Given the low expectations that many within the undergraduate community had of the annual Lighting of the Quads because of last year’s technical difficulties getting the lights on, members of this board share in the awe and excitement of every student in attendance this past Tuesday. Beyond the more extensive lighting and the decision to illuminate the exteriors of Gilman Hall and the MSE Library Patio, the greater involvement of the audience in the countdown to the lighting and the surprise of a fireworks display has gone a long way to raise student morale as we enter final exams.
At such a point in the semester when many students tend to isolate themselves from one another, it is important to get everyone outside and out of the library. While the holidays see much of the community leaving the Homewood Campus departing to be with friends and family, the Lighting of the Quads should provide an exciting means of togetherness before we disband for the winter interval. Chillier weather in previous years may have been a factor, but upperclassmen seemed to have approached Lighting of the Quads with a cold demeanor and boreal expectation, recounting frosty memories of years past.
In spite of these low-balling set of views, students did turn out with much credit to the Student Government Association (SGA) and the Office of Student Life. The distribution of mugs by the senior class council and beanie hats by the sophomore class council went a long way towards bringing students outside Tuesday night.
This overhaul of what has proved to be a dismal event in previous years breathes much more than a new life into an annual tradition that students can now look forward each year in earnest.
We commend the efforts of the SGA, the Parent Fund and the Office of Student Life in revamping Lighting of the Quads and encourage future events that bring together the Hopkins community in such a strong manner.
