Somewhere deep in the bowels of the Hop, a studio art major is getting annoyed at the flautist on the other side of the wall. On a bus bound for Penn, the Big Green offensive line is discussing the best way to ensure open running lanes in tomorrow's Ivy League opener game. A freshman in Bissell is strumming the guitar he bought to impress and woo ladies. The Collis chefs are testing a new ingredient in their gluten-free chocolate pumpkin berry crunch brownies.
All across the campus singers, engineers, actors, debaters, biologists, dancers, professors and writers are thinking and talking about their ideas. They are doing innovative, cool, creative things. Lucky us to share such a vibrant community!
Does Dartmouth realize the artists in its midst? Well, yes, as long as we don't go too far outside the box. And as long as we don't ask for money. Or space. The ironic truth is that here, in the creative hotspot of New Hampshire, we value fresh talent and deny vital resources and support.
Look for instance at the disparate ways in which students treat "cultural experiences" and "entertainment." Here we are in the middle of a gorgeous, wooded-nowhere with theaters full of high-caliber productions, concert halls ringing brilliant music, walls plastered with works of both famous and budding visual artists, and screens glowing with avant-guard film -- but how many students regularly avail themselves of these opportunities?
Now bear with me and agree that there is a fundamental artistic class difference between improv comedy at Frat X and a Theater Department-sponsored Mainstage production. A cappella performances in Bissell are not quite the austere, polished affair that is the Handel Society's yuletide "Celebration for the Season."
Without belittling any form of creativity, polished or haphazard, it is simple fact that we treat certain performances differently and pay attention to them accordingly. Have you ever seen the Chamber Singers? Have you ever seen the Aires? I rest my case.
Put creativity in a conventional form or venue and it threatens to become artsy, esoteric -- too thought-provoking for we who like to leave the classroom when class ends. Very often we have an aversion to obvious forms of culture, even though we are all astoundingly artistic people.
The other funny thing about creative forces at Dartmouth is that the college graciously funds "culture" while budding student artists are left to their own ingenuity when they need cash. There are eight a cappella groups, several dance troupes, and two improvisational comedy groups on campus that vie for rehearsal and performance space, and all complain it's hard to find.
They perform in nearly every campus venue and travel around the country as representatives of the college, but COSO cannot under its current bylaws give them any money because COSO only supports groups whose membership is open to the entire student body.
Honestly now, could you imagine an improv group that indiscriminately allowed every thinks-he's-funny kid to get up on stage? In the final portion of their show, Casual Thursday traditionally invites audience members to join in the fun, and believe you me, it's usually a messy affair. If Sheba invited everyone to come grind onstage, the best case scenario is that we'd witness the sexiest dance party since Chigam, freshman fall ... when I thought that guy was so cute ... but it turns out I was just terribly drunk.
Several groups -- the Displaced Theater Company and the Mock Trial team among them -- get around COSO technicalities by being "open" to all, but making no promise that everyone will perform or participate in every event or show. Performance groups are by definition selective and it makes no sense that they should as a result be precluded from the college slush fund.
Speaking of slush funds, Dartmouth's mainstream attitude isn't particularly "artsy." There are reasons we all ended up as the country's 13th ranked Greek school rather than Julliard, and undergrad creativity frequently manifests itself outside of the conventional spaces (WWII pong? Who thought of that?).
Moreover, we're a pretty well-rounded student body and there aren't any huge barriers -- social or practical -- to keep athletes from art or artists from playing fields. We don't appreciate impenetrably obscure, hardcore "artsy" art and student groups love to intertwine topical comedy with their manifest talent.
For a college bursting with creativity, we're none too stuffy about it and I for one think that's great. So thanks, everyone, for being so creative in your varied endeavors. Now go out there, be original and get someone to pay you for it. Good luck.
