My first Christmas on Campus

Bright yellow school buses blanket the RecPlex parking lot. The sky overhead is bathed in brilliant pink and orange from the setting sun. My breath fogs the air in front of me, and the cold bites at my fingertips. Salt and ice left from the week’s earlier snow crunch beneath my feet as my friends and I make our way to Humanities Plaza, hoping to arrive in time to catch the tree lighting. 

Christmas music plays overhead, and the familiar tunes take me back to childhood memories of car rides to go see Christmas lights just like the ones that fill the plaza now. They wrap around trees, shine off patches of ice and bathe the hundreds of people gathered in a warm glow. Students, alumni, professors, staff and families from the Dayton community all gathered to savor the moment when the big tree blinks to life.

And of course, there’s the kids — hundreds and hundreds of them from Dayton Public Schools paired with a UD buddy to guide them through the campus’s winter wonderland. I’m shocked by just how many there are. Each one of them is bundled beneath layers of hats, gloves and puffy coats to ward off the cold winter air. They hold hands with their college buddies or run through the crowd of people with eyes full of wonder. One boy drives a little remote control car around the sidewalk, narrowly avoiding the legs of everyone gathered. The kids nearby giggle and laugh as it zooms in and out of the bystanders.

“Go get it!” The kid's buddy laughs as he runs off to collect the toy.

My group of friends stands in the middle of it all, soaking up the decorations and joy of a community gathered to celebrate the treasured holiday. The Christmas story is read from Luke on the speakers overhead. People talk in quiet conversation or stop to listen. At its conclusion, the countdown begins.

“Five! Four! Three! Two! One!”

The tree lights up in red and blue UD colors with applause and cheers from the watching crowd. Pairs of buddies start to drift towards the hundreds of activities across campus – to pet dogs, make slime, or have a holiday-themed snack.

I find a friend of mine in the crowd and we break away from the group, eager to explore some of the festivities for ourselves. We decorate cookies in the Science Center, build snowman socks in Miriam Hall, and pet cows and donkeys outside Kennedy Union. We drink complimentary hot cocoa and laugh over our homemade ornaments. It’s the simplest of crafts and activities, but we love every second. An hour slips by, then quickly fades into two. Buddies start to file out back towards the buses. Stations start to clean up their supplies.

My friend and I set off from the center of campus as the event wraps up around us — and I feel a little lighter than when we arrived. It’s the pause from the stress of finals and the ongoing list of end-of-semester tasks to complete. It’s the strings of lights shining off the snow and the sounds of people enjoying time together. It’s the smiles on the faces of kids holding new toys, the hands of new friends, and probably more sugar than is good for them.

It’s the joy of watching everyone experience the Christmas season I love, on the campus I’ve come to love even more.

Photos provided by Maggie Romano.