Joanna Jou

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.

Pictured: My friend Lili and I with matching lone pine temporary tattoos!

Dartmouth has 6 residential communities which we are randomly sorted into before arriving on campus, and are affiliated with for the rest of our time here. Before the start of the Bonfire, each residential house hosted a spirit station where we gathered with our house community before the start of First-Year Sweeps that leads into the Bonfire; this was also a great way to get all the first-years affiliated with the same house to gather in one place as it is not often that we all happen to be at the same place at the same time. Each residential community’s spirit station was unique to its own house color and accessories. For example, my residential community Allen House had temporary tattoos and red glow sticks while other house communities had similar and other various paraphernalia such as blue balloons (School House), purple glue sticks (West House), light up sunglasses and headbands (North Park House), facepaint (East Wheelock House), and beaded necklaces (South House) - just to name a few, but overall a very spirited and prideful way to kick off the rest of the night.

Pictured: Stopping by each house to pick up the rest of the '26s before entering Bonfire.

The First-Year Sweeps is a large parade for first-years where we walk all around campus and stop by each area where the first-years are rallied (from the pre-bonfire house gathering). The Sweep starts from the river cluster and makes its way around to pick up the rest of the first-years to join in. After the House Gathering, Allen House lined up at the intersection of Choates Road and North Main Street, where we heard bagpipes that signaled us to join in; we were the third house (after West and School House) to fuse into the crowd, then made our way to North Park, East Wheelock, and lastly South House. 

Pictured: Fellow '26 blogger Chelsea and I at the bonfire

The Bonfire, a tradition that goes way back to 1888, holds a deep sense of community as Dartmouth alums and students gather around the outer ring of the bonfire to celebrate and support the first-year class. Every year, the bonfire is built by members of the first-year class with the rest of the events during Bonfire planned by the Bonfire Committee. After First-Year Sweeps, we entered into the inner ring of the bonfire (don’t worry, there is a fence that surrounds the actual bonfire) where we walked one lap (fun fact: first-years used to run around the bonfire, but was changed to only walking due to safety and security concerns). After one lap, we exited to the outer ring and watched the bonfire while enjoying this moment with our friends, classmates, upperclassman, alums, and family. For the rest of the night, the Bonfire Committee got us covered with events to do after such as live music by the Black Tie Blackouts (a band formed by a group of my fellow classmates), late night breakfast, cookie decorating, and a dance party. 

Baker-Berry Library, the college’s main library and most popular spot on campus, is home to a myriad of study spots loved by everyone who has stepped foot inside. The library is separated into two parts: Baker and Berry, which were both built at different times - Baker being the older part of the library (opened in 1928) while Berry is considered the newer part (completed in 2000). The 1902 Room, located on the left side of Baker Library, is a large and often quiet study space that I have been coming to every single day for the past two weeks to study for my midterms. There are no individual desks inside this room, but rather long rectangular wooden tables spaced out with a printer in here as well; I really like this format because it gives me a chance to have friends/peers study around me, but also spacious enough to focus on my own work. In addition, the interior decoration is also an addition to the beauty of this room.

Also located in the Baker part of Baker-Berry, Tower Room is the second and highest floor of Baker that overlooks the Baker lawn and Dartmouth Green. Since Baker does not have air conditioning due to how old it is, it gets relatively hot inside this room; however, this does not stop my peers and I from coming in here for a cozy study session. This study spot is also known as the “Harry Potter Room” due to its antique and magical-feeling aesthetic.

After a nice FoCo breakfast, you can most likely find me walking down Main Street (aka downtown Hanover, right next to the Green), to do my morning studying inside Starbucks while sipping a Chai or Matcha - my guilty pleasure that contributes to my poor spending habits. Whether it is watching video-taped lectures for my Calculus class, or reviewing slides for my Physiology course, I find myself to be very productive while sitting inside the friendly Hanover Starbucks to be the best way to get my brain stimulated for the day.