To the Seniors, to Make Much of Time

It’s 1:40 pm and this is the view from the Quad Cam.  Grass so green, sky so blue, clouds so white.

You can see from the stripes in the grass that they have been mowing.  The Quad grass gets a lot of extra attention in the weeks leading up to Commencement.  You can see the Quad in this picture, all open and pretty – but in just a few short weeks there will be a grand stage and 10-12,000 chairs laid out in perfectly straight rows. The grass, right now so lush, will be ground down a bit from everyone walking in the aisles between the seats.

On a day like today – when it is sunny and low 80s – your Deacs ought to get out on the Quad, take their shoes off, and have a really nice stroll in the grass.  It is like a soft, velvety carpet and feels great against your feet.

For those who are seniors, and who will soon miss this place, I would urge them to drink in as many of those experiences as they can.  Sit on the balcony of Reynolda facing the chapel and watch the sun set.  Walk in the Quad grass.  Take a blanket out to Davis Field and just lay there and look up at the sky – or go swing on the swings.

I was an English major.  A little bit of Robert Herrick’s classic seems appropriate for this theme:

— by Betsy Chapman