Paul Heintz graduated. Food Court Larry passed away. Professor Saccio retired. With the heavy hitters in the world of campus celebrity disappearing, where will the next generation originate? Joanna Paterson delves into the history and lore of the campus icon, trying to find the last remains of this dying breed.
They were the subject of gossip, adoration and call-outs. Individuals from all walks of life, brought together under one title -- the campus icon. In an era when the fascination with celebrity is arguably at its highest, is the campus icon dead? Across Dartmouth College, students are divided on the icon's status -- good or bad, alive and well, or dead and gone.
Campus icons are "people who rage a lot, and get in shit all the time," according to Jan Gromadzki '10, while Scott Baker '10 describes icons simply as "funny, personable people," but adds that being known across campus is not enough to make one "iconic."
"I think a campus icon is someone who is known for uniqueness or great achievement in some field," said Ellie Hunter '11. "They have to be widely known or heard of, not just by people they interact with, but by random people as well."
On one edge of the spectrum, however, there exists a cohort of students who don't believe the icon is dead, because the campus icon never existed to begin with.
"In my opinion, I don't think campus icons exist, or have ever existed. It's just a matter of some names being more visible. An icon is someone you look up to, but I just know names," said Adam Platz '08.
"I don't think that Dartmouth has any true campus icons, where everybody knows both their name and their face," said Andrew Smith '10. "We definitely have poster children for certain issues, but as those issues retreat from the public consciousness, so do the people involved, so they're never able to actually reach the status of a campus icon."
Along the same lines, Geoff Holman '10 said that he thought Dartmouth was simply too large an institution for icons to exist and be known all across campus.
However, that doesn't stop people from trying.
Sports Stars
Star athletes are notably underrepresented on the average Dartmouth student's list of campus icons. Across the nation, college football and basketball attract legions of fans, but at Dartmouth you'd be hard-pressed to find students who can name the captains or quarterback.
Hockey stars Hugh Jessiman '05, Mike Devine '08 and Sarah Parsons '10 were all referenced as the icons of current students, based solely on their reputations as standout players, though many students interviewed for this article conceded that they'd never actually interacted with any of them.
"I would consider a campus icon [Mike] Devine, like a hockey player. I don't know him, but I see him play," Peter Kitlas '09 said. Preston Copley '07, the previous captain of the football team, was arguably one of the more iconic figures of the '07 class, but perhaps more for his personality than for his play on the field.
Given the value that Dartmouth culture places in athleticism -- the college boasts 20% participation in varsity sports and 80% participation in some level of athletics -- it is unintuitive that the biggest stars aren't more well known on campus. Regardless, it seems that at Dartmouth even an Olympic gold medal isn't a ticket to celebrity status -- I would put money on the fact that very few students could name any of the 2006 gold medalists. Other typically iconic groups notably absent include musicians, the stunningly good-looking and the obscenely smart. At a school filled with overachievers, apparently being the best of the best doesn't make you an automatic big deal.
The Cool Adults
The death of Food Court Larry this June, less than a year after his retirement, marks the loss of one of Dartmouth's most iconic employees -- revered by many and loathed by some, but known by virtually all of the Dartmouth population. He called everyone his "friend" and no student could escape his upbeat conversations as they waited to pay for their chicken parm or fro-yo. On the Dartmouth Dining Services front, however, Larry is not the only employee who has made an impression on students. Lerrone at The Hop, Erin at Homeplate, and the Collis stir-fry king who refers to me and every other customer affectionately as "kiddo," are all known throughout the student body. They may have the advantage of interacting with students on a regular basis, but their personalities enable them to stand out in students' minds.
DDS isn't the only way for college employees to gain fame or notoriety, however. Officer Timmons is arguably a student favorite, despite being one of the last people you want to see in a frat basement.
Each academic department also has its all-stars, some of whom gain recognition by students with no involvement or interest in their particular area of research.
Renowned Shakespeare scholar Peter Saccio had students rushing to join his last class after he announced his retirement in 2005.
French and Italian department chair John Rassias is famed across campus and the world for creating the Rassias Method, used to teach the majority of language classes. Few have actually had him as a professor, but most find themselves cursing him whenever their alarms ring at 7 a.m., signifying yet another early morning of drill. His method is used not only at Dartmouth, but also in the Peace Corps to train tens of thousands of volunteers, and Rassias himself is "the craziest, most dynamic speaker I've ever seen," according to Carolyn Kylstra '08. In the linguistics department, Timothy Pulju is
"known for his awkwardness, nerdiness, and quirky humor," while the history department's Allen Koop draws students because "his classes are like storytime, and he's just got an incredible pool of history knowledge," said Tien Ha-Ngoc '08.
Croo Members
DOC trips are one of Dartmouth's defining features, and one of the most difficult to explain to those at home. With practically the entire freshmen class venturing into the wilderness for a few days of GORP & Salty Dogging, the spandexed upperclassmen who get to serenade them are the most obvious icon candidates for incoming students. "I would say from a freshman perspective that being on a Croo makes upperclassmen well known and people look up to them more," said Brandon Cohen '11. Students from other classes felt the same way -- Croo members Jacq Loeb '08 and Jamal Brown '08 also received icon nominations.
The two names that came up again and again from members of all classes as campus icons at Dartmouth were Rembert Browne '09 and Sam Haynor '08. Browne, a member of H-Croo for the class of 2010, and Haynor, a member of Vox Croo in the same year, both have significant presence in the trips scene, though the enthusiastic response of students endorsing their respective iconic-ness seems to surpass the level of trips.
"Everyone who knows [Haynor] adores him, and damn near everyone knows him," said Max McLorey '11. "[Haynor's] like his own social organizations," said Abbe Sokol '10, adding that he organizes everything from parties to frisbee events to streaking, in addition to frequenting Collis, which results in "massive facetime."
Browne "has his hands in everything, and has the most dynamic personality," said Lucy Pollard '10, while Katie Hirsch '08 simply described him as "the shit."
"[Browne] can't get anywhere on campus because he has to stop and talk to everyone because he knows everyone... and he wears tweed suits to formals," according to one '09 girl.
Upon learning about his iconic status, Browne likened his reaction to "that feeling when you're driving a car in a crowded parking lot, then you finally see that space you want, and right when you begin to turn in, there's a little-ass motorcycle in the space," mixed with "that feeling when you were younger and washing clothes and you empty out all the pockets of your pants and realize that your mom forgot to ask for the change back from when you went grocery shopping for her..."
Browne named the Hop's Lerrone, Lee Cooper '09 and Afro Girl as his personal Dartmouth icons.
Student Assembly
As with all politicians, the leaders of student government at Dartmouth are privy to enough facetime associated with their positions to launch them into the world of celebrity. From Noah Riner '06, with his infamous Jesus reference at the '09s convocation, to the almost-impeached Tim Andreadis '07 and his near obsession with combating sexual assault, Student Assembly presidents are very heavily scrutinized public figures. Even our current and controversy-free Travis Green '08 was referenced as a campus icon by one '08 girl who described him as "Mr. Dartmouth... with his blonde hair."
The Negative Icon
Though more reluctant to throw out names in this arena, students remained adamant that iconic status was not an exclusively positive label. "A campus icon doesn't have to be a good thing," Kitlas said. An '08 male added that it is also possible to "suck iconically."
The Lost Breed
Those who subscribe to the belief that the campus icon is a figure of the past are likely referring to the lost breed of icons -- sometimes known for epic adventures and sometimes just known:
Paul Heintz '06 was, among many things, the author of Guy and Fellow, the popular and controversial comic strip about two stick figures whose supprting cast included "Roah Niner," pot smoking Jesus and a number of other students whom Heintz chose to call out by pasting their head shots into the cartoon. Heintz went on to release his own comic book before graduating, and allegedly tried out for MTV's "The Real World" after graduation.
Thad Olchowski '08 earned his spot in history as the Chi Gam defenestrator of 2004. While still a campus figure, there hasn't been any epic window-jumping since.
Steph Herbert '06 was the author of the widely read Mirror column, "Steph's So Dartmouth!" She is often blamed for the proliferation of abbrevs, campus-wide inside jokes that aren't funny and parenthetical attempts at humor in the Mirror.
Mike Volodarsky '08 shot a BB gun off the roof of Zeta Psi fraternity, going down in history as the BB-gun sniper of 2005. He later indicated his intentions were not malicious.
Drue Fitzgerald '05 was Parkhursted an unknown number of times, and famed as an "all-around tough guy from Idaho who carried a knife and wouldn't hesitate to kick someone's ass if he thought they deserved it," according to one '08 girl.
Neel Shah '05 authored an infamous column about the OC on CollegeHumor.com, He has since gone on to continue his journalistic pursuits at premier gossip media companies.
Brian Martin '06 leaked Student Assembly plans and supposedly invented a slew of terms to replace the over-used "self-call." The 2006 Psi-U composite includes his photo, in addition to a self-portrait. "BMar by BMar" (Oil on Canvas, 2006) -- proof that the "icon" can be very much self-made.
Mainly composed of members of the "Campus Icons" Facebook group, along with a handful of others, these brave souls represent an age of icons strangely absent from present-day Dartmouth culture. Tagline? "Nobody Icons Anymore," indeed.
In an era where talent is no longer a requisite for fame, where have all the talented (or talentless) campus celebs gone?
"It's too easy to be a celebrity now. Facebook albums, Bored@Baker, quirky Mirror articles -- everyone is overexposed. The underground icons find it gauche," said Cena Miller '08.
"Dartmouth Idol" may be a reflection of the fact that we've become desperate enough to publicize our search for new icons, but Dartmouth has proved that being iconic isn't about excessive facetime or conventionality.
With a culture that embraced (and mercifully abandoned) the "self-call," encouraging students to keep quiet about both their drinking and their scholastic accomplishments, Dartmouth's breed of icons has always differed from the norm, and now is no exception. The outcome of this recent evolution is difficult to foresee, but style, scholastic aptitude and sports -- the usual criterion -- won't be stealing the scene anytime soon.
Joanna is a staff writer for The Mirror. She only wrote this to further her own icon status.
