EDITORIAL: Take advantage of weather before winter
Still water lies below a bridge Sept. 14 at Mill Pond Park.
It is inevitable.
Soon, the dreaded Michigan winter will bless us all with single-digit temperatures, chilling winds and icy roads. Thankfully, we still have some time to take advantage of longer days and warmer weather.
Central Michigan University has given students few options to spend our free time (unless you are a virtual trivia night connoisseur).
Students have spent five weeks cooped up in their residence halls playing video games and streaming movies. Some have escaped their rooms to play basketball or volleyball outdoors.
Places on campus, like the Student Activity Center, are beginning to open, but it is still difficult to occupy the time between online classes. Students might have to look beyond campus for socially distanced activities.
Mount Pleasant officials frequently boast about the city’s park system. They have a reason to.
Between Deer Field Park’s swinging bridge, Mill Pond Park’s chirping frogs, Chipp-A-Waters Park’s riverside walk and Nelson Park's fish-ability, there is plenty to experience while the weather is nice.
Anyone can take advantage of the nature trails, picnic areas and sport courts around Mount Pleasant. The Mid Michigan Community Pathways trail will take any cyclist or hiker to Shepherd.
These 70-degree days will not last forever.
If students do not feel comfortable utilizing the SAC or other CMU buildings, they should embrace other options.
Newly reported COVID-19 cases suggest that numbers are decreasing or at least plateauing. Still, the university is not guaranteeing that things will reopen anytime soon.
It is extremely important that students get out and take advantage of the sunshine before the seasonal blues kick in. No one can predict the affect winter will have on the pandemic.
When winter does decide to show up and students are stuck inside, make sure to follow CM Life on social media for our “Pandemic Pastimes” series that is published on Fridays for ideas of safe ways to spend your weekends.
