April 24, 2008...2:10 pm
#2 - Skirt Day
After being holed up all winter long, AU people leap at any opportunity to show off their opaquely white legs to the rest of the campus community. As soon as the weather hits 65 degrees, the guys around AU immediately put away their winter clothes and pull out their madras, seersucker, or plain and boring Gap shorts, donning them even if the ensuing monsoon cancels classes. “Dude - it’s 65. I’m from the northeast. This weather is so hot!” This springtime ritual is centuries old, and second only to the most important day of the year for all AU people: skirt day.
In the minds of AU people, girls in particular, two straight days of sunshine means that spring is finally here. Some AU people have been fake baking to ensure their “glow” from Cancun or Daytona Beach is the perfect touch of brown just in time for skirt day, which could run up a pretty penny at Solar Planet, but hey, daddy’s paying for it, so why not? A quick run to the J. Crew or Banana Republic in Friendship Heights will solve every AU person’s skirt needs until you, your ex-best friend (you know who I’m talking about…), and that crazy girl at Einstein’s (who bought it two sizes too small) all end up wearing the same “I can’t wait to show off my ass at Skirt Day” skirt.
The dream of every AU person comes true on that third beautiful day in a row, when the quad is hopping with tents and people tabling to free ice cream and snacks. For decades, this day took place right after spring break but the past two years, Skirt Day snuck up on all of us. Just like when its 90 degrees and Housing & Dining gets caught with their pants down every spring by not turning on the A/C until we all are about to leave - just in case it drops into the 40s one night - AU people are almost always unprepared for Skirt Day. All the pent up energy releases in one big sigh where girls are free to express themselves and boys, well boys, its a sight for sore eyes for them.
This year also rocked because Skirt Week (the first week of nice weather when most girls wear at least one skirt) happened to coincide with the Freshmen Days, exciting all prospectives. New girls were excited about the prospects of gleaming in the DC sunshine, new boys knew they made the right decision about becoming a future AU person, dads saw what their wives used to look like, and more than likely, moms were locked in the car, unable to enjoy the beautiful day because the rest of their family feared that seeing AU people in the flesh would instantly cause AU’s Class of 2012 to have zero enrollment.
Everyone is more relaxed and enjoyable, at least on the outside as many AU People procrastinate even more about their fifteen page paper or group presentation. Skirt day and the ensuing weeks until campus empties out, lets AU people enjoy a few beautiful spring days before the summer humidity sets in and literally drowns the daring few who stick around this swamp in the summertime.
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