This past weekend, the Dartmouth Outing Club’s Sophomore Trips program helped students venture into the outdoors to hike, canoe, and more. STRIPS also provided a valuable opportunity for students still on the housing waitlist to practice critical survival skills for the upcoming fall.
“DOC programs like STRIPS provide great opportunities for students of different backgrounds to come together and bond in the outdoors,” said Daniel Miller ‘22, an organizer of this year’s STRIPS program. “And really, what bonds people better than the shared trauma of housing insecurity?”
Jess Stedfield ‘23 agreed wholeheartedly with Miller’s assessment, as she browsed the forest for dry structural branches and insulating moss. “Before this weekend, I was a bit nervous about the fall since I still don’t have housing. Now that I’ve spent two days in the woods without shelter or running water, I can confidently say I’m prepared for whatever the fall has in store for me next.” Sources have confirmed that Stedfield’s newfound optimism is quite misplaced.
Inspired by the success of this year’s programs, DOC leadership has prepared a new selection of STRIPS sections for next year’s newly homeless students. Novice victims of the college’s impending housing shortage are encouraged to start with “Camping on the Green”, while more advanced students can pursue trips including “Woodland Shelter Building” and “Making Use of Squatters’ Rights.”
At press time, to preserve “first day of college” photo quality for incoming 25s, Dartmouth announced a large-scale construction project incorporating anti-homeless architecture onto the Green’s memorial benches.
– BH ’23
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