A Song for Each Carleton Term

Carleton is no stranger to a music/college mashup. In my experience, there isn’t a Carl that doesn’t love music. Not only are there many musicians and student bands on campus, but between KRLX, The Cave, and NoFi, there are an unbelievable amount of opportunities to have music be a part of your Carleton life.

One of the other unique things about Carleton is the trimester system. Instead of the standard 2 semesters, Carls have 3 ten-week terms with an extremely special six-week winter break. Not only is this advantageous to allow for more effort to be put into each class and for the possibility of educational experiences over break, but I always find that the trimester system splits the year into digestible chunks. The terms line up pretty well with the seasons, and this means that each term has a wonderfully distinct vibe.

So in the spirit of Carleton’s music-loving culture and in celebration of reaching the halfway point of my sophomore winter term, here’s some musical reflection on the wonders of the trimester system.

Fall Term: “Holy Ground” by Taylor Swift

Fall term means new beginnings! The leaves start to change, freshmen arrive on campus, and Carls are ready to explore. Some of my fall term highlights are the annual trip that the SAO arranges to a local apple orchard and Goodbye Blue Monday’s apple cider based drinks. Fall term is also, in my experience, when students tend to get the most adventurous with their classes– I took a Russian literature class my freshman fall!

While it goes against the pretentiousness that some Carls have in their music taste, I think that “Holy Ground” is a pretty perfect representation of fall at Carleton. There’s so much optimism in the air as people debrief their summers and settle in for the year, and it feels like campus becomes the holy ground that Taylor describes in this song.

Winter Term: “I’ll Be Your Mirror” by The Velvet Underground

This probably won’t come as a surprise, but winter in Northfield is cold! It’s a time for quiet togetherness: game nights in dorm lounges, hours spent in the library, and the occasional skate on the Bald Spot ice rinks, if you’re brave enough. Winter term also tends to be when love is in the air, fueled by the crazy tradition of setting friends up for blind dates on Date Knight. My favorite parts of winter are walking into class and seeing everyone’s creative scarf/hat/jacket combos and hot coffee in Sayles in the morning.

The Velvet Underground is a very winter band to me– their live version of “Pale Blue Eyes” has been on repeat for me recently. The lyrics of this song remind me of the camaraderie that surviving Minnesota winter can bring, and the kind of warmth that friendship brings to fight the negatives outside.

Spring Term: “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” by Paul Simon

Spring term is so fun! The snow has melted, the sun is out, the trails in the Arb are terribly muddy, and Carls are outside in a big way. The most common sights on campus are a frisbee on the Bald Spot or a biker whizzing by. Spring also brings it’s own amazing traditions, like Sproncert. My personal favorite spring term activity is bringing my homework to the patio outside Hasenstab (the Political Science building) and getting dinner to-go from Sayles Cafe.

“Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” has the exact playful brightness that spring term brings to my life. Spring brings out the inner little kid in Carls, and it’s a perfect way to wrap up the year. We truly do become inseparable before the summer, just like kids on the playground.

Emma (she/her/hers) is a sophomore prospective Art History major/European Studies minor from Attleboro, Massachusetts. When she’s not in class, you can probably find Emma engrossed in a terribly long conversation in Burton Dining Hall, knitting at a Bald Spot picnic table, or perusing the museum studies stacks on third libe. Beyond blogging, she works for the Registrar’s Office, teaches adult tap dance classes downtown, and loves submitting to student publications like babyteeth and No Fidelity. She loves Carleton for the number of opportunities it offers and the close connections she’s formed with professors, not to mention proximity to coffee from Goodbye Blue Monday and early morning walks through the neighborhoods.