One of the worst parts of being an ASU student is putting up with the excruciating daytime weather. For some reason, my body thinks that the 2 P.M. walk to class is a coming out parade for bodily fluids, with bands of sweat playing up and down my back and face. My shirt clings to the wet hairs that cover my lower back and occasionally a drip of the salty sweat will fall from my forehead and into my mouth, providing me with a tasty and refreshing drink. Sometimes at the end of the day, when I'm really thirsty and don't have any water, I just wring out my socks into a plastic cup and mix in some sugar to make a refreshing glass of Kool-my-ass-down-aid.
I can't stand the heat. In August and September it's practically unbearable during the day unless you're chilling by a pool. Unfortunately, ASU doesn't offer any underwater journalism courses, so I'm left with afternoon classes that force me into the midday heat. I love the programs at ASU and its unique college atmosphere, but I wish there were some way to avoid the blazing sun.
Hold on a second. Yes, that's it. I've got it, Watson. I've figured out a way to enjoy my education at ASU without having to leave my car in a toaster while I'm in class: night school. OK, so maybe I'm not the first to figure out how to avoid the heat, but besides providing a cooler educational environment, night class is an excellent alternative to the normalcy of day school.
Night class offers a unique and diverse perspective of what makes up the ASU student body. Though I've shared classes with older students in a few day courses, the two night classes I've enrolled in are heavily populated with students who have been able to drink legally for a decade. Besides the older generation of students, night classes are often filled with fraternity brothers and sorority sisters, educational slackers and die- hard procrastinators. The assembly of peers at night stimulates curiosity because you often wonder what the hell the student next to you is doing in night school.
Going to school at night has a different feel to it. First, I get to drive to class against rush hour traffic and into the sunset. Also, I can cross-park in Parking Structure 2, so my walk to the Coor Building is sufficiently less than normal. Instead of walking a mile to class from Parking Structure 7 (not much better than Lot 59), I walk about 100 yards from my car to my seat. Everything at night is dark and serene, with a relatively empty and peaceful campus.
Class expectations are different as well. Hardly anyone is on time. Throughout the first hour of class, the two entrances get more action than a freshman sorority sister. The classroom is set up like a theater and the choreography of movement on the stage is both funny and insightful as new players continually enter.
While night classes offer a limited range of course variety at ASU, the cool temperatures, odd demographics and distinctive environment are a welcome substitute to Kool-my-ass-down-aid. Drink up.
Tyler Thompson is a journalism sophomore. Reach him at tyler.thompson@asu.edu.
