Unconventional Wisdom For New Grads
The standard advice given to college seniors doesn’t cut it anymore, according to Charlie Wheelan ’88, who teaches economics and public policy at the College. His recent book, 10 1/2 Things No Commencement Speaker Has Ever Said, offers a humorous and counterintuitive list of utterances he wishes he’d heard sooner. “I’d become sick of commencement speeches not long after my own graduation,” he writes. (Lawyer Marian Wright Edelman of the Children’s Defense Fund addressed his class on the Green.) In his slim volume illustrated by cartoonist Peter Steiner, Wheelan offers up honesty, as in “Some of your worst days lie ahead,” unconventional advice such as “Read obituaries,” and two unusual but direct pleas: “Don’t make the world worse” and “Don’t model your life after a circus animal.” He also notes, “Your time in fraternity basements was well spent.” (Fear not—he’s referring to “camaraderie,” not “libations.”) The book is based on Wheelan’s 2011 Class Day speech in Hanover. “I’m shocked by the extent to which the book has struck a chord,” says the author. “It’s great fun that a Class Day speech in Leverone now has a national audience.” The speaker for this year’s Commencement on June 10 was Teach for America founder and CEO Wendy Kopp.

Spring Glory
Varsity and club teams enjoyed a strong finish to their seasons during the spring term. The women’s lacrosse team won the Ivy tournament in May, the baseball team won the Red Rolfe division of the Ivy League, and Peter Williamson ’12 earned individual medalist honors at the Ivy golf championship. On the club front the figure skating team won its sixth national championship, the fencing team won its first national championship and men’s rugby earned a ticket to the Division I-AA tournament for the first time since 1988.

Search Is Under Way
Trustee Bill Helman ’80 leads the search committee formed to find a new president for the College. Trustee Diana Taylor ’77 will serve as vice chair of the 17-person committee. In related news, interim President Carol Folt has announced that physics professor Martin Wybourne will take on the role of interim provost.

Striking a Note
As part of its yearlong 50th anniversary celebration the Hopkins Center is placing 50 pianos in public locations around the Upper Valley, including the College Green and the Ledyard Bridge, during the month of July. The project, titled “Hands on Pianos,” is modeled after street piano projects in other cities around the world and will feature donated uprights painted by local artists. Passersby can then play a tune or perform a concert at their leisure. Each piano will be checked daily by volunteer “angels” and guarded against rain with removable tarps. An interactive website will feature photos and videos of people playing the instruments. “ ‘Hands on Pianos’ is a way to really explore the notion of where music belongs,” says Hop director of programming Margaret Lawrence. Once the project is completed organizers will remove usable and recyclable parts from the pianos before disposing of them.  —Gavin Huang '14

Live, From New York!
On a cool evening in April students filled an upstairs room of the Dartmouth Bookstore to hear comedienne Rachel Dratch ’88 read from her new book, Girl Walks into a Bar. Dratch, who famously created and played hit character “Debbie Downer” during her seven-year stint on Saturday Night Live, struggled to find work after leaving the show in 2006. “After watching much daytime TV,” Dratch says, she decided to write. Her own life provided the plot twist in her book about SNL and her dating misadventures when she became pregnant at age 43. “I decided to put it all out there,” she said, “although I feel slightly more vulnerable now that it’s in book form.” She read from her chapter on Dartmouth, titled “WASP World,” even though she was hesitant to do so because “I feel like I’m spitting on the host’s floor,” she said. Her quips about the conservative feel of campus and the trials of living in the River Cluster got lots of knowing laughs. Dratch spoke of initially disliking Dartmouth, but finding her place after joining improv group Said and Done (now called The Dog Day Players). “It seemed like it combined being the class clown with acting,” she  said.  —Lauren Vespoli ’13

Firing Line
In May a new campus weapons policy was announced. Not surprisingly, it prohibits firearms, ammunition and explosives on Dartmouth property, excluding non-student residences and the Second College Grant, where hunting is common. It also obligates anyone in the community to report violations or suspected violations to the department of safety and security. The full policy can be found on the College website.

Monkey Business
Ever since middle school Parker Phinney ’12 has wanted to set the world mark for the longest Barrel of Monkeys chain. After negotiating with folks at Guinness World Records, Phinney finally found the appropriate venue—Top of the Hop—to accomplish the feat and got the job done May 13. In two hours Phinney and 26 volunteers created a chain that included 5,990 of the little plastic primates, shattering the previous record of 3,500.

Big Green Samadhi
“My mission is to try to make yoga accessible in a way that it hasn’t been before,” says Anna Jorgensen-Terry, the yoga instructor for the athletic department’s Peak Performance (DP2) program. Nine varsity sports teams, ranging from football to equestrian, participate in the classes. Her experience as a former kayak racer allows her to understand athletes, who she says can be intimidated by yoga because they are already sore. The new program uses yoga as a way to increase flexibility and focus while simultaneously aiding recovery from exertion or injury. In the past teams that wanted the benefits of yoga had to seek instruction and pay from their own budgets. Although the move reflects a national trend, Dartmouth is so far the only Ivy to assign a yoga instructor to work with athletes. Many seem to appreciate the benefits. “Since returning from double hip surgery this past summer, yoga with DP2 has allowed me to develop sustained flexibility and pain-free range of motion,” says Pat Lahey ’12, who played guard on the football team.      —Hillary Barker ’12

Payback Time
College seniors nationwide who graduated in 2010 carried an average of $25,250 in student loan debt. For many graduates in the Ivy League, the debt load was below the national average. Below are Ivy averages and the percentage of graduates with debt.