A beer garden on Gold Coast lawn, faculty lectures in the Black Visual Arts Center and trips to the Moosilauke Ravine Lodge and Worthy Burger marked new programming for this spring’s senior week.
Following the drowning last year of Ernest Amoh, the brother of Justice Amoh ’13, Class Council decided not to host River Fest this year, senior class president Chisom Obi-Okoye ’14 said. River Fest, an outdoor party that had been held during past senior weeks at the Chieftain Inn, brought musical performances, water activities, food and beer.
Obi-Okoye said that holding the event would have been both insensitive to the loved ones of the deceased and potentially dangerous. She noted Class Council’s inability to monitor student’s intoxication levels and swimming abilities. Ultimately, Obi-Okoye said, Class Council concluded that the event was not worth the risk.
The Chieftain Inn’s closure did not contribute to the decision, Obi-Okoye said, noting that it would have been possible to plan a river event at another location.
At Wednesday’s beer garden event, students listened to live music and played lawn games. More than 700 students attended, exceeding the turnout at the past River Fest events, Obi-Okoye said.
“It was quietly rowdy,” Obi-Okoye said. “People had a great amount of fun, but it wasn’t anything that was dangerously wild.”
A senior toast by the class historians featured an “unrated version” of their Class Day presentation of the seniors’ Dartmouth experiences on Wednesday night. On Thursday, seniors held a prom at Everything But Anchovies. Performance groups including Sheba, Soul Scribes, Casual Thursday and Ujima conducted workshops, and at the “Last Lectures” event, Dartmouth professors offered reflections and advice to graduates.
Jessica Womack ’14, the class secretary, and Obi-Okoye said that they have received positive feedback from seniors about the events and programming changes and that members of the senior class said they supported the decision to cancel River Fest.
“I wouldn’t say people are reacting or overreacting— people are going to the river on their own,” Womack said.
She added, however, that students are being more cognizant about water safety and drinking.
“I think people understand why River Fest was canceled and students are finding alternate ways of doing a similar thing,” Senior Executive Committee president Holly Foster ’14 said.
For example, Foster said some students have gone on the Harpoon Brewery tube tour down the Connecticut River.
As in previous years, “Around the World Tails,” an event hosted at Hanover restaurants, grouped seniors by where they would live after graduation in order to allow them to meet. The Senior Class Gift reception, which recognized support of the class gift, also resembled previous years’ events, Obi-Okoye said.
While the week’s total budget did not increase this year, Obi-Okoye said, the Dean of the College’s Office and the Dean of the Faculty helped support the “Last Lectures” event. In past years, the budget for senior week has ranged from $10,000 to $20,000.
Anna Hall, associate director of the Collis Center, said in an email that staff members at the Center supported and encouraged Class Council in planning new events to replace River Fest. Hall noted that senior week events often change from year to year, and that River Fest had been incorporated only for the last three years.
