Michael O’Brien ’23

#1 Dartier East of the Mississippi

After the grief from the student body following the College’s March 16 email effectively barring any large Saint Patrick’s Day weekend celebrations near campus, students are yet again up in arms after the College has decided to enforce their same stance for the famed Earth Day daytime party.

While Earth Day doesn’t occur until April 22nd, the notorious daytime party, or “darty”, usually involves weeks of planning, including planting a baker’s dozen of trees in The Lot which start to sprout at just the right time, buying literal tons of geraniums to adorn the off campus houses in, and more activities for those with a green thumb that still want to get a little party on. 

In the College’s email calling the celebration off, the administration notes “Springtime brings optimism and new beginnings, and many of us take joy in the renewed opportunities for reflection and contribution to the success of the College, throughout the Lenten season and beyond. Unfortunately, the spring also tends to bring increases in student misconduct and other risks to student health, safety, and academic success. This can include rabid harvesting of baby greens, compositing furiously with friends, and inviting unwelcomed pollinators to places off campus where they do not belong.”

After contacting the landlord who owns all the properties that reside on The Lot, he told The Spire “I’m sick of all of it. I’m sick of college kids using raw covers to alter the temperature of the environment closeby, I’m sick of them transplanting their crops in and out of The Lot, and most of all, I’m sick of all the plants that end up bolting– it really shows how truly irresponsible and menacing Holy Cross students are.”

Being right up there with the Catalina Wine Mixer and the Aspen Darty as one of the biggest gatherings of the year, which both may never happen again in the future of Holy Cross, students have expressed their disappointment with the administration at this decision. One freshman who wishes to remain anonymous told The Spire “I had a really great time at The Lot this year when I had the chance to go. I always felt safe and in control of my actions. It’s so sad to know I’ll never really get to use a cold frame in The Lot; it’s something my brothers, who both went to Holy Cross, told me about. I was really looking forward to it.”

During the preparations before the school decided to pull the plug, the Holy Cross Green Fund was a visible presence preparing people for the Arbor Day craziness. Not dissimilarly to the distribution of Gatorades in The Jo last week to encourage hydration, the Green Fund was handing out tools such as gardening scissors with a safety lock, gardening gloves to prevent blisters, and more to encourage students to garden safely.

The Green Fund labeled their booth in Hogan beckoning students to come BORG with them; initially, the use of this acronym shocked students, but as it turns out, The Green Fund was simply inviting the community to “Bring Out the Rose Gardens” with them. After asking a member of the Green Fund about the use of the acronym, they told The Spire “What do you mean by ‘sending the wrong message?’ Who doesn’t love roses?”

As the issue of student gardening seems to grow more and more precarious, the College has likewise responded to this problem by opening a brand new student living community where one need not worry about the dangers of gardening. One student applying to the gardening-free community told The Spire “I’m glad that the College is finally giving students like me the opportunity to live in a safe space where gardening isn’t happening constantly. My forced roommate freshman year gardended way too much, and I had to live with some of the consequences like whenever they came home from a night out of deadheading. It was the worst; I’m glad I’m going to be able to control my own space.”

While it may seem like the beloved Earth Day darty is now a thing of the past, students are holding out hope for an early Flag Day rager before the end of the semester. 

Photo by DisobeyArt/Getty Images/iStockphoto