There are many ways to take full advantage of the fall season whether you stop by the Dairy Bar for a scoop of pumpkin ice cream or snap a quick picture of the foliage for your Instagram. (Flickr/Creative Commons)
At last, the chilly weather has begun to show its face here in Storrs, accompanied by the sweet aroma of apple cider donuts freshly made outside the Student Union. Now that campus has begun to change into its fall wardrobe, it’s time to slowly make our own transition from Birkenstocks to wool socks and embrace the coming of a new season. With that, however, don’t pack away your shorts too quickly; there are still some mild days in the upcoming forecast.
When the hot weather first started showing signs of its departure, New Englanders needed to find a beacon of hope to shed light on the dismal thought of summer’s departure. That beacon came to us wearing the guise of pumpkin spice and represents a source of mental and bodily sustenance that seems to be omnipresent. You can find pumpkin spice almost anywhere, from muffins to coffee brews and booze; there are even pumpkin spice shampoos. For those who want a pumpkin fix, there is no need to search very hard—especially across campus—where pumpkin treats are available at almost all of our cafes and food chains.
With the arrival of scenic fall foliage, so does the emergence of a new subculture on campus: a group classified as the leaf-peepers. By definition, leaf peepers are those who take photos of the changing foliage, often posting these photos to some social media outlet. This group can be seen gawking at trees for extended periods of time, tilting cell phone cameras until just the right angle is achieved for aesthetic purposes. Understandably, leaf peepers take pleasure in watching the color transformation deciduous trees, hoping to capture the raw beauty of nature alongside the caption “#nofilter.”
Another widely anticipated fall happening is the celebration of Halloween and what is widely referred to as Hallo-weekend. During these festivities, one can expect to find students dressed up for class and for weekend outings, shamelessly wearing costumes which walk the line between hilarious and highly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. Even President Susan Herbst takes part in Halloween events on campus, where she has been known to dress in costume for the occasion in previous years.
There are many ways to take full advantage of the fall season whether you stop by the Dairy Bar for a scoop of pumpkin ice cream or snap a quick picture of the foliage for your Instagram. UConn’s campus offers a number of fall activities for students to participate in, so take the opportunity before it passes you by. After all, winter is awaiting right around the corner.
Katie Pelkey is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at katie.pelkey@uconn.edu.
