As a veteran of Starkvillian summers, I feel it’s my responsibility to clue my collegiate comrades into the goings-on of our fair city after the majority of our MSU brethren have crammed their cars with all of their possessions and trekked home for the summer months.
The first thing you’ll probably notice about your summer in Starkville is that the town truly lives up to its “stark” name. Everything, from the parking lots on campus to the dance floor at Rick’s to the chicken tenders line at the cafeteria, has an activity level akin to that of a post-Vesuvius eruption Pompeii. In other words, after graduation the population of the town takes a nose dive. However, this feeling of emptiness has an appeal that, not surprisingly, Pompeii missed out on.
I definitely enjoy the fact that it’s not impossible to find a parking spot within five miles of the building where my classes are held. And who’s going to complain about the joys of actually going to the Sanderson and not having to fight with other sweaty students for the oft-coveted elliptical machines?
As for those of us who pursue academic achievement during our summers, try this on for size: when you go to the library’s computer commons during the summer months, you will likely be able to find a computer where you can log in and begin your work immediately, instead of having to hover like a vulture for 30 minutes while waiting for someone (anyone!) to tire of Facebook and move out of your way.
As for actual summer classes, they’re the best. The professors seem much more laidback, which likely has a lot to do with the things mentioned in the preceding paragraph. The thought of comprehensive final exams doesn’t seem so scary when you remember that the oldest material could not have been given out more than five weeks earlier. Even “Bad Memory Magoo” could pass a course like that.
Also, after the nine intense months of the fall and spring semesters spent balancing the curricular with the extracurricular, it’s nice to have a break from the major responsibilities of college life.
This summer, if anyone questions the fact that you spend the majority of your days sitting under a tree with a book, then all you have to do is mumble something about a summer reading list. Your accuser will likely feel intimidated and leave you alone. If that doesn’t work, you can always sneak off to the theater to see one of the summer sequels that will probaby be terrible, but it will give you a nice air-conditioned respite from the persecution, if nothing else.
Last but not least, the most important thing that you should know about spending your summer in Starkville is that by virtue of staying in this town, you have every right to take road trips and demand free room and board from your friends who have taken their suitcases elsewhere for the duration of June and July.
Take my words to heart and have a good one!