Dartmouth and Her Traditions: A Senior’s Reflection

As my tenure at our dear College on the Hill comes to an end, I find it befitting to look back upon the opportunity I have been given in attending, and what an opportunity it has been. Dartmouth is such a beautiful place, and I must mention the crucial role her traditions and members play in establishing the beauty of my soon-to-be alma mater. After all, only Dartmouth’s members can keep her traditions alive, lest the old traditions fail. As such, allow me to highlight the value of tradition at Dartmouth, along with a tradition now in its 47th year, the rivalry between The Review and The Dartmouth.

While throughout the years the yellow-bellied and pusillanimous writers at The Dartmouth have wavered back and forth, flitting to whatever the zeitgeist of the time may be, we here at The Review have stood strong as a voice crying out in the wilderness for Logic, Reason, and Truth. These ideas are capitalized in recognition of their importance, just as Robert Frost once did in “Birches.” In the latest iteration of this tradition, The Dartmouth has published an anonymous hit piece in which they pride themselves on their courage and the suffering that they have endured for their outspokenness in publishing their views. While The Dartmouth’s article is lacking substance, it at least gives The Review the opportunity to demonstrate our tradition by showing that nemo me impune lacessit. 

For those seeking to further appreciate Dartmouth’s traditions and the role they place in our college, I would like to invoke Chesterton’s Fence: one should learn why a fence, tradition, or unseemly decoration in front of Collis was put into place before removing it. When viewed under this light, traditions neither grow weaker from opposition nor do they serve as blind loyalty to the past. In fact, traditions grow stronger, and their purposes are better remembered, when they are tested time and time again. Keep Chesterton’s Fence top of mind, and you may develop, just as I have, a deep love of the traditions of Dartmouth while also pruning those unbefitting today’s sturdy sons and daughters of Dartmouth.

Now, I must also mention Dartmouth’s members. Our dear College on the Hill, and the quality of our education is unmatched. Nowhere else are lectures so inspiring, nor professors so generous with their time. For Dartmouth’s incredible caliber, I would like to thank the many who have made, and still make, Hanover’s bastion of education possible, starting with the admissions office. After all, Dear old Dartmouth is only as strong as her members, and the college’s selectivity has coalesced many of the brightest minds together. I must thank those bright minds as well, especially those at The Review, for providing cordial and insightful debate and dialogue ranging from career preparation to esoteric philosophy. Additionally, I must thank the many professors who have selflessly devoted themselves to the education and edification of their students. As such, in making Dartmouth such a beautiful place, I must conclude that both her members and traditions both play an essential role.