Editorial: On Dartmouth’s Unique Term

Before I sat down to write this editorial, I looked back at what previous summer editors had to say about their sophomore summers. Disregarding the tired and now-ancient references to the pandemic, I gathered that, in the aggregate, the ’24s and ’25s approached their summer terms with optimism and enjoyed a formative experience. Sunset hikes and days on the dock aplenty, I can surmise that their summers were all—or, at least most—of what they were supposed to be. After all, the still-impressionable underclassmen are told time and time again how special the summer is. 

I read the old editorials to get a sense of how the summer had been received in previous years. Could all we were told about this special term really be true? With no reason to believe that those who had gone before me were exaggerating, I can only conclude that our upperclassmen mentors reasonably set our expectations high. They didn’t go as far as to tell us that this would be the best time of our lives—we should hope not at the green age of 20—but they certainly enjoyed themselves and made the most of the weather and quiet campus. Matthew Skrod ’24 concluded that his class—burdened with a seemingly unending case of COVID—emerged from sophomore summer as a unified and cohesive whole. 

As resistant to pessimism as I am, I cannot bring myself to agree with them. This supposedly unique and singular term has been, at least in my experience, just about any other Dartmouth term. I’m not suggesting that the summer has been without appeal. It’s not hard to notice the different atmosphere. With so few students on campus, the pace is a bit slower, and the feeling a hint more intimate. I’m not saying that the ’26s haven’t had fun, either. Rest assured, college-aged kids are going to enjoy themselves. Sophomores are venturing to swimming holes and taking day trips with their friends. They are hosting barbecues and parties on Webster Avenue—it’s summer, after all.

However, all of this is done with equal regularity during the spring term. In my view, Dartmouth students are just as likely to get outside and have fun with the campus fully populated as they are when left with their own class. On any given warm spring evening, the Green is full of picnics and yard games. This summer, I’ve barely noticed that same festive atmosphere at our campus’s center. Maybe that has to do with the wall of construction surrounding every side of the Green, 

There are, of course, some outside factors shaping my outlook. First, the untimely and devastating death of Won Jang, a fellow ’26, deeply shook the community, and, rightfully so, campus went quiet for a while. It dampened the spirits of sophomores at the beginning of what was supposed to be our chance to have fun together. I will note, however, that the ’26s came together to remember the tremendous life of a beloved classmate; it’s just not how we had hoped to unify as a class.

Secondly, I bring a comparatively trivial note but one worth mentioning: Dartmouth’s nascent Summer Scholars program has brought a swarm of high school students to campus. At the risk of sounding like a grumpy, supercilious “big kid,” I have to say that I would prefer sophomore summer to be of the undergraduate sort. 

Lastly, I get the sense that many sophomores just don’t value the opportunity of this term as they ought to. Many would rather pad their resumes with a banking internship in “The City” than bask in the Hanover sun. I know far too many people who decided to forgo this thrill to sit in an fluorescent-lit cubicle all summer. I’m not blaming Dartmouth students for wanting to get a head start in their careers. I get it, most of us are too ambitious to take a breath. But internships will no doubt still be around next year. 

If you’re a younger student reading this, with sophomore summer still ahead of you, I genuinely implore you to push off that consulting gig to another year and enjoy your college days before they inevitably pass you by. The best part of this summer has been the memories I’ve made with my friends. In that sense, sophomore summer has certainly fulfilled its promise.  

For sophomore summer to remain the staple tradition that it is, future classes must revel in its spirit and appreciate its potential. At its worst, it’s just another term, with warmer weather as its defining feature. At its best, it can unite a class into one that stays close for many years to come.