A few blogs ago I wrote about the excitement of new school supplies, especially crayons, as time draws near for the start of a new school year.  But, I live in a college town and the start of a new school year has special impact on the whole community.  I grew up in a college town and recall how the energy level of the whole town fluctuated with the presence and absence of the students.  The “quiet, peaceful village” mentioned in the college song became even more intensely quiet during holidays and summer months and more intensely energized with the return of the students each fall.

Here in San Marcos we have a major university so classes continue all summer.  Many students stay to work through Christmas and spring breaks, so their presence and energy never disappear entirely.  But the intensity of university life and student population diminishes in the spring after graduation, automobile traffic thins out on our streets, and the bicycle population is greatly reduced. 

I get excited this time of year as the cars multiply on our major streets and young adults with backpacks strapped to their bodies increase the bicycle traffic once again.  My father was a college administrator when I was growing up, and I’m familiar with the multitude of issues encountered by staff members at the university and the variety of decisions students face as the new school year begins.  I have a September birthday and as a child my father was hard-pressed to have time for celebration as he encountered the multitude of routine needs and crises attached to the start of a new year.  As the student population swells after the summer lull I find myself watching the throngs of people in the coffee houses, stores, and restaurants.  The parks get busier, there are more “tubers” in The River, and even church pews and the choirs are a little fuller each Sunday.

Popular retailers don’t just increase their inventory of needed items for dormitory and apartment living.  As you walk the aisles you pass huge bins brought out especially this time of year filled with pillows, bedding, throw rugs, towels, mirrors, and light-weight furniture necessary for leisure as well as studying.  Even local residents take advantage of the lowest prices all year on electronic items that are being snapped up by new students.  Parents from out of town move about town with their astonishingly young-looking offspring.  It brings back memories of taking our own three off to college some time ago and that poignancy I witness around San Marcos each year at this time is not missed on me at for a moment.

I have friends with spouses who have taught all summer or spent valuable down time to research and prepare new material.  Most of them are already off to university offices and classrooms for last minute class preparation or meetings with students who need their wisdom and counsel for class choices.  As the town’s demographics change dramatically, once again, I feel if I stood quietly near the town square I will actually hear the hum or buzz of excitement attached to the return of the students and the launching of an exciting new year.   My hope is that all is well at our university and the staff and students are ready to kick off a great year on Monday.

--------------

Not so with Dr. Bradley Storm, new college president in my book, COCAINE CAMPUS.  His year is launched with the drug-related death of a student and the disappearance of his wealthy brother-in-law, who had agreed to finance the new student residences.   As he pieces together fractured family relationships and warms up neglected friendships, Brad Storm never has a dull moment from his first day on campus to his take off from Miami in Butch’s expensive toy on the final page.  COCAINE CAMPUS is now available as a paperback or an ebook at Amazon. 

Terri Clamons, author
Cocaine Campus, The Toy Room, and Corporate Prince,

All are available as trade paperbacks or ebooks at Amazon  

You are invited to visit my website: http://terriclamons.com
Please read and comment on my blog: http://blogbyterri.blogspot.com