COLUMN: Pausing to enjoy the spring term

From David Brown's "How It Works," Fall '97 From David Brown's "How It Works," Fall '97 Ten thousand dollars spent for four months, and I am another semester closer to graduation. College -- the place where we are all supposed to have the "time of our lives." Think about it?Spring Break, Spring Fling, and Penn Relays, all leading to a summer break, instead of that skimpy winter break. The only positive aspects of the fall term are the Thanksgiving feast, Penn football, and the World Series. During the spring, sports flourish with Penn basketball, the Super Bowl, the Big Dance, the Stanley Cup playoffs, the NBA playoffs, and next year's Winter Olympics. As far as the calendar is concerned, Spring Break is a much more extended and relaxed intermission. During the fall, we are stuck with two meager breaks, highlighted by the difficulties in getting to our destination. Entering the beginning of the school year, we are still setting up our apartments, while we can comfortably return from winter break, assuming our apartments were not robbed or utilities turned off during the extended period. Before being hit by May finals we have two relaxing weekends, with Spring Fling then silly Hey Day and Deja Vu. Penn Relays -- touted as the largest nationwide track meet with competition among high school, college and professional athletes -- encompasses the campus. However, Penn's presence in the stands is scarce, ignoring the chance to recognize world-class athletes. The only enjoyment before December finals is Thanksgiving. The ominous weather and shorter days lead us all to wish that we could only go home. The spring finals schedule allows much more procrastination, usually in warmer weather. Since classes end on a Friday instead of a Monday, we can afford one last party weekend, since we have five reading days instead of three. This is more than the single reading day allotted in fall, 1998. And at the end of the spring, we are done for the year at Penn, except for the unfortunate among us who must take classes over the summer. Ideally speaking, spring semester is much more enjoyable. It is more fun. More importantly, there is more opportunity for fun. But, once classes start, and assignments are immediately handed out, it is only a handful of weeks until midterms hit. And from then on, students who have multiple real classes seem to have at least one midterm each week. And there is time for fun, isn't there? Looking at the syllabi, it seems that our calendar has already been set, and we have little leisure time. However, I try to look forward to enjoyable events, and appreciate them while they are occurring as opposed to thinking of when my next midterm is. After all, these will become our memorable college experiences. What Whartonite twenty years from now will be able to remember his mistakes on an exam which held him back from an A in spec markets? He will remember being there when the goal posts were torn down on Parents' Weekend, and almost ended up on the Schuylkill Expressway instead of in the river. And others will relish in the memories of going to a concert the night before a final, getting into Smoke's underage, or hooking up with an upperclassman. Not presenting yourself with opportunities to have fun and experience new pleasures only gives you less to cherish when you are trying to get through hard times. Few students are grateful for their Penn education, as less than 1% of Americans ever has the chance to attend a prestigious university. However, not having a good time at Penn sets a precedent for a life of hard work and little play. It is imperative that once you graduate from Penn, you can look back at college and its treasured memories, since this will be the best time of your life.