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The Daily Tar Heel

Opinion: Why every student should spend a summer on campus

The Pit is less populated, the quad is actually navigatable and the lines at the bottom of Lenoir are considerably shorter.

Don’t you remember being a rising senior in high school on campus for Tar Heel Target, Project Uplift or Academic Days? Can’t you remember the magic you sensed in the air? The excitement you got from seeing the sign that reads “The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill?”

Even if you’re a rising senior or a visiting alum, the magic never goes away.

It’s just that once we enroll and become consumed with life as a student, our focus shifts from the magic that drew us in to our day-to-day demands.

Back sweat is socially acceptable compared to spring semester — which gives our bodies time to adjust to the heat we will experience during the fall.

Being in Chapel Hill over the summer means falling in love with this campus all over again, and rediscovering the magic that enchanted us in the first place.

The classes are sometimes much smaller, which gives students a better opportunity to connect with faculty members. It also gives students more free time to focus on specific classes.

It can also give you a taste of what “adulting” is really like. Libraries close before the sun sets and free food is few and far between, forcing summer residents to explore off-campus locations that aren’t as familiar as the ones they frequent durnig the school year.

You can explore new places to eat on Franklin without being bombarded by students rushing to and from Frat Court and main campus.

There isn’t a need to squirm through crowds to snag a seat on buses.

During the summer we can enjoy simply living here. We don’t have the pressure of a full course load and club meetings stifiling our ability to appreciate the uniqueness that is UNC.

For those that may be against staying on campus during the summer because “it’s the same,” that’s just incorrect.

Chapel Hill is a completely different place during the summer. Just like it transforms in the fall, winter and spring.

Staying on campus allows you to stay in the academic spirit all summer long so when fall semester rolls around, you can hit the ground running without losing your breath.

Being a true Tar Heel means experiencing every facet of this University.

If you truly want to be “Tar Heel Bred,” consider spending one of your summers here instead of at home on Netflix.

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