Yes! He seems to have thoroughly enjoyed it, made friends, liked his roommate, and did well academically. Fingers crossed that it continues to go smoothly! 
@b1ggreenca terrific! My D cannot wait till fall 2016.
Congrats parents, have a Happy New Year!
Happy New Year, Magnum, and all Dartmouth parents & students!
Happy New Year to all!
Happy New Year to all Dartmouth parents â past, present, and future. We loved having our '19 home for Winterim â and she confirmed that she still loves us â but she could not wait to head back to all her friends at school. Sheâs so incredibly happy!! The first report card looked great, which was a big confidence-builder for her. It seems that weâre all systems go for 4 great years. Hat tip to @âMagnum PIâ and @AboutTheSame who both saw it coming. :">
My sonâs plane is touching down at Logan even as we speak! I think he was more than ready to head back!
Remembered at the last minute about the Class of 1966 webcam. I finally figured out how to work the controls and zeroed in on the bus coming down E. Wheelock just in time! Was really fun seeing the kids disembark, get their suitcases and walk off toward campus. I couldnât make out my son but I know he was on that bus, so itâs great to know he arrived safelyâsaw it with my own eyes, from across the country!
It was always sad to put our kids on a plane during the holidays. One New Yearâs Eve we even left our house full of guests to run them to the airport to catch the red eye to the west coast for the long haul back. And yes, we tried to watch them arrive in Hanover on the webcam. They may be adults now, and quite over the Dartmouth experience, but weâll always. Have these memories. Enjoy these moments, @abouththesame, @dumbo and other veteran DC parents are here for you! A little bit envious too. Thanks for sharing.
What a fabulous community this is. Many blessings to all of you in the New Year.
@b1ggreenca : Ainât that fun? I was able to spot D one year despite the lack of resolution by the color or her bag and her SF Giants cap.
I was zooming in when I guess someone else took control of the camera and it suddenly focused on some other area of campus, so I had to be happy with knowing that the bus had arrived. Which still was great!
I picked out my '19 son on the webcam as he ran to catch the Dartmouth Coach for the winter break - wearing flip flops and shorts in 10 deg weather. Still a Californian at heart âŠ
Great email received today from Phil titled âThe Liberal Arts Imperativeâ - see below:
To the Dartmouth community:
As winter settles in and our community gathers for a new term, I am reminded that change is part of what defines us: students go abroad and return, they graduate, received wisdom is challenged, and new knowledge is created. These cycles are what renew and recharge our campus. Yet for generations of Dartmouth students and alumni there has been a constant, unshakable bedrock supporting everything we ventureâthe promise of the liberal arts.
In contemporary culture, the value of a liberal arts education is sometimes questioned. It has been characterized as a relic, a thing of the past that doesnât prepare students for a turbulent, tech-saturated world where narrowly defined, specific skills are viewed as more valuable and relevant.
I could not disagree more.
In todayâs landscape of technological and social transformation, graduates must be prepared to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. What curriculum is better suited to develop such abilities than one that offers a broad understanding of the world with mastery of at least one field, the capacity to think critically and creatively, powerful communication skills, an ease at working in teams, scientific literacy, the ability to engage the arts and humanities, and the development of principled leadership skills? In fact, the liberal arts have never been more relevant. As Dartmouth has shown time and again, the liberal arts education is an incubator for leadership and impact on the world.
Recently, Gail and I visited one of the worldâs most innovative and successful companies, where a number of Dartmouth alumni hold leadership positions. This company did not exist 25 years ago and, indeed, its products and services were unimaginable when I was a student.
The highlight of our visit was a pitch competition for visiting Dartmouth students. Each student team was asked to develop and pitch a new product for the companyâone emerging not from their imaginations but informed by critical analysis of consumer trends. The teams were diverse by gender, race, nationality, and Dartmouth affiliation, and they included undergraduates and Tuck students.
Gail and I were inspired by their creativity and teamwork, their use of data, and the insight the teams brought to bear in analyzing millennial consumer interests in a condensed time frame. We were impressed but not surprised, as this represents the commitment to quality that weâve come to expect from our students.
I pass along this experience because it makes the case, emphatically, for the value of the active, dynamic brand of liberal arts education at which Dartmouth excels.
Over the course of a lifetime, our graduates can expect to pursue several different careers. And many of the jobs todayâs students will hold just a few years from now do not yet exist. Amid constant change, employers increasingly value the ability to innovate and imagine new directions. According to a 2013 survey, a vast majority of employers said they put a priority on hiring people with the intellectual and interpersonal skills to overcome uncertainty. They are asking employees to use a broader set of skills than in the past, and they tell us that a candidateâs capacity to think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is more important than their undergraduate major. Enter the liberal arts graduate.
In the pitch competition, our student teams called upon these skills in developing their presentations, analyzing opportunities, engaging stakeholders, and offering well-thought-out strategies. But what stood out as most meaningful was that the teams had to understand the diversity of cultures that make up not only the United States, but the worldâs potential consumers. Working together, they had to synthesize their own perspectives to develop ideas that would be compelling to a broad range of people. They had to exercise cultural awareness and humility. As Dartmouth educates global citizens, and serves as a laboratory for intellectual innovation, our commitment to increased diversity will prove an essential part of a liberal arts education.
Regardless of the career path they choose, Dartmouth graduates will use the timeless skills afforded them by their liberal arts education to have an impact on the world around them. These arenât simply the capacities employers will seek; they are needed to be true citizen-leaders. They are the capacities humankind will need to advance progress. This is the promise of a Dartmouth education.
Our alumni shape the world in ways big and small. A belief in the potential of a liberal arts graduate to change the world has remained Dartmouthâs unshakeable foundation throughout the seasons and the centuries. This is but one of a handful of defining aspects that make a Dartmouth education unique, and I will address others as the year progresses.
For now, Gail and I say welcome back to a new year and a new term at Dartmouth. We hope you will embrace it with everything youâve got, and we wish you the very best as we apply the promise of the liberal arts to our lives and to our learning.
Sincerely,
Phil Hanlon â77
President
Fabulous!
Well said! Thanks for sharing, @Gauchman !
Commencement 2016 Questions:
Have a Happy and Wonderful Year to all Dartmouth parents!
I just have to repeat what was said many time here before - time flies so fast ! Commencement is in sight already for Dâ16. Need all the advise I can get: where to stay (as not to spend an arm and the leg, airbnb, anyone?), where to have commencement lunch (buffet at the Hanover Inn ball room, is it worthy experience?), how critical is to get sitters at the Green, seats to aim at, given the weather on June 12 and photo op, easy way to get rid of the excessive dorm stuff and clothing⊠Any piece of advice is highly appreciated. If someone has a reservation for the event (hotel or restaurant) that is no longer needed, please indicate.
We enjoyed staying in the dorms during graduation for the convenience of being on campus. We did not use a student to save seats, instead choosing to wake up early and experience the entire day on the green. On our second childâs graduation we chose to stake out shady seats in the bleachers. It is a long day. But a day that arrives much too quickly. Most students take off right after graduation so Hanover gets quiet rather quickly. I think Simon Pearce opens up reservations in March, but you might want to call ahead on this one. @dumbo11 might know the answer to this or maybe search this thread. Congratulations.
We stayed at the Courtyard Hanover Lebanon. It was pricey, but nice enough and a very short drive. If I had it to do over again, I might follow Magnumâs lead and stay on campus. I think they use the nicest dorms they can, right Magnum? We drove in early on Sunday morning and parked on the street just around the corner from Starbucks. Easy-peasy. Hung out there for a while and then met D. Hired a couple of first years from the rugby team to save seats for us (and the parents of another player) since we wanted to hit the Classics Department get-together midmorning. It was long hot day. If I had it to do over again, Iâd plop a couple of lawn chairs under the trees in front of Reed and just watch the jumbotron, but my wife would never have gone for that. Make sure you know which side your kid will be entering and exiting on. There are bathrooms in the basement of Reed.
Parker House next to Simon Pearce isnât bad either, if I remember correctly.
Itâs been a minute since I have been to commencement, now they have a jumbotron!!
I agree with Magnum about staying in the dorms; there is nothing like parking your car and not have to worry about moving it if you donât want to.
did some searching but here is my recap
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/discussion/comment/6102360#Comment_6102360