2013-tulipsIt’s doubtful that there are really 10,000 tulips on campus, but in the places where they are coming up, they are coming up in abundance.  At the gated entrance off Silas Creek parkway, the beds by the gatehouse have tons of beautiful red tulips.  Outside the entrance of my building, Alumni Hall, there are scores of yellow tulips.  In front of Farrell Hall, their flowerbeds are yellow and maybe a hint of orange.  Under the ground floor windows of Reynolda Hall there are  yet more tulips.  I only covered about half the campus today as I walked to and from meetings, but the tulips are everywhere, and they are spectacular.

The weather is less than glorious today.  It is grey and has rained on and off, and looks to continue to rain throughout the day.  It’s warm though – low 70s by the end of today, tomorrow mid 80s.  Perhaps because of the nasty weather, the students I noticed on my walk seemed to be dressed down – lots of exercise pants and tshirts on the ladies, plain Ts and shorts for the guys.

On the Quad there are a lot of signs that have to do with suicide prevention – stats and resources and the like.  T.S. Eliot wrote in The Waste Land “April is the cruelest month” and there are many statistics that show that suicide rates increase in the spring (maybe even peak in April).  That seems counterintuitive because in spring so much beauty is just starting to unfold.  Wake has a great suicide prevention website, and they are doing a Hope for the Hopeless bike/walk this weekend; tell your Deacs to check out the bike ride and the website as well.

The ZSR Starbucks was filled at 11, not an empty table anywhere.  Lots of laptops open and students looking serious.  I ran into one student I know, a senior, on the way there, and asked how the student’s final days are coming.  My senior looked at me and said “I was looking at the calendar and realizing how few weekends I have left here.”  There was a wistfulness in this student’s voice that I suspect many others are feeling too.

Speaking of seniors, there will be a Senior Sendoff, which is co-hosted by the offices of Campus Life and Alumni Engagement.  If you want to get involved in any way, here is more information.

 

— by Betsy Chapman

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