The Colby Echo

Issue date: 3/2/07 Section: Sports

How many students at Colby College ski? How about enjoy skating on Johnson Pond? Or just like being outside in the winter? Finally, what about drinking, possibly outside? It is clear that most students at Colby fit into at least one of these categories; the real question then becomes, where is Colby's Winter Carnival?

After spending the weekend attending the infamous Middlebury College Winter Carnival, I came to the conclusion that Colby needs a campuswide winter tradition. Colby students are often confined to their dorm rooms and Miller as they get bogged down in the grind of second semester. An event which gives us Friday off, as they do at Middlebury, and gives us the push to get some fresh air would help us all. Furthermore, I have viewed a decreased school spirit and unity over the past four years; the most unifying event at Colby is Doghead. A winter carnival, done right, brings everyone out, whether it is for skiing, curling, or beer.

Some will counter that the winter carnival tradition at Dartmouth College, the University of Vermont and Middlebury center around ski racing. It is true that some of the major events of these carnivals are the races; it does not need to be so. Colby could easily hold a cross-country ski race on campus, maybe a flying saucer race, or even some type of ski/snowboard competition. This is only a part of it. I am sure we all have many ideas, we will just ask SGA to handle the details.

While Colby is not lacking in snow, we are missing the long standing tradition that some of the other carnivals of the Northeast have. Middlebury held their eighty-fourth Winter Carnival this weekend; and if the tradition was never started at Middlebury, I never would have overheard an argument on "shot-ski etiquette".

Colby students should have a common tradition, something that has the capability of including nearly every student. Other schools' carnivals include concerts and plays in addition to the vast winter sports. An event like this takes the emphasis away from alcohol, as the administration wishes, yet still allows alcohol to be part of the experience. Many SGA events are geared toward either the drinker or the non-drinker; the carnival gets the whole school out.

Colby College needs an event that brings us together. As sports fans we are the epitome of fair weather fans and drinking has become too divisive and risky; we are a divided school with few common interests. There is no better event to connect our small campus than a significant winter carnival.

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