What Spring Break?

 

Friday at five 0'clock is the start of the UMass Spring Break. However, it hardly feels like spring, with a major blizzard roaring through the Valley. The usual Friday afternoon traffic jam surrounding the University was made much worse by the raging storm. 

The wealthier students who are leaving the state for MTV orchestrated revelries in sunny climes are no doubt pleased by the snow, which only underlines the delightfulness of their escape. However, for the unfortunate middle and lower class students, who must work the break to make their beer money for the semester, it isn't so nice. 

After Spring Break, you can always tell who the upper crust students are by their golden bronze skin, in contrast to everyone else's pale wintry white. In any case, with the University shutting down for a week everyone is leaving town, as evidenced by the crowd at the Peter Pan bus stop.

I'm always glad to see the students leave, but soon miss them. Without its colleges, Amherst is really just a sleepy cow town. Here is a student headed to the bus stop, dragging his suitcase across the tundra. Or if not exactly the tundra, at least the Amherst Common. 

By the way, I attended the big press conference yesterday at the Chestnut Junior High building. I have commentary and pictures to post, if I can only find the freakin time!