Winter is coming. As the snow fell upon Hanover this weekend, I stared out the window, contemplating my own mortality (and what I was going to order for dinner). The date was Oct. 30, and yet a wispy white layer of snow coated the lawn before me. I sat still. A man and his thoughts, letting the snow fall swift and gently upon the grass.
As the time passed, I could see less of the grass that had been green just several days ago. After a while, I had forgotten what it looked like at all. Time surged on and the snow fell, and as the layer of snow grew heavy on the grass my memory of fall passed from sight.
It seems that just a few weeks ago sun filled the Upper Valley with hope and possibility. Bright-eyed sophomores eagerly dawned their sirens, signs and Timberland boots as they pledged fraternity houses. A banner hung over Main Street proudly announcing Dartmouth football's "First Ever Night Game". The men's soccer team trounced Princeton, 4-1, in a rousing Ivy League home opener.
Today, it saddens me to declare that the Great Grim Grind has begun. The lowly pledge now trudges nondescript across the Green, knowing that just the faint whiff of pledge term may cause the GLOS swat team to shut down his fraternity within seconds. The football team marches on this weekend against Cornell as it seeks to take another step towards a .500 record. Also this Saturday, the Dartmouth senior soccer players (both men and women) will play their last game on Burnham Field, with the men's NCAA tournament hopes hanging in the balance.
Yes, we are faced with strange and trying times here in the Kingdom of the North. The slow onset of winter creeps stealthily down I-91, rearing its ugly head in the form of pre-mature snow showers and Winter term's class registration (yes, it's already begun).
Soon, the great migration of 12W will begin. Those who are able will use the D-Plan to move south in search of warmer weather and frats that aren't on probation. But the freshmen, seniors and unlucky in-betweens will be left to put on winter layers of fat and call lines of 25 at Sigma Delt.
Admittedly a creature of habit, I oppose the early onset of such drastic changes. Fall, my senior Fall, has gone by too fast a chilling harbinger of the reality that awaits me in June. To cope with the anxiety, my good friend took me to a hockey game on Saturday night. I was reluctant at first "but it's football season!" I protested. Nonetheless, he dragged me along. And I was pleasantly surprised.
The cold air in the rink felt refreshing. And while the three Safety and Security officers looked even more useless than they usually do during the first period, slowly but surely, the section by my side began to fill with rambunctious Dartmouth students. Even if I wasn't ready for winter, it was clear others were up for the challenge.
As I was leaving the concession stand with my tray of churros and hot chocolate, a man bumped into me, spilling the chocolatey delight all over its Mexican counterpart. The cashier immediately offered me replacements for both, which they had prepared even before I could accept her kind offer (I thought it might make the churro taste even better). Speechless, I walked back to my seat with twice the amount of hot chocolate I had bargained for and a small child's weight in churros. Maybe this winter isn't going to be so bad after all, I thought.
Here at Dartmouth, it's easy to become a victim of seasonal depression. In a daily routine often riddled with academic stress, athletic competition and real-world problems, a foot of snow and -10 degree windchill can seem downright devastating at times. And unlike Winterfell, we lack an inspiring personality a Rob Stark, if you will to be our fearless King of the North. So in times of strife and cold and chafe, we should look to each other for comfort. Let's bond in the collective unity that gave Dartmouth its proud winter-sports heritage, and relish the opportunity to embrace a tradition that once made Winter Carnival one of the most storied college festivals in the country.
When the grim winter arrives in force, we'll need each other to make sure this campus remains the vibrant place it is known to be. Let the vagabond fraternity brother into your house to shield him from the frigid snows of probation, and lend your support to hockey, skiing and obviously squash. Hell, let's even give basketball a shot.
