It was inevitable. I mean, how long could they put it off? June is only 6 months away. A depressing thought in itself, but to actually be sent a document informing one of the sad event is almost inhuman.
I am speaking, of course, about Commencement. Graduation. The Ultimate Parkhurst. Our final Walk of Fame (to borrow from the Dartmouth social lexicon).
I went to my Hinman Box not suspecting a document of such gravity. As I reached into my small box expecting the normal junk mail: credit card applications promising unreal rates ("Only 6.2% interest...unless your name happens to contain a vowel."), overdue library book notices ("An Intensive Study of Mongolian Imports from 1982-1985 is officially 32 weeks overdue, now aren't you ashamed?"), applications to obscure Caribbean medical schools ("The University of the Caribbean Medical School and Banana Farm would like to invite YOU to apply..."), new notifications of DA$H card policy ("As of this week, all persons employing the DA$H card must recite the Preamble of the Constitution, in Spanish, as they pay, hopping on one foot while, etc."), and the other minutia which passes through the Hinman Post office (notice I didn't mention any REAL mail, because I don't get any), all I got was a notification of "Commencement Activities."
Isn't this all a bit premature? Why do we have to know when the choral concert is the week of Commencement, is it going to sell out sometime in mid-February?Most people don't know what parties they are going to next Friday night, let alone a concert in 6 months. Yet, the rest of the events had the same nonchalant descriptions as if the events were to take part next week ("January 13-20th is 'Scare Seniors about the Real World Week'"). As someone involved with programming on campus I want to know who exactly gets credit for this program and which spoke of the wellness wheel it fulfills.
The information that the mailing disseminated was curiously banal. Don't these people understand? As a '97 I was incensed that our Commencement was put on the same level as the upcoming performance of "Tharp!" Why did they package it like an event at the Hop? This hurt me more than the rude shock of having to face the event. Not only were they slipping it under our noses, they were treating it with such indifference!
Graduation transcends a simple event advertised on a light green brochure. What are they going to do next, advertise it on the Marquee? I can just see it: "Tharp! 8:00, Commencement 6/8/97, Rosemary's Baby 7, 9:30"
Then, I had an epiphany. To non-Seniors, Commencement IS just an event at the Hop (albeit, it's on the Green, but that's just a detail). The Dean's Office and Alumni Affairs get programming credit, and it fulfills the "Social" and "Academic" spokes of the wellness wheel. Upon this realization I joined the throng of dumbstruck seniors milling about the Hop, jaws slack, a hollow look in their eyes. I was almost defeated.
But I had another epiphany ('tis the season, after all). Just because Commencement isn't receiving top billing right now, this doesn't mean that we, as Seniors, have to take this lying down. Graduation is not just any event on the Green, it's OUR event on the Green.
This pitiful mint green placard stuffed in our boxes is only the first of many announcements, discussions, and informative brochures about Commencement. It was meant to whet our appetites about one of the most exciting and important events in our careers at Dartmouth. We should celebrate that the College has not yet geared up to kick us out. Before you know it (or want it), Commencement will be the only game in town.
So Seniors, some words of encouragement: don't be depressed by the announcements. Revel in your accomplishments. Reflect on your growth as a person and a scholar in these past four years. Remember all the good times you have had (and are yet to have). Enjoy the next six months. Don't fear Commencement or how the College handles it. Be like me. Don't check your Hinman Box until June 8th.
