Spring Fever

By Kathleen Slattery

As many of you already know, spring is here and in full force.  With temperatures that have reached eighty degrees and flowers blooming, spring has brought with it its usual change in behavior of the students.

It seems that as the temperature rises, student motivation lowers.  Looking out the window and seeing other students tossing a football or lounging in the sun makes dropping your notebooks to join them just too tempting.  Students are burned out from the work done earlier in the semester and they deserve a break, don’t they? (WARNING: Finals are coming!)

Along with the typical warm weather behavior, there are also a few phenomena that are specific to Loyola.  The first of these is a day known to most boys on campus as “skirt day.”  As forecasts for the first very warm day draw near, boys know skirt day is coming.  On the first day where the temperature passes sixty-five degrees, girls on campus pull their skirts out from the bottom of their drawers.  Usually the day does not turn out to be as warm as expected and girls shiver as they walk to class, but this does not stop the tradition.  In recent years, skirt day has not been limited to skirts, with shorts and sundresses growing in popularity.

More important than skirt day is the increase in sales for fundraisers on the quad.  On cloudy, chilly days, students storm past the sales tables on the quad on the way to class without even checking to see what the cause is.  Students working the tables are forced to jump in front of those marching to class to get even a bit of their attention.  All of this changes when the sun is out and a gentle breeze is blowing.  Students lounge on the quad and slowly survey the goods for purchase.  One member of Operation Smile commenting on their burger sale said, “We’ve never made close to this much on any fundraising table we’ve had before.  Students are in such good moods and are willing to take the time to stand outside and buy something for a good cause.”  Operation Smile was just one of many tables that set up shop on the quad and reaped the benefits of spring time mentality.

These are only two of many examples of how spring provides a facelift for the mood of the student body.  More changes will be evident this weekend as spring festivities reach their peak at Loyolapalooza.  For more information on Loyolapalooza click here!