Hi! My name is Arianna, and I'm a '27 from Georgia. On campus, I am involved with the Cheerleading Team, Dartmouth Caribbean Connections, First-Gen Office, and more! I aim to double major in History and English (potentially) with a minor in Public Policy. I enjoy reading, painting, listening to music, and meeting new people. Follow along through this blog as I traverse my wonderful experiences!
When the moon moves in front of the sun and obscures our vision of it, this is known as a solar eclipse. A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon completely blocks the sun's light. These are uncommon occurrences that are only seen for brief periods of time in certain locations. On Monday, April 8th, northern New Hampshire was in the total scholar eclipse's Path of Totality, a view that granted people 98% visibility of the moon blocking the sun.
Days leading up to the eclipse, the community looked around for proper eyewear to protect their eyes from the eclipse. At Dartmouth's Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for Public Policy, students were able to retrieve eclipse glasses at no cost. A few classes were moved to Zoom or rescheduled on another day's x-hour. Each course planned by the Dartmouth College Registrar includes an extra, optional period called the x-hour, in addition to the normally scheduled class times. For that course only, the x-hour is set aside in the normally allotted classroom or on Zoom, although on a different day and time.
During the day of the actual eclipse, there was a tent outside on the Dartmouth Green (the focal point of campus) that also provided free eclipse glasses, pretzels, pastries, water, and other refreshments. Students placed picnic blankets and their jackets on the grass of the Green, some playing volleyball and others playing spike ball. When students don't have their own equipment, they are able to freely rent volleyballs and spike ball nets from the front desk at Collis.
My friends and I played spike ball and volleyball on the Green after the eclipse. We also got boba tea and ice cream in town to commemorate the weather being warmer than 50 degrees!
Between 3:25 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., the campus looked up at the eclipse through their glasses to see most of the moon covering the sun. Outdoors, the light seemed dull, and the sky slightly darkened. When northern New Hampshire witnessed 98% visibility, the partial eclipse enthralled the community, bringing everyone in Hanover outside and providing a lasting impression of a really extraordinary natural occurrence.
Despite Dartmouth being on the periphery of the broader Northeast region, its access to major transportation hubs makes travel stress-free. But, how can students without a car see the rest of New England?
The big-little process in my sorority has strengthened my bond with my big, fostered new friendships across class years, and deepened my sense of community and belonging on campus.
