This weekend, you may find yourself waiting behind a group of people using real money in the line at FoCo. Later that night in a frat basement, you might even be paired up with someone who seems like they haven't seen a paddle in more than a year. These mysterious events are all signs of the arrival of Green Key -- which, like all of Dartmouth's big weekends, sees a large influx of alumni visiting their old campus.
"I'm psyched to come back," David Hofteizer '04 said. "I miss the community and the people."
Joe Boswell '06 is also excited to return to his alma mater.
"It's sort of like going home, it feels good to connect with your roots," Boswell said.
Why Green Key rather than one of the other two big weekends? Homecoming weekend may have a massive bonfire and Winter Carnival boasts an enormous snow sculpture, but this weekend has one thing that neither of these two celebrations can claim to include -- good weather.
"It's been a while and it's warmer than Winter Carnival," Brian Lananna '06 said.
Hofteizer agrees that part of the attraction of Green Key is the weather,
Christina Luccio '07 said that in the future, she'd "like to come back to all of the big weekends equally, but Green Key is really nice because of the weather."
Many young alums also seen Green Key weekend as a chance to take a much-needed break from their new lives away from Dartmouth.
"I'm not sure if I've come across an alum who hasn't mentioned Green Key to me," Boswell said. "It's a welcomed reprieve from our lives in the real world."
Hofteizer also mentioned that it will be nice to "see the '07's before they graduate."
Many undergraduates might assume that most people coming back to visit are members of a fraternity or sorority.
"I don't think that's the case. I think all the alumni have reasons to come back and visit," Lananna said, citing other reasons to visit, such as "friends, parties, and a break from their jobs and the real world."
Hofteizer said, however, that members of greek organizations are more likely to come back for big weekends due to the ties made during their college careers. According to him, this bond will more than likely provide a place to sleep, as he will "probably end up sleeping [at Sig Ep] most nights."
"Being part of a frat or sorority makes coming back a lot more enticing because it bonds you with younger students you want to stay connected with," from the perspective of a senior, Luccio said. "Lots of other organizations on campus that promote these bonds.
Many young alumni, however, anticipate that the allure of returning for Green Key weekend will fade over time. Boswell, who has visited Dartmouth a few times this year, said that he would probably visit less as he got older.
"You can only live the dream for so long," he said.
Both Lananna and Hofteizer said that this weekend will be the first time they will return to Dartmouth this year.
