The Green Community

Though there are still cloudy days and the occasional snow flurry, it’s springtime in Hanover, and the Green is green once more! Though covered in feet of snow all winter, the grass has now returned. The Green is beautiful again, and we Dartmouth students are enjoying it to the fullest.

After surviving my first real winter, I was ready for some sunshine again. Sure, the snow was pretty and fun for a month or two, but the spring is where it’s at. As a Californian, I wouldn’t exactly call the temperature ideal yet; however there have been a number of beautiful days for us to enjoy. You know the kind… Those days when everyone wants to be outside. When it feels acceptable to break out some sandals. When the sun is shining and the temperature is pleasant, but not too hot. On beautiful spring days like these, the Green is the place to be.

Dartmouth students love the Green because it is perfect for many things, like eating, studying, playing, or sleeping. I happen to be an extreme case- the Green is by far my favorite place on campus. When it is even a little bit warm, you can find me on the Green. Last Friday, I spent six straight hours out there, eating lunch, playing Frisbee, and just hanging out.

I love the Green for a couple reasons. Being so large, it has plenty of room for activities. The most popular Dartmouth pastime is Frisbee, which I am just starting to get ahold of. Other common ones are football, soccer, baseball, and even volleyball! The Green is also a beautiful place just to sit and do work without having to be in the library. The sunshine somehow makes studying substantially more bearable. The most important reason is the ability of the Green to bring people together. On the Green, you can really see and feel the sense of community that brings most people to Dartmouth in the first place. Because it is the central part of campus, everyone is always walking by. This makes it easy to see your friends, to meet other people, and to forge bonds through relaxation or play. For example, one day I started throwing the Frisbee around with two of my friends. After about an hour, I found myself playing with about six people that I had never met before and having a blast.

The Green is a central place that all students can enjoy, whether it be alone, with friends, or with new acquaintances. The love that Dartmouth students share for the Green magically brings everyone together as a community. This is why the Green is my favorite place to be.

- Meghan Cooney '14

P.T.D - "Play 'Til Death"

So our team has entered into our fourth week of training, and we are coming up on our last spring play date this week against Boston College. Practices have started to pick up, and we are shaking off all that rust from the winter!



As we get back into the swing of things, our team has adopted the saying of "P.T.D. Play Till Death." Since it is only the spring, and we have such a long time until our season, it can sometimes be difficult to remember why we are putting in so much effort when August seems so far away. In order to keep motivated we use P.T.D. as our daily reminder to keep pushing ourselves and know that we are working hard for a reason. It is so easy to get lost in all the things going on around us, but when you hear someone yell "P.T.D." you know it is time to WORK!


As our last spring play date is getting closer, our team has begun to focus on smaller details of our volleyball game. For the setters, Alissa and I have been working really hard on more accurate ball placement for the outside and middle sets. We hope that focusing on these smaller details will make our last match as competitive as possible!


By Thursday, our team will be ready to P.T.D!!!


- Kendall Houston '12


* photo taken from www.images.google.com

The Little Green

Dartmouth Volleyball is back for spring season, and we're so happy to be reunited. After spending the winter mostly apart, we've been so excited to jump back into training together. The team has been conditioning in the morning, lifting and practicing in the afternoon, and working hard doing it. We all like to challenge each other in the weightroom and sprints. Alissa (Santa Maria '13) and I have an ongoing competition- I think she's one victory ahead of me right now, but not for long!

It's definitely been an adjustment to get back into the swing of classes and homework after being in New York, but it feels good to start practicing together again. We have been working on our new and improved quick offense, and despite a little rust at the beginning, we are getting the hang of it! We had our first Spring tournament this weekend where we played 6 sets against UNH and Hartford. We ended up 4-2, and got some great practice playing together.

There are only 8 of us on campus right now, so instead of the "Big Green" we've been jokingly calling ourselves the "Little Green". Spring is always an awesome time for our team to bond- there are fewer of us, and we haven't seen each other in forever. We spend a ton of time together both training and off the court as well with lots of impromptu team lunches, dinners, and homework sessions. We're all starting to get so excited for season this fall, and can't wait for our new 15's to join us! GO LITTLE GREEN

- Annie Villanueva '12