The Dartmouth (Dartmouth College)

HANOVER, N.H. (U-WIRE) – The almost two-decade-long tradition that has come to define sophomore summer, went off without any major glitches Saturday. Minor incidents marring the festivities included a student cutting his head open by a cinder block and the arrest of a student for throwing a beer bottle at a police officer. A few students were detained for being intoxicated.

Despite concerns over the lack of college recognition and increased police presence, more than half the sophomore class showed up, along with a smattering of other students, campers and area residents.

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Originally started by Richard Akerboom ’80, Thayer ’82, this was the third Tubestock without any major outside – and one of the less problematic, according to authorities. The College has never officially sanctioned the event.

People began to arrive at the Connecticut River well before noon, and by 1 p.m., there were already hundreds of people there, in tubes, on rafts or simply swimming in the water.

Four boats from the New Hampshire Marine Patrol Bureau were positioned around the revelers, with more than 20 officers on land and water keeping an eye on the crowd. The police contingent included six to eight undercover agents, both at the site and at liquor stores in the area looking out for underage people trying to use fake IDs.

Although not sponsored by the greek system, the Greek Leadership Council worked with the multiple law enforcement agencies monitoring the event.

“Our plan was to make it safe for our members, educate them about liquor laws, and clean up the river afterwards,” said Ben Bradley ’05, GLC social manager. All greek houses pledged one-third of their membership towards the clean-up effort, with Kappa Delta Epsilon sorority deciding to send its entire membership.

All greek leaders contacted by The Dartmouth lauded the efforts of the law enforcement agencies. “I was very pleased with the cooperation between students and the police,” Bradley said. “Their attitude was amazing.”

New measures this year included two “sober monitors” from each greek house who served as liaisons to the police. Bradley himself met the authorities three times before the event and is due to meet them again on Thursday to discuss ways to improve future Tubestocks.

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But Tubestock wasn’t without its unexpected moments, either, as an unidentified female stripped and jumped off a raft three times. Nudity is legal in Vermont. Several students also extolled what they saw as the unpredictable nature of the event.

“I had a blast! Not only were there rowdy, drunken college students, but the threat of rafts capsizing kept things interesting,” said Scott Ceresia ’05.

In related news, the weekend began with the first-ever Summer Block Party on Webster Avenue Friday evening. The brainchild of Ralph Davies ’05, the summer treasurer of the Student Assembly, it was funded by both the Assembly and Programming Board and organized by a host of diverse campus groups.

More than 400 students came to the Block Party. Davies was particularly pleased that College President James Wright and his wife, Susan, also attended and mingled with the crowd.

The band “Flogg, the Dolphin” performed on the porch of Phi Delta Alpha fraternity.