This is Why We're Hot

In case you didn't get a chance to see the other bonfire picture I have, here's a second shot of the giant bonfire that epitomizes a freshmen's first real Dartmouth Experience (yes, with a capital E). If this is all new to you, let me explain a little about one of Dartmouth's oldest traditions:

On homecoming weekend (usually some weekend in October), many many many alumni make their way back to campus as the freshmen class gets geared up to celebrate the beginning of their Dartmouth careers. A giant wooden structure (seen to the right) is built by MEMBERS OF THE FRESHMEN CLASS (that's you, next year- hopefully!) in anticipation of the actual bonfire that takes place on the friday of homecoming weekend. The actual fire is what I'm about to get to. (For some more history and information, see this page from the Dartmouth website. It's a few years old, but the traditions haven't changed much since then.)

On the evening of that friday, the entire freshmen class gets swept up (in the Freshmen Sweep where, starting at one group of dorms, freshmen go from cluster to cluster gathering up their fellow classmates) and make their way to the center of the green where this giant wooden structure is hanging out. The rest of the school, faculty, administrators, alumni, and local families gather around in a giant circle to watch you participate in this exciting event. After a speech by the President (made without a microphone, and which no one I spoke to was aware of until after the fact) the bonfire is finally lit. Flames crawl up the 50+ tiers of wood, until a giant fire is blazing that lights up the entire green. (The fire tends to be so hot that the ring of students is immediately widened, as we try to escape the heat!)

Then, the RUNNING commences! As per tradition, students run around the giant bonfire almost as a rite of passage, and the first of many Dartmouth Experiences. While saying this may sound arbitrary, it's hard to articulate the feeling you can get from being surrounded by so many of your peers- both those that you know well, and people you've yet to even see or learn about- and taking part in your first Dartmouth act. I won't waste time trying to elaborate more on it and will let your future experience stand for itself!

Also, history calls for students to run 100+ your class year times around the bonfire, which meant for me 113 (100+ 13), and for future students 114 and 115, etc. Obviously, many choose to abstain from what are many miles of running, and instead stick to smaller numbers, like 13, that still hold significance. I am proud to say, however, that I ran all 113 laps this year about the bonfire, an experience I will not soon forget! In short, it was raining consistently throughout the night, half of my body was hot and half was freezing, I was unprepared with clothing as I had not believed I would run it all, and felt both humiliated and proud as upperclassmen continued to yell at me as I completed my 40th, 50th, 75th, 100th lap and so on.

But don't let this dissuade you! Once I finished I was in a daze- both because my body was deprived of oxygen and could barely support itself, and because I had completely surprised myself in completing all of the laps. I, and the people I ended up running with, felt both exhausted and exhilarated by what we had done. Never had I run around a giant bonfire; now I had- 113 times!

While some traditions may be seen as outdated or obsolete today, the bonfire is one that shows me how alive Dartmouth is, and how important its history and community are to its success. The number of alumni and return to campus to support the freshmen class show the strong bonds that they created with the school and the important role it played in their lives. While I'm only a freshmen- excuse me, a '13 - I'm so glad to see how active and involved the alumni are in current student's lives, and know that even after I graduate from Dartmouth (which is VERY far away, thank goodness) I'll still have a vibrant community to be a part of, and one that I will be able to be involved in for the rest of my life.