The Club Scene

With more than 100 student-run clubs on campus, there's plenty of activity for the young and the restless. A unique peek at students in their extracurricular elements.

Check Mates In high school they might have been called nerds, but these College chess players are a breed of mental athletes. "Chess exercises your brain," says Phillip Keith '05. "Most Dartmouth students think it's pretty cool." Some 15 regulars, with varying levels of experience, play one another every Wednesday night from 7 to 10 in Collis Student Center. "Anyone is welcome," says organizer Marco Barreno '02. Some members show up for only one match, while others play as many as time allows. "I'd do it more often, but people seem to be rather busy," says chemistry grad student Krum Chuchev, who calls chess "good medicine." Barreno would like to see Dartmouth compete in intercollegiate tournaments, but so far the club's off-campus chess-capades have consisted of teaching local children to play. "It's a great opportunity to help out in the community, and we have a lot of fun with the kids," he says. "Chess demands that you think about all possibilities," says Andrew Bayard '02. "It trains players to anticipate the consequences of their actions and to plan a long-term strategy." Photographed in Collis Common Ground (clockwise from upper left): Bayard, Brian Garton '01, Mount Holyoke exchange student Petya Radoeva, Chuchev, Keith and Barreno.

Social Climbers The Dartmouth Mountaineering Club (DMC) makes students an offer many can't refuse: "Outside, every weekend." Founded in 1936, the club attracts some 20 regulars to its weekly planning meetings in Mid-Fayer weather, while another 350 students monitor its e-mails. The real action, though, happens on the walls of rock and ice in the White Mountains and other natural playgrounds. With experienced climbers showing novices the ropes, DMC members share a penchant for surmounting fear. "Climbing is about pushing one's physical and mental limits. I love being high up and hearing the little—sometimes big—voice of fear and doubt in my head and having to squash it and tell myself that 'I can,'" says Alejandro Cruz '04. "I'm probably too scared to move at least once every time I go climbing," says Kelly Sennatt '05. Even so, she says, "I love the way the rock feels and how moving on it feels. When you execute a graceful sequence, no matter how easy or hard it is, it feels great. It s addictive. Michael Golub 03 says the DMC offers another high: the chance "to get outside and spend amazing days with great friends." Photographed in Rumney, New Hampshire (clockwise from upper left): Ben Graham '04, Leah Samberg '03, Golub, Sennatt, Sara Hellmuth '05, G. Page Kyle '02 and Cruz.

Range Rovers "Cooking Is a creative art, and the best part is that you get to eat your final production," says Cindy Lin '04. Last year she co-founded the Dartmouth Association of Culinary Arts (DACA) to fire up student interest in cooking. The club's 10 active members gather in dorm kitchens every other Wednesday night to prepare anything from sushi to tiramisu. "It's fun to cook with a group," says Trisha Grant '05. "People add their own ideas and flavors." DACA members teach popular evening cooking classes for other students, and they cater dinners, culture nights, food tastings and charity fundraisers for as many as 400 people. (The College's student activities office funds some of the events.) DACA gives members a taste of career options. "I've considered opening a restaurant or being a special events planner," says Lin, an economics and comparative literature double major. Clinton Hedges '05, who started cooking in high school to impress his girlfriend and then took a course in culinary school, plans to stay active in the kitchen, but only as a hobby. "Being a chef is way too stressful," he says. Photographed in the Byrne Hall kitchen at the Tuck School of Business (left to right): Dan Kozikowski '05, Betty Chen '05, Lin, Hedges and Grant.

Knight Court "The Middle Ages are such a romanticized time period. Everybody had dreams of wanting to be a knight or archer or bard or princess when they were kids. We get to have the benefits of modern technology to research and reenact these times, sans the plague," says Zeb Lowe '03, one of 53 members of Medieval Enthusiasts at Dartmouth (MEaD). Their Tuesday evening meetings in Sanborn often involve the sewing of costumes. The first piece of garb most people learn to make is a basic T-tunic, the medieval equivalent of a T-shirt. "I am a big fan of working with chainmail," says Brandi Hevalow '05. Some MEaD members prepare feasts from a 1395 cookbook, including such dishes as "green broth of eggs and cheese." The most devoted unfurl what Lowe calls their "medieval alter-ego" by assuming the role of a specific character at MEaD events. "It's a chance to relive all the exciting parts of a really tough life, to be a person of your choice and have completely different worries and concerns for a while," she says. As Khalil Ayvar '04, a lifelong fan of dragon-filled stories, puts it, "MEaD gives me the chance to experience the real magic of that time." Photographed in Baker Library's Treasure Room (left to right): Megan Padgett '00, Ayvar, Evan Knop '01, Sean Padgett '00, Hevalow and Lowe.

Smooth Talkers There's a place for students who love to argue: the Parliamentary Debate Team. Using British rules, the team's two-on-two competitions attract quick-thinkers who can hold forth on a wide range of topics, from the merits of the Greek system to whether Luke Skywalker should have joined the Dark Side of the Force. "I love the challenge of having to refute arguments I've never heard before," says Elisabeth Page '05, one of the team's 70 members. With Wednesday night meetings, weekly practices in the Rockefeller Center and weekend tournaments across the Northeast, hardcore debaters spend a lot of time together. "Even when we aren't debating we eat meals, watch movies and party together," says Page. "Most of us have similar academic interests, so we wind up in the same classes as well," says government major Matthew Raymer '03. Team members don't tire of verbal sparring, especially since they choose many of their debate topics themselves. "It's not like anyone's forcing a boring case down your throat," says Raymer, "unless you're debating the Yale team." Photographed in Cummings Hall in the Thayer School of Engineering (left to right): Madeline Hwang '05, Raymer, Sarah Rogers '05, Andrew Verstein '05, James Baehr '05 and Page.

Chain Gang Every afternoon 15 to 20 bikers from the Cycling Club meet in front of Robinson Hall, then hit the road in pairs or packs. "I like to be able to get away for a couple of hours every day," says Amy Wallace '04. "It's great because we're just a club without a coach, so we can ride when and where we want to, with whomever we want." These aren't just joy riders. Wallace logs 250 miles a week to train for the spring collegiate road-racing season. Mark Nathe '02 rides 300 a week. "During the winter I do a significant amount of work indoors on a stationary trainer. However, as long as the roads are plowed I ride outdoors," he says. He favors a 60-mile loop through the Vermont hills. Tim Clement '05 prefers a steep New Hampshire ride he calls "28 Miles of Hell." Racking up social mileage, the cyclists often eat and hang out with each other-and travel to races together. "Sitting in the pack surrounded by other riders during a race is a feeling that is hard to match," says Nathe. At the National Collegiate Cycling Championship in Burlington, Vermont, last spring, the club brought home the Division 2 title. Photographed north of campus on River Road (left to right): Nathe, Steve Weller 05, Wallace, David Yin '03 and Clement.