Safety and Security director Harry Kinne said that this year’s Winter Carnival weekend saw about half the amount of general safety incidents. He added that alcohol-related incidents specifically were down by a comparable amount.
Safety and Security saw “a minimal number of students admitted to Dick’s House,” he added, as well as to the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.
Since Winter Carnival began to gain popularity in the early 1900s, the College has seen an influx of visitors to campus. The increase in social activities and visitors to campus often requires additional precaution by Dartmouth organizations. Hanover Police and Dartmouth EMS also usually increase their presence over big weekends.
Kinne noted that this Winter Carnival was less busy than previous Winter Carnival weekends in general, but compared it to last year’s specifically. The 2011 Winter Carnival, for example, saw seven arrests by the Hanover Police, mostly for alcohol-related incidents, and in 2013 there were two cases of alleged assault.
He also stated that Winter Carnival is generally less active than Homecoming and Green Key. He stated that Carnival saw about one-quarter of the incidents of this year’s Homecoming, and significantly less than those of Green Key, adding that last year’s spring event was “extraordinarily busy.”
Between Friday afternoon and 6 a.m. the Sunday morning of Green Key last spring, three students were arrested and Safety and Security received 51 calls. In the previous year they filed 54 reports.
The most common incidents reported this weekend were minor injuries — for instance slipping on ice — Kinne added.
With regards to the measures taken in preparation for the weekend, Kinne said that Safety and Security followed their general practice of boosting patrols on Friday and Saturday nights, but did not change any specific procedures for Winter Carnival. He added that he was aware that the Hanover Police also increased its presence over the weekend, and that Dick’s House increased their capacity in preparation.
Kinne said that “overall the weekend went very well.”
Interfraternity Council public relations chair Brett Drucker ’15 said that fraternities generally increase vigilance and active security during every big weekend, citing large numbers of visitors and social events. He noted that members of Greek houses generally show greater vigilance managing crowds in preparation for big events. Greek houses also increase their monitoring of which guests are legally allowed to drink and general crowd control, he added.
While he noted he has not seen any specific numbers, he said that it is difficult to name any one factor that contributed to the relative tameness of this year’s Winter Carnival compared to other big weekends because the winter term student body has a different makeup than other terms, with fewer students on campus.
Students remarked that this Carnival did not feel significantly different compared to past events.
Lindsey Allen ’16 said she did not notice a significant change from previous Winter Carnivals. She noted that the lower number of incidents could be due to greater responsibility and awareness among students.
Molly Ryan ’17 said she noticed an increased presence of safety officials on campus, but did not know why exactly the number of incidents decreased.
Drucker is a member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
