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Fieldstock: Building a Tradition "By Students for Students"

It might not be the next Summer of Love, but a new student tradition is in the making. Fieldstock 2007 will be held the second weekend in August for the sophomores on campus for Sophomore Summer. "It's by students for students," says Amy Newcomb, assistant director of Collis Center and Student Activities. "The student organizers are creating a unique and fun event."

Fieldstock is a successor to Tubestock—the spirited if unsanctioned day of rafting on the Connecticut River that was a highlight of Sophomore Summer for nearly twenty years. In the summer of 2006, when a New Hampshire law restricting water events and a new Hanover safety ordinance prompted Tubestock's cancellation, the Class of 2008 Student Council scrambled to develop a terrestrial replacement that featured another old Dartmouth tradition—chariot races on the Green. "The College offered to work with the sophomore class to help support an event that would be similar to other traditions, such as Winter Carnival, Homecoming, and Green Key Weekend," says Newcomb. The concept of Fieldstock was born.

Admittedly, Fieldstock was a hard sell to students who had looked forward to tubing down the river with their classmates since freshman year. "Last year, no matter what we did, Fieldstock was not going to be Tubestock," says Newcomb. Among the more disappointing aspects of the inaugural event: its length, which was only three hours (in comparison to the weekend-long Homecoming, Green Key, and Winter Carnival). The races were fun, but besides the human-powered chariots, the first Fieldstock's limited attractions included a mud pit that drew only a handful of participants, a poorly attended barbecue in the Bema (the landscaped amphitheater on the eastern edge of campus), and a band that, well, wasn't quite ready for prime time.

Fieldstock II will be a different story, according to Neil Kandler '09, a government and economics major from Brighton, Michigan, who is one of Fieldstock's organizers this year. "We're doing everything we can to make Fieldstock great," he says.

With a year to prepare, the Class of 2009 is planning an entire weekend full of events. Festivities will begin Wednesday and Thursday nights before the weekend with dance and theme parties. A carnival will be held Friday on the Green, featuring a climbing wall, jousting, sumo wrestling, laser tag, music, and plenty of food. And, of course, the famed Chariot races return to the Green on Saturday as part of a larger "Olympic"-style competition that will include relay races and other games. Following that will be live band performances and a class barbecue on the student union porch. Finally, on Sunday, organizers hope to host a "Pancake Paddle" at the Ledyard Canoe Club like those held on Family Weekends. It's an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast followed by an hour-long paddle on the Connecticut River.

Says Kandler, "It's exciting knowing that what we're building could become a tradition like Winter Carnival or Bonfire and have the same kind of status that they enjoy."