Campus life - Letters from Dartmouth College Soaking up the sun By Yoko Kubo	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
夏本番のダートマス 今、ダートマス大学は夏学期の真っ最中です。3年への進級が決まっている2年生は、この学期はキャンパス内にいることが義務付けられています。暑い時期に学校…と思いきや、学生には評判のいい学期なのです。人のまばらなキャンパスはわが物顔でかっ歩できるし、なんといっても、待望の恒例行事が行なわれるのですから。

ダートマス大学の夏の名物行事 "Tubestock"。 学生たちはコネチカット川にゴム輪やいかだを浮かべて、夏のひとときを満喫する

With less people on campus, varsity teams in the off-season, and the sun finally reminding us of its presence, summer definitely slows down the pace of college life. Even professors, realizing that students' minds are not going to be focused on their studies, tend to be more lenient and laid-back than usual. Many students purposefully take only two courses, or gut courses (courses that are said to be easy, like the history of baseball), in order to ensure a stress-free summer.

It is also the one time when most of your friends will be on campus, and is also a great opportunity to meet and bond with new people. It's amazing how many faces I had not realized until now as belonging to people in my year!

One of the great advantages of us having the campus to ourselves is being able to live in the spacious dorm rooms that are normally reserved for seniors. I am currently living in a room intended as a triple with my roommate, and we have our own private bathroom, which is a luxury I have never had before. However, the most attractive feature of the summer is undoubtedly the nearby Connecticut River. Its waters are very enticing now that the ice has melted.

Dartmouth, living up to its reputation as a truly "outdoorsy" university, offers as many options in the summer as it does in the winter. Taking the place of the skis and snowboards are canoes and kayaks that students can rent out from the student-run Ledyard Canoe Club. No experience is necessary to go for a simple paddle down the river, although life jackets are required just for safety's sake.

The other day, I went to the river for a canoe ride with two of my more experienced friends to enjoy the gorgeous scenery and to listen to the peaceful sound of lapping water. In reality, it was more of a struggle to keep the canoe going straight (harder than it looks!), to keep it from capsizing, and to try not to get in the way of more professional rowers and swimmers. I ended up with sunburn and extremely sore arms, but it was a lot of fun anyway.

A few weekends ago was Tubestock, the big annual summer tradition that started in 1987. It is basically a huge and wet party, with students turning the Connecticut River into a sea of rubber tubes, hand-made rafts and floating bodies. The event is "unofficial" in the sense that it isn't college-approved, which is understandable because the combination of alcohol, students and water just begs for disaster. Although undercover police officers patrol the banks of the river, there fortunately haven't been any casualties so far and Tubestock remains the highlight of the summer.

Walking around campus now in summer makes me aware of how quickly time passes. It's strange to think that my term in Paris has already ended, and the heat makes writing, and internship interviews snow sculptures seem like a distant memory. Junior year, resume writing, and internship interviews loom just around the corner. What is most surprising is the fact that it has nearly been a whole year since I started writing for the Campus Life column, and it is sad to consider that this will be my last opportunity to report on the many goings-on of my college. It has been a wonderful experience and a great pleasure to be able to have shared various aspects of my college life with all of you, and I'm very grateful for your support.

Shukan ST: Aug. 22, 2003

(C) All rights reserved