In a time of many firsts, this week marked yet another novel experience for many Dartmouth students. Whereas setting up dorm room decor is usually a pre-term activity, move-in this term took place in six-hour time blocks last weekend, between weeks two and three of the term. Arriving in Hanover, the process was orderly but time-consuming. First stop: trek through Leverone Field House to stick a cotton swab up your nose. Second stop: haul luggage to your room. Third stop: wait.
Less than 48 hours later, campus seemed to breathe a sigh of relief when an email released newcomers from phase one of quarantine. Students strolled around Occom Pond in pairs, gasping for fresh air through masks. Moving in and locking down part way through the term proved uniquely challenging — how could the College expect us to do homework when we had all our clothes to unpack, and when we couldn’t even go outside?
All that’s to say, this week’s Mirror comes straight from campus, with a little exhaustion and a lot of love for this place we call home. In this issue, we explore how Dartmouth’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebrations reflected a “year of racial reckoning.” We also discuss how COVID-19 has impacted students’ online shopping habits and problems of health inequality. As we contemplate tough questions about racism, inclusivity and the insidious effects of COVID-19, Dartmouth students prove that we’re committed to making our community more just. We want to ensure that all students belong here, so that even when times are tough, we can always come back to Dartmouth.
