Tripping

A friend of ours, Class of 1944, accompanied six freshmen (three young men and three young women) as a "leader" on this year's Freshman Trip. Our friend and the freshmen clambered over hill and dale in the Kinsman Notch area, and although it may have been a case of the halt and the blind as far as "leading" was concerned, everybody had a fine time. A few days later the six freshmen helped our friend build a log cabin, a halt-and-blind operation if there ever was one.

Anyway, 550 freshmen - 400 men and 150 women - took part in the hiking, fishing, and bicycling excursions. They were on the trail for four days or, in the case of the anglers, with John Dickey on the Swift Diamond and Dead Diamond rivers in the College Grant. On the fourth day the groups convened at the Ravine Lodge at Mt. Moosilauke for talks by President Kemeny, Vice President Ruth Adams, Dean Brewster, and plenty of others.

According to Bruce Barcelo '74, who organized the 1973 Freshman Trip for the D.O.C. (and who has something to say about "de-symbolizing the alumni" in the Undergraduate Chair column in this issue), there are two important aspects to the trip. "There is the intense, personal experience while in the field, and then the group experience the final night at Moosilauke. The former helps the student get to know himself and the people he is with on the road; the latter helps everyone identify as a class with the College and the' environment that is going to be an important part of their next four years. The trip is a nice way to become acquainted with this place."