This August, the 2009 Class Council, in partnership with Student Assembly, Programming Board and the Interfraternity Council, will host the College's second annual Fieldstock -- a three-day-long event which will include chariot races, athletic competitions and an outdoor concert.
"The main thing we are trying to do is make this weekend a big weekend, like Homecoming, Winter Carnival or Green Key," Rembert Browne '09, vice president of the 2009 Class Council, said. "We want it to have the same feel, getting underway mid-week and continuing until Saturday."
The event will begin on Wednesday, Aug. 8, with the Summer Olympics, a series of athletic competitions sponsored by SA and the IFC. The Olympics, which were originally conceived as a tournament among Greek organizations, will host teams between 11 and 13 participants -- including students who are not affiliated with Greek organizations -- who will compete in events such as a three-on-three basketball tournament and a Slip 'n' Slide contest.
"[The Summer Olympics] could very well have become a very un-inclusive event, or it could have been very much like intramurals," newly-elected SA President Travis Green '08 said. "Not only is it inclusive because lots of groups came together to put this on, but any group can come together and play."
The 2009 Class Council also stressed the inclusive nature of the event, which features a carnival sponsored by Programming Board, live music from Dartmouth students and a number of barbecues hosted by different organizations.
"The real key here is making sure it is not 'our event' but really a weekend where groups like Greek houses, a capella and improv groups, Dartmouth Outing Club organizations and really everyone takes the time to sponsor an event," 2009 Class Council president Annie Rittgers '09, said. "And, obviously, it is key that everyone takes a cue to hang out ... but [sophmores] really don't have too much trouble with that one."
The weekend will end on Saturday with closing ceremonies for the Summer Olympics and a revival of chariot races around the Green.
"There is a lot of history to Fieldstock that most people don't know about. That is one thing we want to revive with the chariot races, which used to be huge," Rittgers said. "We also want to modernize some of the traditions though, like encouraging non-Greek groups to make chariots too - one thing we are really working on is looking for funding for other groups to build [chariots]."
According to members of the 2009 Class Council, this year's event will remedy many of the problems of last summer's Fieldstock, a day-long event that garnered little interest among members of the class of 2008.
"The [members of the Class of 2008] spent a lot of time trying to get Tubestock back, which really just isn't feasible at all. We didn't spend time on that this year," Rittgers said. "The '08s were also great with giving us advice about ways last year was sort of a bust."
Last year's Fieldstock replaced the unofficial College tradition of Tubestock, which began in 1986 and featured members of the sophomore class floating down the Connecticut River on rafts.
Tubestock was canceled after the Town of Hanover passed a law against congregating on state waterways without a permit. In order to receive a permit, the student body would need an insurance policy worth nearly $2 million.
Fieldstock is now sanctioned by the College. Without support from the College, Fieldstock, which largely takes place on the Green, would not be possible.
