The Many Wonders of the Bald Spot

One of my favorite parts of campus is the Bald Spot! The Bald Spot is the main campus green and one of the centers of campus. It goes under quite the transformation throughout the year, going from New Student Week hot spot to ice rink to premier study spot.

The Bald Spot is one of my absolute favorite parts of campus, so let’s take a look at it’s yearly transformation in all its glory.

Phase One: Frisbee Toss

Every fall, the Bald Spot is home to one of the first traditions that new Carls encounter when they arrive on campus, the Frisbee Toss. At the end of an incredibly hectic move in day, Carls receive a frisbee from their New Student Week leaders (more on frisbee at Carleton here).

Each student writes their name and some way to get in contact on the back of the frisbee, and then dramatically tosses it into the center of the Bald Spot. Students then go pick up a random frisbee and try to find its original owner and make a new friend!

New Student Week actually involves many Bald Spot activities, including meeting your NSW group at the beginning of move-in. The Frisbee Toss is also when freshmen say goodbye to their parents.

New Student Week also ends with Nolympics, another iconic Bald Spot tradition where each freshman floor battles it out for most-athletic and generally-best.

Phase Two: Ice Rinks for Winter

Every winter term, Carleton takes full advantage of Minnesota’s sub-zero temperatures and floods the Bald Spot to create two big ice rinks. A little warming hut goes up full of free skates for students to use, and it’s rare to see the rinks empty.

Carls love a winter sport, and broomball is a big campus favorite. The ice rink is also a very popular spot for Date Knight (read more on this in Kate’s recent post here!).

The Bald Spot is also the best place to stargaze on campus, especially on those wonderfully clear winter nights. If you get lucky, you might even catch a glimpse at the Northern Lights!

Phase Three: Spring Studying…and More Frisbee

Spring term is when the Bald Spot is at its absolute best. The sun is shining, and if there’s one thing that Carleton students love more than anything, it’s studying outside.

There are plenty of picnic tables scattered around the perimeter, and it’s the perfect spot to strike that delicate balance between studying and socializing.

Reading on the Bald Spot is my absolute favorite thing to do when it gets warm out! In fact, reading the Bald Spot on the Bald Spot is so fun.

The Bald Spot also becomes a hot spot for two of Carleton’s favorite outdoor activities: frisbee and hacky sack. Carls love a pick up game, and it’s the perfect way to take a break from studying at the end of spring term.

Regardless of the weather or season, the Bald Spot is always the best place on campus to meet a friend, new or old. It’s always a wonderful more than excuse to get outside and soak up the sun, which is why it’s one of my favorite places at Carleton.

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.