The spring of our true content

Fourth-year Magazine intern Bora Chang reflects on her last spring on the Quads.

One of a College student's greatest achievements is enduring academic winters at this University, when the gray gothic buildings do little but complement the lake effect's dreariness, and hibernation feels irresistible. But eventually the clouds dissolve into an azure blue, and spring quarters are much easier to abide, helped by a climate that supports outdoor life.

During early May afternoons, a class will inevitably emerge from the dark doors of Cobb Hall, arrange themselves in a circle on the grass and talk about the pages on their laps, pages that gently rustle with the breezes. Today a Greek Thought and Literature class discusses Plato's Phaedrus, concentrating on how Socrates's friendly speech reflects Phaedrus and Socrates's love, and how Plato, unlike Socrates, believed that the human soul housed more than reason. If the romance seems too fit for the atmosphere-the young flowers, the wind altering the leaves' shadow patterns-one hopes the students will, at least, learn by positive association.

Across campus, folks at Hutchinson Courtyard offer goods from the outdoor grill, encouraging everyone to soak up some sunlight before returning inside. The courtyard's fountain pours forth, innocently misting the passers-by. Not far away, a couple of students talk about Summer Breeze, a weekend of activities at the end of eighth week; they reminisce about the event in the years past and plan for the one ahead.

The Quads now nurture all forms of life, from students juggling bowling pins to a leashed black-and-white kitten delighting those lunching on the lawn. It is almost impossible to imagine the winter past or even the April snow sprinkled on the earth that now supports bare feet. The crowd seems to have forgotten, and winter, unlike Plato, is something they need not recall.-B.C.