The student-run news site of Le Moyne College.

The Dolphin

The student-run news site of Le Moyne College.

The Dolphin

The student-run news site of Le Moyne College.

The Dolphin

Career Advising & Development at Le Moyne
Career Advising & Development at Le Moyne
Carly Nicolai, Editor in Chief • September 18, 2023

“What do you want to do with your degree?” It’s a question many college students have heard before, whether it comes from friends and...

Growing Sunshine-Colored Flowers: Remembering Father Bosch
Growing Sunshine-Colored Flowers: Remembering Father Bosch
Stephanie R. Duscher, Staff Writer • September 16, 2023

Many Le Moyne students have likely walked by the lovely gardens outside the Jesuit Residence–a beautiful touch of color amidst the many cloudy...

The PAC at during the Fall Arts & Engagement Festival on Aug. 31, via @vpaatlemoyne on Instagram.
What's Happening at the PAC this Fall?
Marisa Barnard, Staff Writer • September 4, 2023

The Le Moyne VPA is preparing for a busy season of gothic delight, warm jazz, and out-of-the-box storytelling, and now is the perfect time to...

Voorhees takes part in a news writing class forum with Timothy Lee, Le Moyne Vice President of Enrollment.
David Voorhees: The Architect of Computer Science at Le Moyne
Jonathan Marks, Guest Writer • August 30, 2023

When David Voorhees was first hired in the fall of 1999 as part of the mathematics department at Le Moyne College, he was also asked to be the...

Micron: The Tech Giant That Could Change Le Moyne As We Know It
Newswriting and Reporting class, Spring 2023, Guest Writer • August 30, 2023

Since arriving at Le Moyne College two years ago as the new director of athletics Bob Beretta has been focused on one of the biggest potential...

Through My Spectacles: Dolphy Day Decoded

Through+My+Spectacles%3A+Dolphy+Day+Decoded

After Dolphy Day last year I wrote a rather harsh article titled, “My first Dolphy Day not living up to the hype,” in which I criticized the tradition, failing to understand the point of designating a day to skip class, get drunk and party. I received quite a bit of backlash after that article was printed, and after reading it myself having experienced Dolphy Day for the second time, I extremely dislike the freshman who wrote that. She just sounded uptight and bitter [probably because she wasn’t allowed to fully participate due to the women’s lacrosse team’s 48 hour rule].

So now, more than a year later, I would like to apologize for her lack of understanding. Don’t blame her though, she was naive, inexperienced. But she knows better now, and here is her retraction:

Dolphy Day is like the college version of prom. I mean, it doesn’t require you to wear an elaborate gown [or tux] or rent a limo or have a date, but it gives you the same feeling. There’s this unquenchable excitement that bubbles in your stomach until the day arrives, and when it does, you feel like anything is possible. It’s the day where you [meaning the liquor inside of you] build enough courage to talk to the person you’ve been drooling over for more than a semester; it’s the day when you can smoke something questionable in broad daylight and no one says anything; it’s the day when you stop thinking about your lack of rhythm and refuse to stop dancing near the dejay booth by the PAC even after the day’s events are over. But it’s also more than that—Dolphy Day is a day when you can just. . .be.

For months we students have stared at computer screens writing papers, falling asleep doing homework, listening to teachers lecture on and on and on about art history and ethical dilemmas and Lord Byron; and this one day we don’t have to do any of it. The pressure you feel as the school year comes to an end is almost unbearable. The best way I can describe it is like having a balloon being blown up with helium inside your head everyday, and you’re just waiting for the inevitable moment when it, and you along with it, pop. Sometimes you just need a day when you can forget; forget about the papers and the grades and the sports and the jobs, and just allow yourself to have fun.

So many people, like my former freshman self, trash Dolphy Day because they say it’s an awful display of behavior: kids are sloppily drinking, they’re throwing bottles. . .but it’s also one of the biggest displays of community on campus to happen all year. We’re all just people, soaking in the sun and peacefully enjoying one another’s company.

I mean, we’re young. We have the rest of our lives to work and act proper and do all those adultlike things you’re supposed to do,  but we don’t have that much time to be in college and experience these moments of absolute carefreeness. Moments which will gradually fade once we leave Le Moyne and get jobs and start families. So I choose to take advantage of my youth, in college, and enjoy Dolphy Day every year whether I can fully participate or not. I want to relish every moment and every experience at Le Moyne that I can, while I can, and that includes Dolphy Day.

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