When the sun comes out, so do the more interesting characters on the Syracuse University campus.

After a near never-ending winter, spring came to Syracuse. Here at SU this is a big deal. Girls lay outside and tan. Guys can go to Drumlins to play a couple rounds of golf or throw a football outside on a patch of grass. The sight of bear arms and legs returns and the ever-so-popular phenomenon of “day drinking” comes back. As you walk around campus it appears that the entire student body and even some faculty members converge on the quad. The steps of Hendricks Chapel are filled with people who just sit and read or ‘people watch.’ Professors bring entire classes out to engage in out of classroom activities like the timeless circle discussion. What is more evident during this time of year is the diversity on campus. I am not talking about racial, geographic or economic diversity. I am talking about a diversity of interests.

Students throw Frisbees, play guitar, play soccer and slack line. I could go on and on. A look at the quad and you see a complete school where almost all of it’s students can pursue a unique interest. This variety of interests does cause some problems. There is segregation and bias. On the quad each grassy area is divided up into different areas for different groups. They become almost like districts. There is the soccer district with semi-athletic students also known as the former gym class hero. There is the guitar-playing circle of tie-die wearing quasi hippies. There is the district for frightfully attractive girls tanning in bikinis in high 50-degree temperatures. Almost everyone in these districts does not dare cross their own boundary or even care to recognize a student from a different group. The only crossing of boundaries occurs when a Frisbee is carelessly thrown.

Springtime on the quad shows how diverse the SU student body is in an interesting manner, but it also shows the divides within the student body. The spring makes everyone happy. I do not know if it is the vital supply of vitamin d or the fact that the sun is a sign classes are soon coming to an end and summer vacation is not that far off. The segregation on the quad is an interesting issue, it allows people to find their own niche and be themself, but it limits their interaction with different students, ideas and interests. No matter what, each one of these groups or what I call districts come together to makeup one of the most interesting student bodies on any college campus.

Photo Credit Gary Walts Syracuse Post Standard

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