Editor's note: This article is the first in a two-part series on streaking. Today's article examines streaking at Dartmouth; tomorrow's will compare Dartmouth's streaking culture to other colleges.
When the final snowy marks of winter melt away, warmer weather will draw Dartmouth students out of their dormitory rooms and into the outdoors. Clothing: optional.
Streaking is a prevalent practice at the College. While certain places and times have emerged as favorites for flashes of public nudity -- Dartmouth Outing Club first-year trips and Novack Cafe and the 1902 Room during finals period -- streakers tend to come from many corners of the student body.
Jon Kling '04 has become a streaking legend, with many Dartmouth streakers naming the alumnus as the College's most accomplished streaker. His exploits include the Ledyard Challenge (on multiple occasions) and even naked shadow puppetry using the spotlights in front of Dartmouth Hall. His highlight accomplishment, however, was a successful streak of Safety and Security Headquarters, during which Kling and three associates held a brief conversation with the Safety and Security dispatcher before making their escape, according to several accounts, including that of College Proctor and Director of Safety and Security Harry Kinne.
Oftentimes streaking is a group activity. Several Dartmouth students noted that certain sports teams have streaking traditions, such as the Ultimate Frisbee team streaking at games or the ski team gliding sans-clothing across the green after the first snowfall.
Jen Taylor '08 is the self-proclaimed president of Sigma Delta sorority's unofficial streaking club. Taylor has led or participated in streaks of fraternity row (multiple times), the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity formal and numerous fraternity basements. She added that the Dartmouth Mountaineering Club traditionally streaks the Ledyard Canoe Club formal, and vice versa.
Moreover, Whitney Macfadyen '07 alluded to the presence of a streaking community.
"There's lots of crossover [of people who streak different events], everyone knows everyone," Macfadyen said.
There are, however, streakers who are not repeat offenders. Many streak once, and only once, during their Dartmouth careers. Chris Koppel '09 streaked Moosilauke Lodge and his entire DOC first-year trip group multiple times, but the excitement of streaking faded quickly.
"At the time it was a rush, I was really fired up. It was fun," Koppel said. "At the time it was like, 'streaking's sweet', but now this novelty's kind of worn off."
According to Kling, there are many who, while not streaking regularly, still enjoy periodic public nudity. Kling said that during his time at Dartmouth, he established a blitz list for both occasional and regular streakers. By his own count, this list reached 250 to 300 people at its height.
"There [were] a lot of people who came if they were feeling zesty, or came once in a while," Kling said.
He added that he started streaking the Green with a group of friends every Thursday night his freshman spring.
"We needed something to do when we were down at Thayer [School of Engineering] late at night," he said.
Kling also offered an explanation for why Dartmouth is so comfortable with streaking, and why in particular DOC members seem to make up a larger percentage of Dartmouth streakers.
"Dartmouth in general, we're not Harvard," Kling said. "People want to be out in the woods and active. And streaking is a very active thing to be doing. It's a little fun, a little illegal -- it fits in with the Dartmouth culture. Most of the streaking seems to be at night, or through a public space really quickly. It's just for you and your friends to share later."
Susan Gordon '06, who helped found the Sigma Delt streaking club, echoed Kling's sentiment.
"I think that for Dartmouth kids [streaking] is about a joy of being naked more than a joy of showing off being naked," she said. "It sort of fits in with the love of the outdoors, doing silly pranks, going on adventures -- that free spirit fun stuff that fits in with a lot of Dartmouth kids. It fits in with the Dartmouth sophomore summer idea. Dartmouth kids don't need an event, they're just doing it to have fun."
Differences in streaking between Dartmouth and other colleges and universities seem to be rooted in the environments of the different schools and the types of students attracted to the different types of settings. In comparing Dartmouth to other institutions, large and small, there are noticeable differences in the ways that college students get naked.
