Hello everyone! My name is Natasha Raman and I'm a freshman at Dartmouth. Although I'm undecided on my major, I am leaning towards something related to government, economics, and Asian studies. In my free time, I like to watch The Office, keep up with current events, learn new languages, and hang out with my friends. I am excited to explore my interests at Dartmouth and take advantage of the amazing opportunities offered here!
One club I'm involved in on campus is parliamentary debate. Parliamentary debate involves being able to speak extemporaneously and reason through arguments on a wide array of topics. Although I didn't debate in high school, I was excited to try something new and expand my horizons. After a tryout process, I was accepted onto the team and started to learn how to debate! Like many other clubs on campus, the parliamentary debate team club is a traveling team. As a traveling team, we get the opportunity to travel to different places outside of Dartmouth for competitions. This week, my debate team and I went to compete at Northeastern University! It was a fun learning experience and a nice break from my daily life as a Dartmouth student.
Because Northeastern University is located in Boston, it took us only two to three hours to drive down there. After we checked in, the first round of debates started! Two more rounds of debating followed, and we finished our last round at about midnight. Still pumped from the thrill of debating, we decided to play a game of Ultimate Frisbee on the nearby field. To end the night, we all ate some McDonald's while watching Grey's Anatomy (shoutout to Dartmouth alums Shonda Rhimes and Meredith Grey!)
The next day, we had two more rounds of debating to do. But, on our way to the building, we got stuck in the elevator! Thankfully, after we called for help, some policemen and firefighters came to help pry the elevator doors open so we could leave.
The Debate Team Stuck in an Elevator!
We finally arrived at the auditorium and started to debate for two more rounds. Through debating other college teams, I learned a lot more about different issues that face our society. I also think that through debating in more and more rounds, I became a stronger debater as a result. But even more importantly, I met some fantastic people at this tournament. From bonding with my teammates to meeting other debaters from colleges in the Northeast, debate has given me an outlet to meet interesting people and improve both my speaking and reasoning skills.
I was attracted by the opportunity to engage with first-year residents and shape their Dartmouth experiences, in addition to working with other UGAs and staff who shared my interest in helping others.
We so very wish you could step onto Dartmouth's campus yourself to witness the beauty of our winters live, but COVID-19 has made visiting campuses extremely difficult. I would love to share some of my favorite photos from this past snowy week!
With lots of things (understandably) still closed on campus, it's nice to know that study spaces are beginning to open up again in a safe and responsible way.
In previous winters, I was able to skate on Occom Pond, usually at events with my Living Learning Community, and I'm glad to see that we're still able to take part in such winter festivities even with COVID-19 restrictions.
We finally arrived at the auditorium and started to debate for two more rounds. Through debating other college teams, I learned a lot more about different issues that face our society. I also think that through debating in more and more rounds, I became a stronger debater as a result. But even more importantly, I met some fantastic people at this tournament. From bonding with my teammates to meeting other debaters from colleges in the Northeast, debate has given me an outlet to meet interesting people and improve both my speaking and reasoning skills.
