OFF CAMPUS CORNER The Hidden Treasures of Campus Life

Author: Lynsey Waite
Staff Writer

This week's Off Campus Corner is on campus. Mainly because my Winter Term class is college writing, so I don't have time to go anywhere. Usually, when I tell people that my class has that nasty CW next to it, they gasp in horror, imagining hours spent hunched over a computer. Despite bonding with my keyboard, I am enjoying the term, and I have plenty of time to have fun. The trips to Burlington and beyond, however, have ceased.

So I'm on campus a lot, which becomes monotonous. The daily routine never varies: class (maybe), lunch/breakfast, and then a lot of time for…whatever. Nobody is quite sure what happens to those empty hours, but they melt away effortlessly.

The wonderful thing about this mid-year pause is that everyone has time to do all the things they've wanted to do since September. And the usual nagging guilt that forces you back to the library disappears. People have time to plan events, and people have time to go to them, a convenient combination.

Usually, I only make the effort to attend plays or concerts if a friend is performing. The rest of the time, I think about it, and then go back to Pearsons. I ignore fliers around campus announcing fora and dinners; they seem to be inviting someone else. This month, I went to almost everything I heard about.

I attended a Le Chateau dinner and documentary screening about the life and work of Charles 'Teenie' Harris. I felt awkward going to the dinner. I'm not a film major, and I had never heard of Charles Harris. (I learned that evening that he was a well-known photographer in Pittsburgh for several decades.) But I enjoyed dinner, the film was amazing, and my randomness wore off eventually. Nobody cared that I had no official reason to be there, just that I was interested.

The Hepburn Zoo theater has been busy, always performing for a sold out audience. I sat on the floor, trying to keep my legs away from the actors during Short Attention Span Theater. Students wrote the plays during the fall semester. They managed to keep my attention even as the wall dug into my back and my feet fell asleep.

Wednesday night, I sprinted for 45 minutes, pausing only to find the next clue. Sean Hoskins, a Forest Hall Residential Assistant, organized a treasure hunt, with hints like, "Use the scooper to fish out the next clue" and "The Ultimate Catch" placed around campus, and we raced for first place. The answers? The Swedish Fish dispenser in Midd Xpress and the Frisbee Dog by Munroe. Running from "Smog" to the Juice Bar wasn't so much fun. I definitely received several strange looks, but my roommate and I won $25 to Neil and Otto's. The Pizza Styx on Thursday night were yummy. I hadn't been on a treasure hunt since a third grade birthday party, but Wednesday night was one of the best of Winter Term.

Driving back from an errand with my suite, we impulsively parked at Baba's, ditching Proctor at the last minute. The seating area was cheerfully crowded for dinner, and we ate delicious sandwiches by the window. I had tahini for the first time, a yogurt sauce made with sesame, which I loved (notice the emerging pattern of taking advantage of good food). This wasn't exactly an advertised College event, but it was still fun, and this whole article is really about spontaneity.

This term has been a little random. I spent more time in Hepburn, Mead Chapel and Le Chaeau than usual. Even though I only made it to Burlington once this month, I didn't feel claustrophobic. Hopefully, I'll continue to watch the shows and listen to the speakers in the spring. If I don't create the time, I'll just have to wait for the next Winter Term to roll around.