I’m out for a walk near McGraw Tower on a warm Saturday evening at the end of August and orientation. Campus is quiet—except for the human migration, a mass of youth, walking from North Campus. Their arms are locked, each person like an extension of the next. As one group appears after another, the noise increases from a low hum to an excited frenzy of introductions. Hands shake, voices laugh. The swarm gets larger, spilling onto Ho Plaza. The temperature seems to rise.
Their destination can only be Collegetown, where I live, for a real college party. They stay in large groups to ward off the unknowns that wait at those parties. It’s a bit early in the evening for such a spectacle, but I’m sure they’ll find what they’re looking for.
Later that night, I walk through the Arts Quad. It’s 1 a.m., early to head home on a Saturday night. The swarm is slowly making its way back to North Campus. Kids are walking in smaller groups now, but their arms are still locked. This time it’s less for reassurance, and more for balance. I walk toward a cluster; their shirts are dark and wet, they smell like beer, and they are happy. The night was a success: they found a party, and friends, too, to make it through the next four years.
The Class of 2012 has arrived on campus.