"Here Comes the Sun"

Reece's D-Plan

- FallHanover, NH
  Favorite Class: REL 62 Religion, Politics, and the Presidency
  As a student interested in both government and religion, I was thrilled to take this course in the fall—concurrent with the presidential election. The Professor, Randall Balmer, was a really engaging speaker and a leading expert in the field—he even authored two of the course books! We spent our class time discussing many historical and modern elections and discussed in depth the religious influences on the various figures. Overall, this class was really interesting and a great introduction to the religion major!
- WinterHanover, NH
  Favorite Class: REL 11.01 God and Money
  I took this class with Professor Devin Singh, and it really solidified my interest in studying Religion at Dartmouth. We began the course by outlining the various emergence theories of money, and spent a significant amount of time debunking the most popular: commodity theory (i.e., that money emerged to help people trade). We examined historical evidence, discussed relevant texts, and were able to build our own theories about the history of money. The second half of class focused on the religious connotations of wealth. Overall, this course challenged me in a positive way and highlighted the importance of studying religion in contemporary society.

Two girls sit on a brown picnic blanket that is on green grass. They are both wearing sunglasses. The one on the left is sitting up and smiling; the one on the right lying down.

"Here Comes the Sun"

There are so many famous songs about the sun—"Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves, "Island in the Sun" by Weezer, and "Pocketful of Sunshine" by Natasha Bedingfield—but only one song properly describes the mood of Dartmouth College as I walked out of class this afternoon: "Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles.

After two months of the cold and dreary—albeit still exciting—winter term, it finally feels like spring! The temperature has surpassed 50 degrees, the clouds have left the sky, and "sun, sun, sun, here it comes!"

A green Dartmouth flag is waving in the background as a group of students are grouped together standing on the grass.

Students on the Green in front of Collis & Robinson Hall

As Dartmouth students, we experience the full range of weather: the colorful leaves in the fall, the snow in the winter, and the sun in the spring; I also can't forget the river in the summer as the sophomore class spends the warmest months here on campus! This is my first spring at Dartmouth, and I'm so excited to engage with my new favorite unofficial tradition: lounging in the sun on the first marginally nice day of the term, even though it is still 52 degrees.

Two students are lying on their backpacks, sunbathing, in the foreground. In the background, you can see other students with friends and two brick buildings.

Sunbathing, Reading, and Enjoying the Green

As I left my last class Friday afternoon, I walked onto the Green—our central hub on campus—and was met with tens, if not hundreds, of students playing spike ball, hacky sack, throwing footballs, frisbees, playing soccer, sitting, reading, and doing nothing at all.

Two white brick buildings are in the background along with two groups of students playing two different games of spike ball.

Two games of spike ball seen in the distance!

My friends and I enjoyed a mix. My fellow blogger, dormmate, and good friend Ellie brought a picnic blanket and a book. As she sat there attempting to read (the wind got in the way), I sat beside her with my laptop, writing this blog. Our friends next to us set up a spike ball net and began a game, inviting students to join them, and two other first-year students asked to play mid-game! On our right, a group of upperclassmen played hacky sack, and next to them, some other students were passing a ball.

Two men are crouched down in the grass, attaching a black net to a spike ball frame.

Two friends setting up the spike ball net (unseen: the struggle)

All around us, we saw Dartmouth students doing what they love most: enjoying the Hanover environment. Whether you were doing homework, enjoying the weather, or playing one of the nine games of spike ball I saw going on the Green, it was clear that the Dartmouth community was here together.