This article is featured in the 2025 Winter Carnival Special Issue.
Winter at Dartmouth means many things — snow on eyebrows, warm cuts through Baker-Berry Library and countless near-falls on black ice.
But it also means celebration. Amid the flurry of a nine-week term, Winter Carnival provides an opportunity for us to slow down and embrace all that this big weekend has to offer. Whether you find yourself submerged in a freezing-cold Occom Pond, meticulously sculpting a block of ice or even just cocooned inside a fuzzy blanket, we hope this weekend allows you a chance to take a break from the bustle of the term — and freeze for a moment, if you will.
We, therefore, centered this special issue on the theme “Ice Age.” This weekend is a moment for peace and pondering, for us to dig up our treasured history under thick snow and for us to learn from our reflections on the ice.
In these pages, we travel back in time to the College’s own “Ice Age,” exploring the history of various aspects of Dartmouth — from the Winter Carnival poster and Lunar New Year celebrations to the origins of winterim and standardized testing requirements. We highlight the women’s hockey team as they usher in a new age under new leadership and tune into one senior’s reflections on taking Dartmouth for granted. Finally, we spotlight how faculty members keep themselves busy beyond campus, from engaging in the performing arts to taking sabbaticals.
Just as ice forms and melts, solidifies and thaws, nothing remains in the same state forever — all we have to hold onto are moments. Soon enough, Occom will have melted too much to support the weight of skaters, and the grass on the Green will peek back up through the snow.
So, we encourage you to do just one thing this weekend that you’ll remember fondly — venture onto the skating rink, make a cup of marshmallow-topped hot chocolate or, dare we say, flip through this special issue.
No matter how you choose to spend it, we wish you a joyful, rejuvenating Winter Carnival.
With love,
Albert, Dre and Vivian
Alesandra Gonzales is a reporter, photographer, and videographer for The Dartmouth from south Texas, majoring in psychology with a minor in film. Outside of The D, she likes to workout, watch The Ranch, and do EMS work. She is a licensed EMT in three states.
