Stuff Dartmouth People Like #9: Saying Hi to Abstract Concepts

Dartmouth people use ‘Sup’ and ‘Oh Hey’ the way Twitter uses hash-tags. Common lines like “I am wasted right now” have evolved into “I am wasted right now. Oh hey alcohol.”

This has been an inexplicable development in a Dartmouth dialect previously famous for “blitz,” “pong,” and “foco de chao” (tell your friends).

These arbitrary hellos are perfect for when you want to disguise your self-call as a clever joke. Got a good grade on your econ exam? Try: “Can’t believe I got an A. Sup curves.”

Too bad the curves can’t respond. “Oh hey insecure freshman. Have you really lost so many friends that you have to engage an abstract concept in conversation?”

The phenomenon started in campus publications (sup Mirror) where it was used to make unfunny sentences funny. “The first time I blacked out was fall term.” Try again. “The first time I blacked out was fall term. Oh hey Russell Sage formal.” There it is.

But like the hash-tag, Oh Hey and Sup have ruthlessly worked their way into the general Dartmouth lexicon. I’m seeing “Sup Collis pasta” and “What up flair” all over mupload captions. I cross paths with a girl I know. “Where’re you headed?” “The library. Oh hey 3^rd floor Berry.” It’s no different than the guy who says, “I have too much DBA! Hash-tag Dartmouth problems.” No one likes that guy.

Students anticipate it won’t be long before the Oh Hey craze hits campus mainstays like the Overheards. “Next time we have frat boy meetings, I just want to borrow a Sigma Delt pinnie!” will become “I want to be a Fratty girl. Oh hey Sigma Delt.” Finally I won’t have to spend hours trying to appreciate the subtle wit of the Overheards.

Oh hey and Sup have become as much a part of the Mirror as unrelated references to how nerdy the writers were in high school.

Not wanting their cleverness seem cliché, Mirror writers have added a new twist: “I remember when my bedtime was 11:30. Oh hey 7^th grade. You’re a grade. I write for the Mirror. Say hi to your mother for me.”