Hello all. We would like to announce our candidates for Chair of Cabin and Trail for the next four terms.
The candidates and their respective blurbs are below, along with the terms for which they are running. At tomorrow night's meeting, each candidate will have the opportunity to give a speech. We will then send out a survey to collect votes, and the regime will be overthrown. Choose wisely.
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the chairs (for just a little while longer)
Adam Schneider (14S, 14F, 15W)
I would like to the privilege to serve as the co-chairman of Cabin and Trail for 14s, 14F and 15W because CnT has played a tremendous and meaningful role in my life at Dartmouth, and I believe as co-chair I can make the next year one of the best year of hiking, sking, camping and exploring ever for the club. From my experiences as a Leader in the club for the past 2 years and 13X summer co-chair, I understand what makes CnT such an extraordinary club and community, from the awesome hiking opportunities (i.e. Spring Break, Wheat Starch, general trips) to the warm and welcoming social aspects. That being said, I also believe there is even more we can do to fully take advantage of the opportunities the College offers us. As co-chair, I would put extra emphasis on making sure we are running a wide variety of trips each week, from brutal trips in the Carter Range for hikers to push themselves out of their comfort zones to trips to Gile and Cardigan so people can just get outside. Additionally, I would push for trips to different areas of Northern New England that are traditionally underutilized by CnT, such as Mount Mansfield and the far Northern Whites. Lastly, I would like to place higher priority on making the CnT social events representative of the entire club, mainly by pushing attendance at meetings more, timing them better to minimize conflicts with other trips and campus events, and having everyone meet at Robo before walking to the Rock and other off campus locations for Feeds or other events. I hope I can count on your vote for co-Chair, and I look forward to seeing and getting out hiking with all of you when I return to campus next month.
Sincerely, Adam
Anna Knowles (14S, 14X, 15W)
I've been a regular at CnT meetings since the first one that I went to my freshman fall, and this club and the people in it continue to be the highlight of my week. I think I'd make a good chair, not because I'm particularly comfortable to sit on, but because I'm organized and responsible, still on good terms with all of OPO, and obviously dedicated to the club, as I was one of the three '16s to ascend last spring. I really appreciate the kindness, wholesomeness and outdoorsiness that this club stands for, and want to do my part to perpetuate it.
As chair, I'd do my best to encourage a diverse range of trips - from short jaunts up Gile or Velvet rocks for the busy student who needs to get outside, even if only for a few hours, to midrange day hikes that'll get people outdoors but don't require them to be super-athletes, and the longer, more intense trips that really make you feel accomplished when you're done, and result in some of the best stories. I think that it would be a good thing for the club if we could discover and run some more interesting short trips in addition to our old favourites, because they would provide an easy way for busier leaders who aren't leading trips at the moment to get outside for a bit. This would be especially helpful in the winter, as it would provide a safe and fun introduction to winter hiking, and would help make the club more accessible to everyone who wants to participate. I also think that our winter trips could be improved by drawing more on the extensive knowledge of OPO - particularly Dan Nelson and Brian Kunz. On the other hand though, some of my favourite experiences with the club have been the longer break trips, and I'd like to see if we could create a bit of that atmosphere during term by running some one or two night backpacking trips, especially in the late spring and summer. As chair, I would also endeavour to book a selection of cabins for the club for the term, so that we can run cabin overnights at short notice, and generally keep things organized and people well informed.
- Anna
Fredrik Eriksson (14X)
During my time at Dartmouth, I have found Cabin & Trail to be one of the most positive communities on campus, as well as just loads of fun! I’m running for chair in 14X because I think I will be a great opportunity to give back to one of campus’s most important organizations during a term when I’m not taking classes.
Katie Yu (14S, 14X)
On a vaguely humid day in late August 2012, I, along with the other 16s on Section I, gathered outside of Robo for the first time and awkwardly watched the trip leaders introduce themselves. There was a disproportionately large number of chubber folk on our section, including my own leaders, and as I awkwardly (the adjective of freshman fall) attended my first CnT meeting, those familiar faces and the closing “Wagon Wheel” kept me coming back for more.
A year later, and those former trip leaders and the Chubbers community are the most important people I have ever met. In fact going on trips, leading trips, and simply being a chubber have been the most educational and rewarding aspects of college. Aside from the more traditional facets of the club, CnT has given me a whole host of other unexpected surprises, from Dinertoure and Carneval to “Love Actually” movie nights and nights spent dancing around the Rock singing Katy Perry. Being chair would give me the opportunity to give back to the club that took me in, in spite of my awkwardness and sarcasm. Cabin and Trail certainly has issues that require attention - diversity being a key one, but all in all, especially now, when people are subjecting Dartmouth to intense criticism, it’s amazing to think what a enriching community we are a part of. So I suppose here’s the campaign slogan, but not a real one, because it’s far to easy to be punny with a last name like mine. A vote for me is a vote for lots of hiking, a lot of shenanigans, and focusing on not only what makes CnT great, but what we can do to make it better.
Jamie Mercado (14S, 14F, 15W)
Hi everyone! For those of you* that don't know me, my name is Jamie and I'm a '15. Over the past few years, for me, C&T has gone from that mystery club that met after Ledyard and was way more popular, to a place on campus that I absolutely consider a home. C&T has helped me grow as a leader not just through trips in the out-of-doors, but also through helping to build our amazing community. One of the highlights of my entire sophomore year was sitting in Robo after a C&T meeting one night, when we somehow got about 50 people gathered in the lobby just singing along to guitar music! C&T has done a great job making people from all over campus feel comfortable and welcome at our meetings, our feeds, and on our trips, and I would love to help continue that tradition over the course of the next year. In the past, I have been involved cooking feeds, chairing all of the fun during meetings, and leading trips, and I would love to take my passion for C&T one step further and represent C&T on the DOC Directorate as a co-chair. For me, being one of the chairs would be a phenomenal way to give back to the club. I'd love to work with the current leaders and heelers and chubbers to continue to maintain a space where everyone can gather to celebrate hiking and hanging out in cabins and most importantly, community. Particularly in the fall, I'm really excited about welcoming '18s to the club and working to create an environment where they'll feel comfortable in the DOC. My freshman year, I didn't really know C&T existed, and I didn't feel comfortable coming to meetings at first because it seemed so insular and hard to join. After having been involved since sophomore fall, I can say wholeheartedly that C&T is truly one of the most open and welcoming communities I've ever found on this campus or in my life, and I want to make sure that every single current and future member knows that they are welcome to be a valued member of our club and our community. From getting funding for a C&T-owned community guitar, to helping create or facilitate super-fun continued leader education, I know that my love for this club and for all of you is going to inspire everything I'd do as a C&T chair.
*HI '17s and other lovely new chubbers, I LOVE YOU ALL it's just that off terms and jobs happen and i seriously can't wait to come back to meetings! : )
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