“I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Christmas season is upon us, and the echoes of cheer, holiday magic, and sugarplum dreams are abounded on campus. In the midst of this spirit, you may feel a cold breeze over your shoulder, the shadow of something darker, more melancholy. That would be, of course, one of the ghosts of campus Past, Present, or Future. Like Scrooge himself, we have holiday haunts to remind us of where we came from, where we are, and what is still to come. They are as follows:
The Ghost of Campus Past: This ghost haunts Elrod Commons, lamenting over what has been lost. He reminds students of the piano, the ping-pong table, and the old, scratched, always sticky wooden tables. He begs the memory of a crammed Coop line, weaving through crowded tables of girls on rush dates or hungover breakfasts. He retells the story of campus when it used to sell disposable water bottles and when they would put vegetables in the breakfast burritos.
The Ghost of Campus Present: This ghost resides in the clock, always watchful of the time. He keeps students aware of the seconds, as they now only have negative minutes to get from class to class. His favorite students are those who must walk from Lenfest to the Science Center, taunting them with the ticking of a timer, encouraging them with the strength of the wind.
The Ghost of Campus Future: This ghost keeps students ever aware of what is looming over the future of this campus. You can hear him in the buzzing of a drill, the beeping of a backup signal, and the screeching of a crane. This ghost resides in the godawful construction chatter on campus and will likely never leave.
“There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol
Merry Christmas from the Radish!
The Radish 