Picture a beautiful campus. The sun shines like it never did, the grass is green and you cannot see a single cloud in the sky. There is a nice breeze, the birds are singing and you see black squirrels happily running around. Just like the opening scene of a college-themed Hollywood motion picture, it’s clear that there is no better environment for students.

The atmosphere is ideal, except for one thing: no one is actually outside. Campus looks deserted. A ghost town. You are picturing Kent State’s main campus on a weekend.

Earlier this summer, while I backpacked through Europe, I experienced the hottest day in London’s history. Temperatures did not break 100 degrees, but for those who are used to cloudy 70 degrees days, it was almost unbearable. You are wrong however, if you think people decided to stay at home in their air-conditioned rooms.

First, because the vast majority of households do not have A/C, there’s no need for it. Second, and most importantly, people knew they should take advantage of the warm weather. 

It’s obvious that Kent’s situation is not as extreme as the English capital. Summer is usually hot and there are plenty of sunny days throughout the year. However, it’s undeniable that Kent State students experience more cold, winter days than warm, summer ones. And that alone, should be enough to motivate and encourage campus residents to make the best of beautiful days like today. But why doesn’t that happen?

One might argue that it happens because several students go home for the weekends. Let’s say that’s true. Even if 90 percent of the students who live on campus went home (which is obviously a very absurd estimate,) there would still be around 620 students here to enjoy the weather. And where are they? Most likely inside their residence halls.

The problem is not that the students are choosing to watch a TV show on Netflix over playing soccer with their friends. The problem is that those students are the first to complain about how horrible the weather is in the winter.

The main campus offers athletic facilities, beautiful spots to enjoy nature and many recreational activities during the weekends. These will soon be taken over by several inches of snow and extremely cold temperatures. Make the best of it while it’s possible. Go play tennis, explore parts of campus you haven’t been to yet, or read a good book outside. Let’s follow the Londoners example and make our scarce sunny days worthwhile. Otherwise, we don’t deserve nice weather.

Contact Bruno Beidacki at [email protected].