Dartmouth students may have an abysmal 0-5 football squad this year, but they do have a killer mascot, an amazing beer pong scene, and - most gloriously - a tradition of building obscenely tall bonfires in the center of the Green. The blaze-fest dates back to 1888, after Dartmouth beat Manchester College in baseball. According to The Dartmouth, the bonfire "disturbed the slumbers of a peaceful town, destroyed some property, made the boys feel that they were men, and, in fact, did no one any good."

Even after the bonfire gained recognition by the school's administrators, students had trouble finding suitable material to burn. As an article on Dartmouth's website explains:

Until more recent times, gathering wood for the bonfire was a challenge. As the Dartmouth reported on May 11, 1918, 'Those too zealous in their efforts laid violent hands upon sundry front door steps and backdoor steps, and likewise fences, not to mention numerous hen houses carried 'en masse' to the scene of the celebration.'

It's somewhat difficult to parse the aforementioned quote, since it was written nearly a century before, but basically it's saying that some good 'ol Dartmouth boys - likely drunk on moonshine - tore apart wooden stairs, picketed fences, etc., and festively carried them to the location of the bonfire.

More on the history of the bonfire and a video of 2008's conflagration, which happened over homecoming weekend last Friday, after the jump.

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Before Princeton decimated Columbia's tiny, optimistic dream of actually celebrating after their homecoming game, IvyGate ventured forth to the tailgate with a camera in tow to capture the hope on everyone's faces and the light beers (two ID's required to drink!) in some people's hands.  As to actual homecoming coverage, eh, we'll leave that to the Bwog.  (In case you care, 27-24 Princeton.)

More photos, including Princetonians in doofy boater hats and hot girls in track bottoms, after the jump:

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