Dartmouth 250: A Look Back at First-Year Trips

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A spirit of adventure and community connects today’s tripees with their predecessors.

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First-year students from the Class of 1996 pause for a group photo while on a trip hike.
First-year students from the Class of 1996 pause for a group photo while on a trip hike. (Courtesy of the Dartmouth Library)
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In 1935, as a means of boosting membership, the Dartmouth Outing Club (DOC) extended an invitation for a “get acquainted trip” to members of the incoming Class of 1939. Sixteen first-year students and a few trip leaders set off on that inaugural first-year trip.

By the 1960s, half of each incoming class was participating in the new tradition. In recent years, over 90 percent of each incoming class has elected to go on the optional trips, which remain student-led and nature-focused.

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