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Alex Campbell

Class of 2026
Me, holding up a Dartmouth 26 long sleeved t-shirt

About 

Howdy, y'all! I'm Alex, a queer and trans student from Tennessee. This year I'm involved with a lot: I'm serving as the Production Manager for the Dartmouth Rude Mechanicals, acting as Social Chair for Amarna, rushing Phi Tau, giving tours on campus, exploring the offerings of the Dartmouth Outing Club, joining Farm Club, getting more involved with the O-Farm and sustainability on campus, and generally enjoying my second year here at Dartmouth!

Academic Program 

English Major & Theater Major, ENVS Minor

Favorite Thing Right Now 

Studying At Still North Books & Bar

Hometown 

Nolensville, TN

Pronouns 

he/they

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Alex's D-Plan

What's a D-Plan?

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: ENGL 15: Shakespeare

      As a theater-kid-turned-English-major who already loved Shakespeare before taking this class, highlighting this as my favorite class of the term is a no-brainer. This class is completely accessible to anyone who is has never read Shakespeare while still being an engaging class for seasoned Shakespeare enthusiast. Class time is mostly devoted to discussion of the texts, and I feel like I came out of the class with a strengthened ability to analyze the themes present in Shakespeare's works as well as a better comprehension of the nuances of language used in the plays.

    • WinterOn campus

      Favorite Class: THEA 40: Technical Production

      Before this class, my experience on the technical side of theater was severely limited. I've been acting onstage for a decade, and even though I knew that productions would be impossible without what goes on behind the scenes, actually learning how to DO what goes on behind the scenes was another experience entirely. THEA 40 is an incredibly fun and informative class, and I can confidently say I have a much more comprehensive understanding of what it takes to make a show come together. And next term, I'll have to opportunity to apply my new knowledge and skills as Production Manager for the Rude Mechanicals, Dartmouth's student-run Shakespeare company! I can't wait!

    • SpringOn campus

      Favorite Class: THEA 10.29: Textual Analysis

      In this class we read stage plays through various lenses. These lenses comprised a general overview of the different readings of a play necessary in order to get it from script to stage: reading as actors, writers, directors, designers, dramaturgs, etc. I had an amazing time I feel my foundation of theater knowledge has been enhanced by what I learned in this class! I've been able to apply this knowledge as I continue to read and write plays in my spare time.

    • FallOn Campus

      Favorite Class: FILM 50.04: Video Games and the Meaning of Life

      I took this class to fulfill one of my distributive requirements, but it ended up being my favorite class this term. I found the readings fascinating, the lectures engaging, and the group work super enjoyable (we were assigned to stream video games a couple hours per week!). Despite the large class size (100+ students) the lectures remained engaging and the professor made sure to hold weekly office hours to get to know as many of the students as possible; he even brought donuts sometimes! Overall, if this class were a video game, I’d hit replay as soon as the credits rolled.

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Shiver Me Timbers!

Winter is a sad, cold, bleak time.* The sun seldom shines**, and warmth seems all but gone from the world. Students resort to taking Vitamin D supplements and wearing an oppressive quantity of layers to survive the walk to classes and meals. It's truly a terrible, miserable, no-good time to be on campus.***

But of course, with the light of Dartmouth's Winter Carnival on the horizon, how could trivial things such as these matter!

Dartmouth's Winter Carnival is a yearly tradition that "celebrates the beauty of the winter season in the Upper Valley" according to the Winter Carnival Website—and now I can finally say I've experienced a Dartmouth Winter Carnival! 

*Winter at Dartmouth is cold, but neither sad nor bleak. 

**There isn't much sun, and taking vitamin D supplements can't hurt, but it's always an exciting day when the sun does shine! I'd recommend doing school work by a window on those days—a dorm window works, or you can check out my blog post here, listing favorite study spots, often with big, beautiful windows! 

***This statement is just plain false.

  1. No. 1

    Opening Celebration

    Collis Common Ground Lit Up for Winter Carnival Grand Opening, A Capella group performing on stage

    Dartmouth’s Winter Carnival is organized by the Collis Center for Student Engagement, and they do a fabulous job. This year the carnival had a pirate theme, and the tagline was “Shiver Me Timbers!” The opening ceremony took place in Collis Common Ground, and the atmosphere created by the lighting and decorations was amazing. They decked out Collis by hanging sails, nets, flags, rope—everything to make the building feel pirate-y and epic! The opening ceremony had lots of pirate-themed food and snacks, a photo booth, and performances by 4 of Dartmouth’s 8 a cappella groups and two Dartmouth dance troupes. It was a spectacular start to an incredible weekend!

  2. No. 2

    Special Poster Printing

    Poster printing at the Library Book Arts Workshop

    The Library Book Arts Workshop hosted an event where students could come and make their own special edition version of the Winter Carnival poster! I went, and I’m super happy with how my poster came out!

  3. No. 3

    Cookies, Cocoa, and a Polar Bear Swim

    Winter Carnival student volunteer, dressed as pirate, facilitated Polar Bear Swim

    The Polar Bear swim presents an opportunity for students to jump into Dartmouth’s Occom Pond, brave the ice, and swim a brief length to the other side. More intimidated than intrigued, I did not participate—but hundreds of students do! Instead, a friend and I grabbed Cookies and Cocoa from the Roth Center for Jewish Life, and spectated the event. Though I’ll admit, watching did make me more inclined to participate… what can I say, Dartmouth students have an utterly infectious inclination towards adventure.

  4. No. 4

    Amarna Queer Tails—Pirates & Navy Theme

    Amarna member dressed up as pirates

    Amarna, a residential and social community I joined that you can read more about in my blog post here, hosted our ‘Queer Tails’ event*, with a Pirates & Navy theme, in honor of the Winter Carnival theme!

    *A "tails" event at Dartmouth is a party, but with a theme! Amarna's tails are specifically called 'Queer Tails'—but you don't have to be queer to attend. 

  5. No. 5

    Pirate Training Camp

    Another event hosted for the Winter Carnival Event was ‘Pirate Training Camp,’ where people could learn all sorts of pirating skills: knot tying, weather reading, sword fighting, and designing their very own pirate flag!

    One of my friends was teaching the sword fighting portion—over the summer she had gone on the Theater Foreign Studies Program to London, where she learned lots of sword fighting from Shakespeare actors. She taught us a lot of cool swashbuckling moves!

  6. No. 6

    Human Dog Sled Race and Snowshoe Race

    Human Dog Sled Race

    On Saturday, the Dartmouth Green saw several lively competitions: a human dog sled race and a snowshoe race. Though I didn’t participate, I spectated with a friend and we rooted for the Cabin and Trail group (Cabin and Trail is a subdivision or “sub-club” or the DOC, the Dartmouth Outing Club). 

  7. No. 7

    Sea Shanties with David Coffin

    Last but not least, there was a sea shanty sing-a-long (say that five times fast) in One Wheelock, led by David Coffin (look him up on YouTube or TikTok!). We sang our hearts out and left yearning for the sea and ready to set sail on an adventure—well, at least I did.

  8. No. 8

    Other Events

    I attended a lot of other events! Far more than could fit in one blog post, including but not limited to: Ice Sculpture Competition, Late Night Collis Breakfast + Muppet Treasure Island Showing, The Princess Bride Showing, Snow Sculpting on the Green, Pirate Feast @ Foco, Thursday Trivia (Pirate Edition), and Creative Gaming Club (Pirate’s Edition)! Overall, this was a super fun weekend that provided a much-needed excuse to take a break and have some fun with friends. And I can’t wait for next year’s Winter Carnival, to relive the fun again!

Posted 02/20/2023 at 9:00 AMAll List Posts

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