The College
"IN the evening, an elaborate torchlight parade of undergraduates and alumni . . . marched through the village, and this event was followed by speeches by various members of the alumni delivered from a stand on the college green."
That account of Dartmouth Night is 74 years old and it serves to prove that some things haven't changed very much since the turn of the century. Dartmouth Night '75 did feature a torchlight parade, there were speeches, and the only item the 1901 account left out was the bonfire.
The Class of 1979 responded to the challenge of skyscraper efforts of the recent past and constructed a 100-tier bonfire - the largest ever - with one tier for each of Dartmouth's 99 Ivy League football victories and, it was suggested, one for good luck.
Early accounts of Dartmouth Night stress the long orations on an evening which President Tucker, who founded the event in 1895, envisioned as "a time when graduates and others connected with the College would tell its story and wóuld endeavor to impress its significance upon those just entering its gates."
The effect of Dartmouth Night upon the freshmen was described by one, at the turn of the century, as "somewhat overwhelming." That description, too, remains appropriate, though speech making was kept to a minimum this year. Several thousand undergraduates, alumni, College officials and guests thronged the Green while other Dartmouth alumni gathered around the nation. The Dartmouth Night program was broadcast by WDCR telephone hookup to 300 listeners at a Dartmouth Club of Washington celebration.
The old custom of a Dartmouth Night torchlight parade was revived this year. The campus police led the winding procession through the streets of Hanover, across 'he Green and to the lawn facing Dartmouth Hall. But the parade line was so long that the festivities began before all the cars, green torches, and bands passed Massachusetts Hall en route to the Green.
John Hinman '08, who was supposed to serve as parade marshal, barely made the parade. Someone thought it might be appropriate if Mr. Hinman rode in a vintage Cadillac that was parked in the underground garage of the Hanover Inn. But the car was blocked by other cars in the garage and Mr. Hinman just managed to join the end of the parade.
Dartmouth Night 1976? Planning hasn't begun yet - but we understand John Hinman '08 has again been invited to be the guest of honor.
One feature that did not appear on the Dartmouth Night program was the seizure of the podium by a self-amused individual who encouraged the spectators to "boo Kemeny - Kemeny is a stink-pot." The incident created somewhat of a stir on campus, and The Dartmouth was moved to editorialize: "To our amazement, no one attempted to shut off the loudspeaker system or remove the man from the platform. Minutes later in the program he returned to repeat his message in the presence of President Kemeny and many College officials. No criticism of the College administration, however valid, could have justified such contemptible slurs toward the President of the College."
As if that weren't enough, The D went on, a drunken band member "disgraced the College" by his antics on Memorial Field the next afternoon and College dormitories were said to look like the Nile River Delta in a particularly rainy year with the fallout of a particularly muddy Phi Delt Mud Bowl. The weekend was, The D said, "a new low in conduct at the College."
Two weeks later, Ned Martin, the Boston Red Sox announcer who had just recovered from one of the best World Series in years and a man who has seen his share of frenzied sports fans this year, looked across the soggy Harvard Stadium turf and saw several Dartmouth students parading about with a toilet. "Dartmouth students are getting a little gamier than they were a few years back," he commented.
The symbolism, of course, was obvious: the Harvards are also known as the Johns, and a john is always worth a few chuckles. Yet there were several other, less playful, demonstrations that the university on the Charles is not held in especially high esteem north of the Merrimack, among them crude banners paraded past the stands and distasteful cheers whose echoes still ring.
Student decorum at sports events has become an issue on campus in recent years. Alumni have frequently complained that offensive language accompanies controversial officials' decisions and passes dropped in the endzone, and recently students have added their complaints. And last winter, a Harvard student wrote The D to report that Dartmouth students poured beer on his girlfriend at a Watson Rink hockey game.
Ralph N. Manuel '58, the new Dean of the College, has made it clear he disapproves of "wanton destruction" and the kind of offensive comportment he fears may become an "instant tradition" at the College. But he is hard pressed to find a solution to hundreds of students taunting officials and opponents while cloaked in the anonymity of a crowd.
For Dartmouth Night and the Penn gamethe freshmen labored mightily to build thecolossus bonfire of all - 100 tiers tall.
