The Freshman View

Why Dartmouth?

I first chose Dartmouth because of a 213 year old book. My tour guide, when I visited on the fifteenth of October in 2024, mentioned offhand that Rauner holds a first-edition of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and, being the major Austen enthusiast that I am, I instantly knew I had to attend Dartmouth. Obviously picking a college based on one book is super rational. Looking back on my decision, though, I’m pretty sure it’s a little more than just parchment and glue. I returned to visit Dartmouth in the spring of 2025 and found a massive exhibit from a first year seminar titled “Jane Austen at 250” that explained, “For Love or Money?…If these challenges ring a bell for you, you’re either a Dartmouth student, or you’re a character in a Jane Austen novel.” My mom used to quip that I am an Austen character, because inevitably if I’m pissed enough I’ll slip into those old speech patterns and usually make a fool out of myself with my diction, but more so, I do wrestle with the issue of love versus money, freedom versus expectations, where to go and what to do and how to live my life.
Yes, as fostered by Austen, I love to debate and question and rewrite and improve. So when I heard about President Beilock’s programs for open speech, my supposition that a school that owns a first edition of one of Jane Austen’s best works can’t possibly be bad was thereby proved correct. In a way, maybe Dartmouth resonated so much with me because the values of Pride and Prejudice shone through: sticking to your guns and holding fast but hearing out all sides of an argument, and, when necessary, revising and growing your positions. I hate the term “safe space,” but the trajectory which Dartmouth is currently on really makes it a rare “safe space” for anyone who doesn’t automatically subscribe to the dominant opinion, who wants to think for himself or herself, who is fine with saying the quiet part out loud to defend the truth. Let’s keep it that way, shall we?

– Caroline Dudzinski, ’30

O-Week in review

“You haven’t started classes yet?” my friends back home said to me in disbelief on Sunday morning before classes began. After explaining the past two weeks, I asked myself: is our unusually long orientation good or bad?
Less than an hour after my parents left, we were thrown into the orientation program. Sitting in the bleachers of Buddy Teevens, we collectively listened to multiple speakers drone on, creating flashbacks of dreaded high school assemblies. This first gathering was not much different from the many that would follow.
Although the majority of the orientation events were extremely boring and turned from mandatory to optional once the attendance QR codes were distributed through group chats, the social aspect of O-Week is something that only we at Dartmouth get. Students at other institutions across the nation may start earlier, but none are as close when classes start. The weeks leading up to classes, although at times feeling like a spring break trip to Mexico, brought our class tightly together before we ever entered a classroom.
The nights of Sagement getting busted, dancing at 30, and spontaneous dorm parties bonded us closer than we know. While the last few days may have felt long at times, we should all be grateful for the unique Dartmouth orientation. Let’s all appreciate the relationships that have been made and continue to build them as we embark on our Dartmouth journey.

– Alexander Golnik, ’30

The ’30s Take on 30

The first few weeks at Dartmouth are nothing short of a whirlwind of traditions and canon events. Starting with the infamous Sagement parties during O-Week (aka Camp Dartmouth), the ’30s truly understood what it meant to have “nothing better to do.” That said, after a few days of superfluous orientation events that may or may not have been skipped to jump in the Connecticut River, the real fun began with the famous First-Year Trips. While trekking through the Green Mountains, we all discovered the inherent quality of the Dartmouth student. In a short time, the ’30s learned that the student body is not just here to support them, but to succeed, laugh, fail, and try alongside them. After a quick sunrike and doing the Medley for the fourth time at Sklodj, we were all more than ready to go home and shower.
The return to Hanover brought a brief, tense period of course selection, but as with most things, it all worked out on its own. In the meantime, we were more than entertained at 30 and Barbershop. As the sun set on Camp Dartmouth, we etched our names into the university’s legacy and lit our candles on matriculation day. As classes began, the ’30s then learned the two guarantees of Dartmouth life: way too much homework and SNS deciding that college kids have no business going to a party.
Now that our Dartmouth experience is officially underway, it is evident that no matter where you come from, the Dartmouth community is more than ready to welcome and support you both inside and outside of the classroom. The historic traditions, the hours spent in Baker, the study group, all-rolling office hours, and so much more all make this whole Dartmouth thing totally worth doing.

– Alexander Golnik, ’30 and Neel Behringer, ’30

Dartmouth and the Right

In the modern world of higher education, it is almost too natural to become disillusioned with the incredibly liberal nature of these “prestigious” institutions. Branding myself as a conservative felt like a huge gamble in the college admissions process. But I found hope in Hanover. Under the leadership of President Beilock, Dartmouth has emphasized freedom of speech and the concept of “institutional restraint,” enabling conservatives to have a voice in discourse on campus. While some of the rumors seemed too good to be true, I had a vague belief that Dartmouth was a place I, as a conservative, could “fit in” in American higher education.
Since coming to Dartmouth, while it’s no “Republican Town,” my expectations have overwhelmingly been exceeded. I have no fear sharing with my peers during political discussions and debates that I am a conservative, and it is almost always received with kindness and genuine curiosity that seeks to better understand how I think. Being able to wrestle with ideas and opposing views has already allowed me to deepen my understanding of what other people believe. I also have built on what I believe and why I believe it. This is what true “higher” education looks like. This is Dartmouth.

– Cole Hayes, ’30