Despite the fact that the university believes that the season begins May 3, summer is just around the corner.

Sorry if this sounds a bit like the recording that plays when Oakland University places a call on hold, but students should come to and from campus in the summer.

This is not a call to attend summer classes or to “Go Summer” at OU. It is a call to arms to enjoy the sporadically nice Michigan weather that spans from somewhere in May to September.

In the last issue of the winter semester, the Mix section of The Oakland Post was aptly named”Outdoors at OU.” One of the photographs featured a group of people “gathered to play Frisbee and smoke cigarettes outside the Oakland Center.”

Students can find so many more things to do on campus that cost less than the price of a pack of cigarettes.

Think about all of the images used to market the university in the myriad of television commercials and pamphlets.

Bunches of students frolicking and studying on green grass, the fountain in front of Kresge Library actually running and other summer sights are not seen that often.

One staffer described the campus and its residence halls as a “ghost town” during the summer months, but why should students that commute during the unforgiving Michigan winter stop coming to campus when the weather is nice?

Perhaps we at The Oakland Post are being selfish and just want company on campus as we complete our monthly issues, but there are plenty of compelling reasons to come to campus.

There are a plethora of free outdoor activities to partake in ranging from pick-up field games in the upper athletic fields and the Professional Disc Golf Association licensed Grizzly Oaks disc golf course to more relaxing activities like tours of Meadow Brook Hall and its gardens and simply hanging out on one of the benches or picnic tables strewn about campus.

If there is one thing we know about college students, it is that they like free stuff.

If that is not tempting enough, perhaps seeing the fresh, slightly apprehensive faces of new students going through campus with the help of orientation group leaders and their entertaining skits will serve as a cruel form of entertainment.

While it is not free, students do also get greatly discounted rates for rounds of golf at either of two championship courses on campus.

For those still not convinced, think of it as getting the most out of the tuition check given to the university every semester.

As the OU Student Congress launches newly elected President Brandon Gustafson and Vice President Amy Ring’s “outdoor initiative,” it will be using some monies derived from the $25 of the student activities fee taken out of each student’s tuition each semester.

They hope to see a student quad area materialize come fall and spoke extensively of plans for this area during their campaign of OUSC executive office.

Plans to add benches and hammocks to improve OU’s outdoor life are in store, but it may be a waste of effort and time if more students do not plan on utilizing Gustafson and Ring’s initiative for more than the few weeks of nice weather during the fall and winter semesters.

As Gustafson said on the campaign trail: “Who doesn’t want to lie on a hammock?”