We’re on the downward slope of the term and of the year: Can you feel it? The rollercoaster of fall term’s energy inches up the track little by little. The markers we use to measure the term start to pile up behind us — but we’re still full of potential energy. Around midterms and peak foliage, we pick our heads up and take in the view at the top for just a moment. But before we’re ready, we’re released from our place on top of the world and we’re hurtling into the rest of the year.
This week at Mirror, we’re full speed ahead. Our writers explore Dartmouth’s identity in pop culture and how our own identities become malleable when we get to college. We have articles about Upper Valley locals’ perceptions of Dartmouth and the Novack Cafe’s liminal, musical atmosphere. One writer gets the scoop on the freshman party scene, another talks with freshman roommates whose random pairings led to serendipitous friendships and a third hears from ’26s encountering Dartmouth hazing culture for the first time.
From here on out, the year is full of holidays and checkpoints. Homecoming, Halloween, formals, finals, Thanksgiving, winterim, Christmas — a dozen reasons to be stressed, distracted and excited. It will all come to a head when classes resume the first week in January when you realize you left your breath back in fall term. But for now, it’s still only week six — so enjoy the ride.
Caris is a '23 from Long Beach, CA and is majoring in religion modified with art history. When not editing stories for the Mirror, you can find her playing club soccer, snowboarding at the Skiway or sipping coffee in Sherman Art Library. After college, she plans on attending graduate school in religion.
