Every time I speak to someone outside of the community about visiting Blair for the first time, I hear the same comment: “Blair has a beautiful campus!”
I’m sure we would all agree that Blair has some gorgeous areas on campus, some fan favorites being the Locke Hall arch, the lake, and Annie hall. The visibly appealing nature of Blair makes our time here a little more enjoyable. However, in light of the 3- day streak of overcast weather and lower student energy than usual, I’ve been considering 2 questions: does our aesthetic stand against the change in weather? Does weather change a Blair student’s mood, despite the unchanging beauty of our campus? I asked my Oracle colleagues for their opinion on this matter.
Chloe Lau ‘23, Peyton Schreiber ‘22, and Evelyn Sharma ‘22, all have different preferences for which season suits Blair’s aesthetic. Chloe enjoys Blair the most when the weather is overcast because it creates a “dark academia vibe.” Peyton thinks that Blair looks best when the leaves change color in the fall, and when the cherry blossoms bloom in the spring. Evelyn noted that when it snows, Blair’s campus resembles a winter wonderland, especially when the bows and wreaths are added to the lamp posts. All interesting and unique takes.
Despite the difference in preferences, they could all agree on one point: Blair’s campus is not as pleasing to the eye when snow gets plowed. With the vivid image of dirty and clumpy snow along the sides of the walkways fresh in my mind, I can agree with them. For many Blair students, winter seems to be the season when academic and athletic rigor reaches its peak. With stress on your mind, you wouldn’t want to walk outside to see sad remnants of what was a snowy paradise, would you?
We can conclude that the weather does change the campus aesthetic, so that leaves the second question. Does the campus aesthetic change the mood of Blair students?
My colleagues all felt that good weather does not always directly relate to their mood; however, they would agree that bad weather-aka winter-most often leads to the infamous “seasonal depression” that Blair students talk about. Having to bundle up in layers and the less frequent appearances of the sun don’t seem to make the stress of signature assessments and college applications any better.
Overall, The Oracle can agree that Blair’s campus is beautiful on its own, but the aesthetic and the experience can depend on changes in weather. My advice to all Blair students is to enjoy the weather on campus when it’s nice, and enjoy campus when the weather isn’t your favorite. Happy Fall, everyone!!
(Copyright Laila Davson 2021)
