

Griselda Chavez


Matriculation 2.0: An Untraditional Tradition
I'm so excited to be back and sharing one more year with everyone about my time here at Dartmouth. I wanted to give some insight into one of Dartmouth's traditions, the Twilight Ceremony as part of the matriculation festivities.
Matriculation was one of the exciting traditional activities I wanted to experience. When I had gotten accepted into Dartmouth, I saw several short clips of matriculation, the "formal" process of entering a college. I was excited to experience it myself, but because of COVID-19, my matriculation consisted of sitting in my room during quarantine and watching a video with glowsticks. Although the intentions were appreciated, the experience was not the same because the feeling of being surrounded by a community was missing. Therefore, I was eager to see whether our class would get a second opportunity. And we did!
Honestly, matriculation isn't super exciting. We sign our names onto a book, then get to meet President Phil Hanlon. One thing I did enjoy about the experience was getting to meet alumni that were from the class of 1974. It was interesting to see how the alumni still devote their time to meet students and even provide wisdom. Being able to meet them also demonstrated to me a bit more about Dartmouth's unfortunate history in regards to women, such as remembering that women were still not part of the graduating class of 1974.
Later in the evening, we took a class picture in front of Baker Library and participated in the Twilight Ceremony. The ceremony is meant to signal the beginning of students' Dartmouth journey at the end of the freshmen's orientation program. Students literally pass each other the flame for their candles and begin a walk from Collis Center to Bema, Dartmouth's amphitheater.
Our matriculation is not considered normal compared to previous years. There are some pieces of tradition the College has lost or has been forgotten for a while. However, there are still core elements that make Dartmouth "Dartmouth". Being back on campus has been strange and different. We finally went through matriculation and it was amazing to see so many similar faces on campus, catching up with each other, and taking pictures.
I think it is crazy to see how different the College is from last year. A lot livelier. And a lot of different new challenges and fun memories waiting to happen. Some of our Dartmouth experiences are happening a lot later, like matriculation. However, the upcoming years are still meant for exploration and new experiences.
Posts You Might Like

This weekend, West House had its annual trip to New York! Come along to read about our two days in the city!!


Some of you planning to attend Dartmouth as international students may be thinking, "How will I celebrate the family weekend at Dartmouth?" Isn't it something I need a family for? How will my family get to Dartmouth from the far ends of the earth?


A weekend in big-city Boston allowed me to reflect on Dartmouth's unique rural location.


May so far has been full of spending time with friends, FoCo ice-cream, and enjoying the weather. If you're wondering what spring looks like at Dartmouth, look no further!


See what food I've had this spring through a photo tour!


Honestly, there is no such thing as a normal Friday at Dartmouth, and I just had my most spontaneous and memorable day during my time at Dartmouth so far.


After 10 days in quarantine, I am finally back in society.



April showers really do bring May flowers. Spring in Hanover is truly indescribable; in a matter of days, the trees on campus regrow their lush green leaves and flowers bloom on every corner.
