The 2012 Dartmouth Outing Club First-Year Trips directorate, announced in a campus-wide email on Friday, will aim to extend a "sustainable welcome" to the Class of 2016, according to Trips director Emily Mason-Osann '11 Th '12.
Farzeen Mahmud '12 will take on the role of assistant director. J Mentrek '13 and Jennifer Lamb '13 will serve as H-Croo chiefs, while Tommy McQuillan '13 and Elizabeth Reynolds '13 will lead Lodj Croo. Rob Collier '13 and Katie Jacobs '13 will serve as Vox Croo chiefs, Charlie Governali '12 will fill the position of Grant Croo chief and Remy Franklin '13 will act as Klimbing Kroo chief. Ian Herrick '13, Cally Womick '13 and Kyle Heppenstall '13 will become the new Trip Leader Trainers, and Chris O'Connell '13 will serve as Outreach Coordinator. Amy Couture '14 will be this year's Safety Master.
This year, the position of sustainability coordinator which will be filled by Annie Laurie Mauhs-Pugh '14 and Michael Perlstein '14 was added to the directorate.
The 2012 directorate will build on previous efforts to incorporate sustainable practices, such as minimizing food waste and transportation use, according to Mason-Osann.
The new leaders of DOC Trips will also focus on spreading the idea of openness not only to the incoming freshmen, but to trip leaders and all Dartmouth students, Mason-Osann said.
McQuillan said he will emphasize transforming Moosilauke Ravine Lodge into an "open, inclusive environment" for everyone involved with Trips.
Changes to Trip leader training will be implemented to create a "more fun, more interesting and more engaging experience," Mason-Osann said. Lower-level hiking trips, which will take place closer to Hanover, will also be added to this year's slate of options.
Applications for potential Trip leaders will be sent to campus in February with a due date "sometime after spring break," she said.
Although no particular criteria have been determined for choosing Trip leaders, O'Connell emphasized that any students excited about welcoming incoming freshmen to campus are encouraged to apply.
"There's no one type of person that can be a Trip leader," he said. "The outdoor skills are something that we can teach and provide you with. We're always looking to bring in people with new perspectives and new ideas."
A change in the academic calendar for the 2012-2013 year will play a new role in the selection of Trip leaders, according to O'Connell. The Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences voted in May 2011 to change the calendar for the upcoming academic year, moving the end of Fall term to the week prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. As a result, Fall term will begin Sept. 10, two weeks earlier than in previous years.
Although Trips will overlap more with sophomore summer than they have in the past, sophomores will still be able to lead Trips in later sections and serve on Croos, according to O'Connell.
"It's really important to us as a directorate and as a program that the '14s are a part of it," O'Connell said.
Mason-Osann highlighted the importance of DOC Trips in making a positive first impression on incoming students and in enriching the Dartmouth experience for all those involved, including Croo chiefs and Trip leaders.
"I think it brings out the best in people, and it brings out the best in the Dartmouth community," she said. "It's a really great way to welcome the new class to Dartmouth and express the wonderful spirit we have in this school."
Former Vox Croo chief Emily Niehaus '12 highlighted the uniqueness of DOC Trips and the collaboration they entail.
"Trips are one of the best programs that Dartmouth has because everyone is a part of it," she said. "It is really a good way to make an impact and it is a very unifying program."
O'Connell is a former member of The Dartmouth Business Staff.
