Class Note 1997
Issue
November-December 2020
I asked classmates, “If you could re-experience one day or moment from your Dartmouth career, what would it be?” Here are your responses.
Sergey Shpaner: “If I had to pick just one most intense and quintessentially Dartmouth moment (in that it pushed me out of my comfort zone, was both an individual and team experience, connected with nature, and utterly exhilarating), then it would have to be an early morning row on the river with seven fellow ’97s in a freshmen 8 boat. Picture this: Late September chill, morning mist hanging over the still banks, leaves just starting to turn color. Every muscle fires to pull the massive oar in sync with the guy in front, while trusting the guy behind you to do the same. ‘Way enough!’ the coach in his dinghy barely has to raise his voice. Oars lifted, the boat glides along in silence as you slide back your seat and catch your breath.”
Paul Galiotos: “I would have to say hanging out with Maceo Parker and the Meters at Phi Delt Green Key weekend 1995.” Michael Bowman: “It would be the final sprint to the finish line to win our race at the Eastern Sprints with my crew in the Hunter, spring of our freshman year.” Daphne Chen Matthews: “Would love to do the freshman DOC trip again! Close second: Sunday brunch at Full Fare.”
Robbie Ashe: “Tubestock, class night at the Bema (really most of graduation week), Disco Inferno.” Philip Sin: “The moment that I would recount as my favorite at Dartmouth was during Tubestock in the summer of 1995. I was on my tube floating across the Connecticut River. A loose piece of plywood broke off from a nearby beer pong raft. The loose piece of plywood had a nail in it and it drifted past me and pricked my tube. My tube was leaking air fast but I was still halfway from crossing the river. Out of quick thinking I put a finger to plug the leak and finished crossing the river unharmed. Never get tired of telling that tale to prospective students. Too bad they moved Tubestock to the Green a few years after.”
Katherine “K.T.” Taylor: “Playing Frisbee at the Lodge the last day of my freshman trip. Played so much I got ‘Frisbee elbow.’ ” Dave McDowell: “I’d have to say Tubestock (Sophomore Summer); honorable mention: my freshman trip.”
Erik Weeman: “Walking into my first dorm room in Woodward Hall. Previously, it was a servant’s quarters for a 19th-century student. Basically, a closet. And I had arrived! This little room would be my personal headquarters for what was bound to be the experience of a lifetime. I quickly threw my bags and boxes down, grabbed my far-too-big backpack, and headed off on my freshman trip and into the Dartmouth adventure. Oh, to have that feeling again!”
—Jason Casell, 10106 Balmforth Lane, Houston, TX 77096; jhcasell@gmail.com
Sergey Shpaner: “If I had to pick just one most intense and quintessentially Dartmouth moment (in that it pushed me out of my comfort zone, was both an individual and team experience, connected with nature, and utterly exhilarating), then it would have to be an early morning row on the river with seven fellow ’97s in a freshmen 8 boat. Picture this: Late September chill, morning mist hanging over the still banks, leaves just starting to turn color. Every muscle fires to pull the massive oar in sync with the guy in front, while trusting the guy behind you to do the same. ‘Way enough!’ the coach in his dinghy barely has to raise his voice. Oars lifted, the boat glides along in silence as you slide back your seat and catch your breath.”
Paul Galiotos: “I would have to say hanging out with Maceo Parker and the Meters at Phi Delt Green Key weekend 1995.” Michael Bowman: “It would be the final sprint to the finish line to win our race at the Eastern Sprints with my crew in the Hunter, spring of our freshman year.” Daphne Chen Matthews: “Would love to do the freshman DOC trip again! Close second: Sunday brunch at Full Fare.”
Robbie Ashe: “Tubestock, class night at the Bema (really most of graduation week), Disco Inferno.” Philip Sin: “The moment that I would recount as my favorite at Dartmouth was during Tubestock in the summer of 1995. I was on my tube floating across the Connecticut River. A loose piece of plywood broke off from a nearby beer pong raft. The loose piece of plywood had a nail in it and it drifted past me and pricked my tube. My tube was leaking air fast but I was still halfway from crossing the river. Out of quick thinking I put a finger to plug the leak and finished crossing the river unharmed. Never get tired of telling that tale to prospective students. Too bad they moved Tubestock to the Green a few years after.”
Katherine “K.T.” Taylor: “Playing Frisbee at the Lodge the last day of my freshman trip. Played so much I got ‘Frisbee elbow.’ ” Dave McDowell: “I’d have to say Tubestock (Sophomore Summer); honorable mention: my freshman trip.”
Erik Weeman: “Walking into my first dorm room in Woodward Hall. Previously, it was a servant’s quarters for a 19th-century student. Basically, a closet. And I had arrived! This little room would be my personal headquarters for what was bound to be the experience of a lifetime. I quickly threw my bags and boxes down, grabbed my far-too-big backpack, and headed off on my freshman trip and into the Dartmouth adventure. Oh, to have that feeling again!”
—Jason Casell, 10106 Balmforth Lane, Houston, TX 77096; jhcasell@gmail.com