Arianna Dunkley

One of my favorite parts of Dartmouth is that they have a variety of different sports and activities at different intensity levels. Dartmouth has 35 Division I varsity sports teams, around 30 club sports teams, and around 20 intramural teams. Intramural teams are less of a commitment and facilitate fewer requirements than club sports or Division I varsity sports teams. Thus, my friends spontaneously joined their various housing community’s intramural hockey team, and I was able to attend and cheer them on to victory. If you don’t have your own hockey gear (skates, helmets, etc.), you can rent them for free as a Dartmouth undergraduate. 

At occasional points of the term, my public policy professor brings his dog, Fern, to class. I love dogs, as I have two of them at home; it greatly brightened my day. In the midst of midterm season, anything as small as getting to pet a dog in your class will lighten your mood.

Molly’s is one of my favorite restaurants in town (the area surrounding Dartmouth’s campus). After finishing my homework in the library for the day, I walked over to join my friends’ birthday dinner. I highly recommend the chicken alfredo and the nachos—always call ahead to see their wait times before you go!

As a First-Year Representative of Dartmouth’s Caribbean Connection, I invited all my friends to attend their karaoke night. Thai cuisine was provided, and having food or snacks are a common component for most club events like these. It was an amazing turnout, and my friends and I sang a few songs and sang along to other songs that people played. 

My first experience of watching an a cappella performance was in the movie Pitch Perfect. With the Barden Bellas’ intriguing costumes and flashy performances, I soon realized that collegiate a cappella facilitates a different atmosphere. Dartmouth has 8 a cappella groups on campus, and they have all-male groups, all-female groups, and co-ed groups. If you want to get involved or see some of their performances, audiitions are hosted at the beginning of fall term, and they perform at different parts of campus throughout each term and collaborate with other student groups. For instance, the performance that I attended featured one of Dartmouth’s five audition-based dance groups, Sheba. Many of my friends are in Sheba Dance Troupe, and I was intrigued to see an a cappella performance by the Dartmouth Aires in correlation to their dance group. Thus, I really enjoyed their performance and the “Mean Girls” theme that they showcased.

Stay tuned for more updates throughout my freshman winter!