This year began like any other year on the Dartmouth campus, where students gathered to study, compete, perform, play. And then, of course, many things changed as the pandemic took hold.

Dartmouth News takes a look back on an academic year that included a snowy winter carnival and a presidential campaign, and by June an introduction to COVID-related changes: physical distancing, mandatory maskwearing, and online and remote teaching and learning, among many other things.

While we may not know exactly what lies ahead, we can appreciate the beauty of the Upper Valley and the success and resilience of the Dartmouth community during a unique year through the lenses of College Photographer Eli Burakian '00, Multimedia Manager Robert Gill, and photo intern Keoni Ocalvey '20, Thayer '21, who talk about some of the details and inspiration behind their favorite photos, in calendar order, from this past year.

To promote a new Employee Resource Network for the veteran community at Dartmouth, Jason Mosel, a Marine veteran and a network engineer for Information, Technology and Consulting, ran 100 miles around campus to honor the Marine Corps birthday and Veterans Day.

Mosel started running at 8 a.m. Tuesday, following a 5-mile loop around campus. Throughout the day Tuesday, Mosel ran with the Marine Corps flag, and on Wednesday he carried the American flag. Mosel ran through the night, paused to raise the American flag on the Green at dawn today, and completed his 100-mile run at noon.

Sponsored by the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity, Employee Resource Networks was established to advance recruitment efforts and increase retention of diverse employees at Dartmouth.

Neither wet snow as the polls opened nor passing through COVID-19 public health checkpoints to enter the polling place could discourage Dartmouth community members from exercising their right to vote in the 2020 presidential election. Voting continued smoothly on campus throughout the day in a year that also saw a record number of absentee ballots. For public health reasons, Dartmouth had agreed to let the town use Leverone Field House instead of holding voting at Hanover High School. 

During fall term, Dartmouth is quite the place to see as the campus lights up in a kaleidoscope of warm fall colors. From late September through mid-October, photographers Eli Burakian '00, Robert Gill, and Keoni Olcalvey '21, Thayer '22, captured scenes from this fleeting season.

Students are taking full advantage of being able to study in Dartmouth Library's Baker-Berry Library, which reopened its doors to undergraduates on Sept. 26.

Among the new COVID-19 safety rules now in effect: Students must reserve study space in advance (available online in three-hour blocks); wear masks at all times; and maintain physical-distancing precautions—one person per table. The library will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Library users should enter through Novack Café with a current Dartmouth ID.

The Rauner Special Collections Library, Sherman Art Special Collections, Evans Map Room, and Jones Media Center resources are available by appointment for faculty, staff, and all students approved to be on campus. Researchers may request items from other libraries on campus using the the online catalog. More information on accessing library services and facilities this fall is available on the on the library website.

With optimism, laughter, and some nervous tears, half of Dartmouth's undergraduate students—including the new Class of 2024—returned this week to a campus altered by coronavirus. Wearing masks, they were met under tents by a welcoming committee of staff volunteers who handed out information, answered questions, and guided the students through their first round of COVID-19 tests. They will follow quarantine rules in their residence halls for 14 days, and be tested again on their third and seventh days in Hanover. New student orientation continues through the weekend. Fall term classes begin Sept. 14 for all students, remote and on campus.

Summer seems a perfect time to take a closer look at what's happening at the Dartmouth Organic Farm. Even without the usual help from students, Farm Program Manager Laura Braasch and Molly McBride '14, a fellow with the Sustainability Office, have kept the farm running, providing produce to those in need locally and finding creative ways to connect with students remotely. The farm is teeming with life right now, every plant and insect doing its part, resulting in a nutritious and beautiful kaleidoscope of colors and textures. (Photos by Robert Gill)