Dartmouth's connection to New Hampshire extends beyond a mailing address, or even the typical loyalty of a college to its home state. No, Dartmouth and its students, take their affiliation with New Hampshire to an entirely different level, after all, "The granite of New Hampshire / Is made part of them til death."
It's weird that the College has a "Til death do us part" vibe with New Hampshire when Vermont is only two minutes down the street from TDX.
Why this passionate affinity to a location that is essentially one expanse of trees stretching over two equally remote states? Why should statehood even matter to Dartmouth? Focusing on geographic location seems almost arbitrary. Why not focus on Dartmouth's history, or its accomplishments?
Well, apparently Dartmouth did not always have an undying love for New Hampshire. In 1778, Hanover politicians and Dartmouth students lacked any loyalty whatsoever to their state. Town leaders joined with other villages and seceded from New Hampshire joining Vermont. They wanted equal legislative representation in the General Court, as was practiced across the Connecticut River, rather than representation based on population, as was observed in New Hampshire. So, when Hanover joined Vermont, Dartmouth went with it.
Shortly after, Vermont kicked Hanover to the curb, because Vermont's eastern border was now over-represented in court.
Yet feisty Hanover did not give up. In 1782, the town joined Vermont again. Everything went smoothly until Vermont got greedy and expanded into New York. George Washington intervened to prevent an abnormally large eastern region from becoming Vermont counties. He declared that if Vermont ever wished to join the union, then it should shrink back to its previous borders.
By 1784, Hanover returned to its New Hampshire location. It was the last of the border towns to throw in the towel and admit defeat.
Clearly, Dartmouth has come a long way, but why the change of heart? When did the utter abhorrence of New Hampshire turn into a strange point of pride, and any identification with Vermont become nonexistent?
I'm not the first to write of the colossal differences between the two states differences that may explain why Dartmouth boasts of its New Hampshire location. For instance, before he resigned from the Boston Globe after plagiarism charges, Mike Barnicle wrote, "Vermont has a lot of extremely attractive women. In New Hampshire, the best looking females are those who trim their mustaches."
While Barnicle is clearly a superficial douche bag, he was onto something. New Hampshire is simply tougher than its wimpy, refined neighbor. Over the years, Vermont has slowly dropped down to powder-puff status, focusing on its ski resorts and tourist economy.
New Hampshire, meanwhile, made a smashing comeback from its days of legislative representation struggles. It is the only state with no seat belt laws. It has no general sales tax and no income tax. New Hampshire even likes its beaches rugged: there's a law against picking up seaweed.
No wonder Dartmouth dissociated itself from Vermont. In short, Vermont is the snobby relative always smoking cigars and bragging about his yacht, whereas New Hampshire is the cool uncle that smokes weed all the time.
"The only idea I had of Vermont was when I saw Johnny Tsunami," Amanda Manker '12 said. "He goes to a really preppy boarding school and everyone's really snobby. I imagined New Hampshire as a bunch of lumberjacks."
Indeed, even the Disney Channel harbors a blatant Vermont prejudice: Cool Hawaiian snowboarder beats asshole Vermont skier in an epic match-up. While this propaganda may largely contribute to the state's wussy image, other students have feelings independent of their Disney-ridden childhood.
"I feel like Vermont is the pathetic friend that always tags along," Ryan McWilliams '14 said. "All you do is explore over there and then run back."
