no excuse for avoiding your true responsibilities this weekend.


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New sleep drug Provigil generates controversy

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Touted by some as a wonder drug that can replace sleep, a relatively new drug called Provigil has failed to win widespread support from the medical community as anything more than a treatment for some sleep disorders. The drug, scientifically known as modafinil, was developed in France in the 1970s, but it was not tested in the United States until the 1990s. In 1998, the U.S.


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Reporter, psychiatrist debate youth violence

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Youth behavior patterns, such as youth violence, are analogous to "canaries in a mineshaft" signifying cultural instability, according to James Gilligan, a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist. He and freelance reporter Eric Francis spoke last night at the Ethics Institute dinner, which followed an afternoon discussion panel on youth violence. Ethics Institute leader Ronald Green mediated the afternoon discussion panel, which also included a judge, Edward Kelly.