The administration may not enjoy Carnival in the same manner as students, but they said the Dartmouth winter tradition plays an important role in College history and the lives of students.
While students -- who get a day off from classes and wall-to-wall parties all weekend long -- may enjoy sleep-in time today, the College's offices will keep on going.
President of the College James Freedman described the holiday as a "nice break" in Winter term and an "opportunity for good time and good cheer." This will be Freedman's tenth Carnival celebration.
Dean of the College Lee Pelton said he thinks Carnival is an attempt to celebrate the College's heritage and connection with its natural setting in rural New Hampshire.
"Someone once told me that Dartmouth had made a virtue out of winter," Pelton said. "That seems to me to an apt description of Dartmouth."
Dean of First-Year Students Peter Goldsmith said the focus of Winter Carnival is winter sports. He said many New England colleges have similar winter celebrations during which they have sport competitions with Dartmouth.
Winter Carnival is "to celebrate fun in the out-of-doors in the winter time," said Associate Director of Student Activities Linda Kennedy.
Kennedy, who grew up in Hanover, said she has fond memories of Winter Carnival.
"I've seen many, many carnivals, and they have changed considerably over the years," said Kennedy, who is also the advisor to the Winter Carnival Council.
Prior to coeducation at the College, women guests of students were housed in dormitories and in homes around Hanover during Winter Carnival.
Kennedy said her mother charged Carnival guests six dollars to stay in their home.
Kennedy said her father, Jack Skewes '51, emeritus director of business affairs, brought her to see the snow sculptures in front of the dorms and fraternities.
Her father was a judge for the Winter Carnival Queen Contest.
The dates of students would be judged based on beauty, poise and personality to be the figurehead for the weekend, Kennedy said.
She said the judges always made it a point not to choose a blonde candidate because her photograph would not print well in The Dartmouth.
Dean of Student Life Holly Sateia has also seen many a carnival at Dartmouth. She witnessed Winter Carnival for the first time in 1969.
Back then, it was a time when academics were set aside because visitors from out of town descended upon Hanover, Sateia said.
"It was a holiday away from books and academic lives," she said.
She said students now still go about their daily routines of studying at Baker Library, and many do not set aside the whole weekend.
As Winter Carnival unfolds, students partake in bits and pieces of it, Sateia said.
But 1999 Class Dean Sylvia Langford said students do take the time during Carnival to "embrace outdoor activities and ... take a break off from the rigors of the academic arena."
