Editors' Note

Spring is upon us, but unlike the Mirror’s editorial staff, it seems like Hanover weather is not under new management. Each 50-degree day feels like a tease, and last weekend’s first green blossoms find themselves yet again covered in snow. Students are arriving back on campus in droves: some sunburnt, others jet-lagged and almost all unprepared for the First Real Spring since COVID-19.

Here at Mirror, we ring in the 179th Directorate with a healthy dose of reflection. Inspired by the seemingly endless supply of tropical vacation photos on social media, we reflect on spring break FOMO and the pressure to have a picture-perfect trip. Other students share their most heinous Hanover travel experiences, as we muse on the trials and tribulations of traveling to and from our rural locale. And finally, if the two-week gap felt too short, you’re not alone — this week we take a moment to address the ever-present phenomenon of burnout and why Dartmouth has it so bad.

While our writers this week take a backwards look at spring break, here at Mirror we have a lot to look forward to. Between the ever-lengthening Foco lines, FFB’s reemergence and the promise of impending sunshine, new life is entering campus from all sides — even if it means a little bit of overcrowding. For the first time in Dartmouth’s recent history, it is nearly everyone’s first “real” spring term. This means that here at Mirror, we are experiencing this newness alongside all of you, even as we publish reflections on it. The seeds of Hanover spring have been latent since March 2020, and now that the term is finally upon us, we can’t wait to watch them bloom.