May 17, 2013 - 3:05pm
Summer in A2: What now?
BY BRANDON CANNIFF
Final exams are done for students at the University. Every day the streets become a little quieter and less crowded than the last. Commuters to the city, driving into the downtown area for work on a regular basis get to breathe a little easier knowing there will be fewer jaywalking students crossing their paths on a regular basis. For the rest of us — the students staying for spring and summer classes — and the local businesses, life in a college town after most of the students leave marks a strange point in our lives where we ask ourselves, “what now”?
For local businesses, the question of how to survive without the young and happy college population boosting sales is something these companies have to deal with on an annual basis. For most of them the answer will likely be a combination of lighter employee staffing and a redirection of marketing efforts to tourists and young professionals just getting acquainted with the Michigan hotspot, Ann Arbor.
As a college student, transitioning into a summer life in Ann Arbor can seem like a daunting task. Class schedules will be lighter — leaving more time to enjoy the rest of life — but at the same time, night-life will be much quieter and many of the friends we met during the school year will be off doing internships in big cities or reconnecting with their loved ones back at home. What now…
Fortunately, Ann Arbor is more than a college town. Ann Arbor is a vibrant community. As someone who has been a part of the Ann Arbor community for 20 years now, I hope my words can provide some comfort when I say that a summer in Ann Arbor can be just as fulfilling, if not more fulfilling, than being a student here during the school year.
Ann Arbor has much to offer in the summer. From June 14th to July 7th is the Ann Arbor Summer Festival, which showcases music and art performances, late night movies and great deals from local eateries. After that brings the world-renowned Ann Arbor Art Fair which takes over almost every major street in downtown to display the best in art the city has to offer. Even on a day-to-day basis, summer means time to discover the beauty of Nichols Arboretum — or “The Arb” — or even drive out of the city to many of the surrounding lakes for a nice day on the beach.
The point is that with the slow departure of the college population from the city, Ann Arbor does not die, but merely transforms. Yes, a summer in Ann Arbor is not the same as a school year, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. The summer brings sunshine, community and plenty of time to explore new interests — and there is nothing wrong with that.
Brandon Canniff can be reached at bcanniff@umich.edu.
