The suddenly persistent 60 degree days. The new cravings for chili,
pumpkins, apple cider, mums, and Halloween. And the all-too-soon
eruption of leggings, boots, and even North Face fleeces.
Yes, we have all felt the change in atmosphere at Syracuse recently.
Whether we like it, this fall weather is here to stay. But as any NY vet
will tell you, this weather is not typical of September, but of a
Syracusean October.
Why the change?
Syracuse University officials have received approval from the city of
Syracuse, central NY and New York State representatives to skip the
month of September.
“I’m very satisfied with the decision. Not only is it an economical one,
but researchers at Syracuse are currently finding studies that indicate
students who are forced to study in less time than others are more
productive than those who refrain from demoting
September from their calendars, ” says Thomas Wolfe, Dean of Student
Affairs. “This is why we are also looking to cut Friday out of the school week.”
Student reactions are mixed. Some are entirely supportive of the
judgment call, after waiting out the last three seasons to get their
Pumpkin Spice Lattes, while others remain unconvinced as to the merit of
September’s new outcast status.
“If it gets me closer to the one holiday where SU girls get to parade
around as Playboy bunnies, naughty nurses, and scantily clad police
officers, I’m definitely for it,” says Beta Omega Omega Beta Sigma
senior, Chad Penepicciolo, referring to Halloween.
Other students suspect something more controversial is at play. “I
personally think it has nothing to do with students’ efficiency and is
just a way to bypass the one September we get where all the religious
holidays fall on weekends and we would otherwise
have to attend school the full month,” says junior marketing major Jen
Smithstein.
“I personally don’t understand the decision,” says ESF sophomore Bridget
Pickets, landscape architecture major. Pickets is the founder of the
ESF/SU-wide organization called “Save Pluto” which she created to help
reestablish Pluto as an equally represented
celestial sphere. Similarly, she hopes to start a club to help reclaim
September on the academic calender. “I just don’t know why people insist
on victimizing an otherwise worthwhile month.”
