The sight of college students donning hard hats and carrying plywood with the same methodical intention as a colony of ants has once again graced Carnegie Mellon’s campus. Carnival is upon us, and with it comes the culmination of a year’s worth of preparation for buggy and booth. Carnival also presents the perfect opportunity for students to expel a build up of academic stress through day drinking and alcohol poisoning. Every rose has its thorns, but thorns aside, it’s still a helluva time.
Some pessimistic community members argue that Carnival serves as the picture-perfect propaganda campaign directed toward potential new students, looking to influence as many accepted applicants as possible to #turntartan. More optimistic community members argue that above all, Carnival is a fun opportunity for students and alumni to celebrate their organizations and explore the variety of events that Carnegie Mellon University offers its community members.
Because Carnival is such a notorious campus event, it’s easy to feel like it is overhyped at times and fails to meet expectations. Last year’s Carnival was notably cold and windy. The rain put a damper on the festivities, but in the moments where the sun did come out, there was a palpable sense of school spirit. Buggy is such a unique tradition, it’s difficult to stand at the Schenley sidelines and not cheer along as the pushers round the corner and near the finish line.
But how do professors view Carnival? It’s not uncommon for professors to make offhand remarks on how Carnival cuts into the curriculum and takes away from class time. After all, if students are spending so much money for their education, does Carnival really ensure that we are getting the most out of what we are putting in? Carnegie Mellon students, though, are famously terrible at making time for themselves — if we didn’t have Carnival, would we ever really allow ourselves the opportunity to briefly step away from studies? If we’re being realistic, Carnival establishes a break that we would never give ourselves without it being explicitly penciled in by the university.
Once again though, money is a factor to consider during this celebration. Our activities fee goes towards Carnival events, so why should we have to cough up the extra money for Carnival tickets? Tater tot buckets don’t run cheap. The least the school can do is spare students a few tickets for carnival rides.
While the grass on the Mall was nice and green for a total of at least three days, and we had complete access to walkways in the CFA parking lot, it was due time for demolition. How else would we be able to get down to A Boogie Wit da Hoodie in the Wiegand Gym? Let’s hope that Carnival serves as a chance for Carnegie Mellon students to step away from their studies and enjoy a brief break from their perpetual midterms (seriously, is every week between syllabus week and finals considered midterm week?). All we can do is hope that this year we have at least 3 hours of uninterrupted sunshine. We’ll see you on the buggy tracks.
Leave a Reply