Joanna Jou

With Berry being the newer part of the Baker-Berry Library complex, it consists of four floors with various study spaces that are differentiated by noise levels; as you go up, the quieter it gets. 2nd Floor Berry (also known as 2FB) is home to the Jones Media Center and Evans Map Room, which assists with anything media-related and houses an extensive collection of geography-related materials; these study spaces aren’t just limited to just media or map related purposes, which makes them very accessible for all and any purposes. My favorite part of 2FB is how it is a common space for small group gatherings whether that is to meet for a project/assignment, to study with friends, or to simply see a familiar face.

Although located farthest from the center of campus along Tuck Mall street, the Engineering and Computer Science Center is one of the newer buildings on campus as it just opened in 2022. I enjoy studying in this building because it is usually very quiet and is a great space to maximize productivity and is also a bit more modern; not a lot of students come here because it is very far unless you live in the River dorms, but I find the walk to be worthwhile. Additionally, ECSC is home to the Computer Science department and connects parts of Thayer School of Engineering into one building with various spaces for design (Digital Applied Learning and Innovation Lab aka DALI Lab), entrepreneurship (Magnuson Center for Entrepreneurship), and research all under the same roof; this makes it more accessible/convenient for students interested in the intersection between engineering and computer science, and opens more options for co-curricular activities involving design thinking.

3FB has been my go-to study space for my first round of midterms that I just got through this week; this is generally known to be one of the more quiet spaces, but also sometimes a little more lively depending on the day. What’s more distinctive on this floor is the individual cubicles and desks all around 3FB, but also the group study tables and private group study rooms, which contribute to the facetime-y (Dartmouth slang for being outgoing and social) nature sometimes seen on this floor. Whenever I come up to 3FB, I always look for the individual cubicles that centralize my productivity while limiting distractions.

This was the first hike of WHEATSTARCH, and also my first snow hike. Although it was a steep and tough hike, my fellow trippees kept me entertained with jokes and laughter along the way. After we got to the top, we enjoyed a beautiful snowy view of Dixville Notch and ate a delicious lunch consisting of pita bread, hummus, red bell peppers, corn nuts, trail mix, peanut butter, jelly, and very delicious dried mango (thank you to one of my trip leaders Abigail for introducing us to Wellsley Farms Dried Mango! ) that we devoured after a beautiful hike.

The next day, our group of 9 trippees split up into two groups for two different morning hikes: Tumbledown Mountain and the 4th Connecticut Lake. I decided to do the International Peace Trail of the 4th Connecticut Lake because it is located between the line of what separates New Hampshire and Quebec, and marks the beginning of the Connecticut River that also runs through Hanover. Throughout the hike, our phone signals switched over to Canada and we even got text messages from our cell service provider that said “Welcome to Canada!”, which was definitely a highlight. After we regrouped back at the cabin, we had delicious vegetarian taco burrito bowls for dinner and reflected on how each group’s hikes went.

This photo was taken by Kelby, who was the second trip leader for WHEATSTARCH. I really appreciated this moment being captured as my fellow trippees and I sat at the dinner table talking about a variety of things, and learned more than a few things about each other along the way; this was basically how we would end our nights after dinner - crazy how five days can change the social interaction as we shared various storytimes while also learning so much about one another.

The Choates Cluster, located northwest of the Green and next to Occom Pond, comprises 4 halls: Cohen, Bissell, Little, and Brown. Cohen and Bissell connect to a common room (known as Bisco), while Little and Brown also connect to their own separate common room (known as Brittle); the two buildings look identical to one another as they are also located next to each other. On my housing application, I had indicated that I would prefer to not have any roommates, which the residential life office (blessedly) granted as I currently live in a single inside Cohen Hall.

The Fayes (short for Fayerweathers) consist of North Fayerweather, Mid Fayerweather, and South Fayerweather, which are externally connected in a linear form right behind Dartmouth Hall. Because of its close proximity to the Green, it is often the hotspot for first-years to hang out as the Fayes host only first-years and house a good amount of the first-year class given its basement and four additional floors.

The River Cluster, consisting of French and Judge Hall, is located closest to the Connecticut River (hence why it is called “The River”); students often joke about how it is closer to Vermont than the rest of campus as it is also the farthest from the Green (maybe it isn’t even a joke?). Nevertheless, many of my friends who live in the River Cluster vouch for the tight-knit community they have amongst the people on their floors and dorms as they spend more time in their common room together and get to know one another beyond just being floormates or hallmates. A bright side of living near the River is that you have the closest access to the Connecticut River to go swimming, canoeing, paddleboarding, or anything else water-related during the warmer seasons.