School Spirit

Dartmouth students, in the rah.

1834

The 2 3rd New Hampshire Regiment, a.k.a. the Dartmouth Phalanx, is mustered. They acquire a reputation for snazzy uniforms and perfect drilling.

1848

Several hundred students parade around campus for hours during the night blowing horns. The "Great Awakening" was student revenge on the faculty for voting to punish students who had shouted cat-calls during a congressman's especially ponderous speech.

1853

As President Nathan Lord proclaims, "There is no Dartmouth without her sons," the first formal organization of Dartmouth alumni is formed.

1885

The Danmouth reports, "There is probably no college in New England where the students respond so readily to appeals for manual labor as here in Dartmouth; and it is with pride that many of her younger alumni remember the efficient work of their respective classes in beautifying the College park."

1891

The newly penned alma mater, "Come, Fellows Let us Raise a Song," celebrates green and white as the school colors.

1907

Dartmouth Night festivities coincide with the dedication of Webster Hall. An evening parade features student and faculty dressed in academic gowns and alumni dressed in Webster-era costumes.

1915

The Dartmouth prints the following letter: "I sometimes wonder why it is that Dartmouth men on a peerade (sic) sing football songs in Grand Central Terminal. I have observed the decorum of other college men in the city who go about their affairs with the blase mien of young businessmen. Let New York learn that 'Dartmouth is in town again,' by other means than kiddish sleeve bands, flags, and rahrah all the time."

1926

The Hums song book includes this ditty:

Don't send, my boy to HarvardA dying mothersaid,

Don't send my boy to Eli Yale,I'd rather see him dead.But send him to old Dartmouth,It's better than Cornell.But rather than to Princeton,I'd see my boy .

1935

The Yale Jinx is beaten. The football team defeats the Bulldogs for the first time since 1884. This magazine comments, "a new spirit has pervaded the Hanover air, something apart from the ordinary mercurial tempo of football enthusiasm. A great psychopathic complex, the accumulation of decades , has suddenly been lifted from our shoulders."

1955

"There is no reason why Dartmouth men can't all become turkey boosters," declares Harold Naramore '14 A. His Wah-Hoo-Wah turkey farm sells 5,000 birds, and the profits are donated to the College.

1967

Dartmouth Night is canceled due to lack of interest.

1918

The two top choices in a student poll of possible school symbols are "Woodsmen" and "Mad Dogs."

1982

To celebrate the DOC's 75th anniversary, 350 DOC climbers simultaneously (more or less) summit all of New Hampshire's 48 peaks over 4,000 feet.

1997

Dartmouth tops the PrincetonReview's ranking for "Happy Students." Perhaps the reason for the smiles is that the College also was highly ranked in the "Beautiful Campus," "Great Food," and "Dorms Like Palaces" categories.

Displays of school spirit reflect the fashions of their eras.