We have almost reached the month of April, which is supposed to bring April showers – which will hopefully bring us some flowers – though it will be hard to part with the brown, dried-up grass on the ground.
The other thing April brings to college campuses across the nation is tour groups! Young, fresh, prospective high school seniors in their final days of deciding where they will spend the next four years of their life come to UR to peruse the atmosphere. If you haven’t noticed the large groups of people who are led by peppy tour guides pointing to studying students like they are on a nature show, then you really are studying too hard. In order to convince these potential students that this university is the place for them, there are a few must-see sights on this campus that must be included on the tour.First off, it’s nearly pointless to go through the tunnels unless the weather consists of freezing temperatures and piles of snow. I would certainly mention the tunnels in the fall, but it is impossible to comprehend their usefulness until one feels UR’s friendly winter breezes sanding down his or her cheeks with ever-so-gentle pellets of snow. Plus, I remember that when I first saw the tunnels, I was appalled by how aesthetically unpleasing they were. Little did I realize how grateful I would become for the ability to trade a bitter cold walk on the quad for the smell of paint fumes and a few unsightly pipes in the tunnels.I remember being most impressed by Rush Rhees Library. A school’s library was a very important feature to me, and Rush Rhees far exceeded my expectations. The obvious intellectual appeal of the stacks is appealing to any thriving student. I would perhaps leave out the fact that though the Periodical Reading Room is quite beautiful, it also serves as a nap room or chat room for people who like to look like they are studying but really just want to talk and people watch. The fact that the stacks is also often the place of sexual activity for people who are too afraid to have sex in a real public place should also probably not be included in the “interesting facts you didn’t know about Rush Rhees” section of the tour.The athletic center is an obvious choice to tour, but I think my own tour would have made a bigger impact had the tour guide compared the facilities to a private club. After all, that’s basically what it is, and we’ve certainly paid enough to use it! I mean, at most gyms you have to watch a bunch of middle-aged people sweating and taking out all their aggression on a treadmill, but we are in college! We get to see a bunch of people who are in the prime of their lives sweat and take out their aggression on a machine!Lastly, I guess I’d have to show a prospective student my picnic bench. Technically, I guess it’s not mine, but I consider it such because of the epiphany I had while sitting at it. Here’s what I would tell the kid – “Imagine this picnic table without three feet of snow piled on its benches. I know it’s tough, but when you get here in the fall, I promise the grass will still be visible. I only show you this because this was the spot where I first felt like a college student. I’m certain that while you may not use this particular spot, you too will find a peaceful spot here at UR that you can call your own.”
