At Muskingum University, many go home for the summer, go back to their families and friends in their hometowns, many of which are only known by the names of big cities in which they surround. However, there are some of those that remain on our beloved campus. Whether to work, to stay away from their hometown or to take classes, and there is a secret that only those who stay on campus learn:
The campus is arguably more beautiful after y'all leave.
We live on a campus that is so incredibly touched by nature, indeed, it’s one of the reasons many come to Muskingum in the first place. The way the trees glow and the lake seems to sometimes catch fire during sunset can be stunning, and the way the ducks laugh at those students unfortunate enough to have class before 10 a.m. are only two of the many ways that Mother Nature touches our campus. However, during the school year many things change, the seasons, the buildings and the availability of the quad, but one thing stays absolutely constant: people. There’s always someone out and about, whether it be one crazed buffoon who braves the frozen hills in pursuit of the ever elusive A, or a herd of students whose professor has let them have class outside on a sunny day, students, faculty and staff members, dogs and random townies adorn our campus like an ugly heirloom hat, beautiful because of the sentimental value, not its aesthetic.
I’m here to tell you that our campus is dead. As in empty, kicked the bucket, shuffled off this mortal coil. And it’s beautiful. Many people disagree with this, that something cannot be empty and still be beautiful, but they are wrong. In fact, often it is that which is emptiest that shines the brightest, it is that way with our campus, and it is that way with the people who attend our university. In the absence of people, our campus elevates itself to heights of beauty and stillness unknown to most, but it learned this trick from us, I think. Those that suffer from mental illness, those that have been broken inside or outside by friends, family, or some combination of the two, those who work their rear-ends off to achieve something and then don’t achieve it, or those who just don’t have the energy to continue anymore and those who feel a simple general hollowness, they carry on here. Perhaps it's the support systems, perhaps it's the amount of tuition we pay, or perhaps it's just something in the water. Regardless, Muskingum, empty or full, has a certain beauty about it. Because of that, there are many who would say that all, regardless of their choices, stand as a sort of overly cliched family here at Muskingum.
