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Carleton: The Revised Edition (Pt 2)

In which Greta partakes in Carleton traditions and creates some of her own.

In which Greta partakes in Carleton traditions and creates some of her own.


Here’s what you missed on my blog: three weeks ago (whoa!) I got back to campus, worked as a New Student Week leader, and had a bit of a COVID scare. But thanks to good protocols and testing, I was able to confirm that I didn’t have the virus, and get back to life with my friends before I knew it!

Now, socializing looks a little different this year, so you might be wondering what we’re doing. Let’s start with the obvious: it wouldn’t be Carleton if students didn’t still toss around a frisbee on a Friday afternoon!

frisbee on the bald spot
A naturally distanced activity!

That right there is the Bald Spot, Carleton’s main quad. It’s always abuzz with Carls, but this year it’s especially hopping as a popular site for friends to hang out at a distance and eat to go meals. On Friday, it was the perfect place for one of my favorite Carleton activities: SWA Dogs! Yes, dogs. The Office of Health Promotion brings them for students to pet and cuddle, after a little hand sanitizing. They really know how to make students happy.

swa dogs
Carleton students need a good dog pet to de-stress

After visiting the SWA dogs, my roommate Lauren and I stopped by Sayles-Hill Campus Center to take part in another unmistakable Carleton tradition: Friday Flowers!

Friday Flowers
Mask up for flowers!

Let me explain. Every Friday, a florist sells flowers in or outside Sayles, and people put them in their friends’ mailboxes. Last week, Student Activities Office gave free flowers to every student, so we couldn’t resist getting some for our windowsill!

flowers on a window sill
What could be more Carleton than this?

The next morning, Lauren and I, along with our friends Bryn and Jacob, headed into Northfield to pick raspberries: the perfect celebration of first week’s end, and two negative COVID tests for each of us. The fruit was ripe, the day was beautiful, and we picked a LOT.

raspberry picking
Peter Piper picked a peck of… raspberries!
raspberries!
Enough for many a dorm room breakfast
bryn and jacob
A berry cute couple 😉 No masks required when you’re in each other’s pods! And don’t worry, masks come back when we’re near people and/or indoors.
lauren and greta and berries
It’s me and Lauren again! No masks required as we’re roommates 🙂

There you have it: my weekend in a nutshell. I’m so grateful for all the outdoor activities keeping this strange fall as fun as ever.


Greta is a proud Vermonter who is nevertheless so excited to be back at Carleton this fall! She’s making it through the pandemic by writing constantly, playing piano, and spending time outdoors. Then eating lots of chocolate. She wants to learn everything, but is particularly interested in Sociology/Anthropology, American Studies and, of course, English. Meet the other bloggers!