At 12:48 am the morning of September 30th 2015, my phone and both of my roommate's phones buzzed simultaneously. It was an alert from an unknown five digit number we had never seen before. The alert said that due to a power outage that began at around 7:45 pm the day before, classes on the north side of campus were canceled. A loud screaming erupted from all around us as Reinert Hall and all of SLU rejoiced in the thought of a snow day in September. But there was no snow. It had rained but not hard enough to cause a power outage. So, to what did we owe this glorious day free from classes? It was not a what, it was a who.
It was Sparky.
I heard about Sparky the that afternoon (I woke up at 12:30 that day) at lunch. Someone sitting across from me mentioned that a raccoon had chewed through some wires and that was why the power was out on the entire north side of campus. "Long story short," they guy said, "this raccoon saved our asses."
Campus was more alive than I had ever seen it. The weather was perfect and since the library was closed, what with there being no power and everything, everyone was outside. I got snap-chats from the zoo, the new Ikea down the street, the loop, and other places all across the city. It was a real miracle: a snow day in September.
We owed it all to Sparky.
So we did something a little special for our good ol' friend. After a day of fun and games, we decided it was only right to pay our respects. At 8:17 pm, on September 30th, a little over 24 hours since the power outage began at Sparky's expense, we held a phone lit vigil for our furry friend. Two students got up and spoke on his behalf and a song was written on his behalf (the chorus: "Goodbye lil' Sparky, Thanks for making campus so darky..." is still stuck in our heads a few days later.) It was moving, I think I even saw a few tears. We all banded together for just a few minutes to honor our fallen friend, a true SLU hero.
Whether this rumor is true or not, the idea of Sparky and his valiant actions brought us together and for one day, got us out of tests, homework and studying. I propose that every September 30th is campus wide Sparky Day where students spend the day feeding raccoons and enjoying one of the last few days of great weather on campus. It is what Sparky would have wanted.
