Christmas in July?

Students catch some rays, holiday spirit

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle all the ... wait a minute, it's 60 degrees outside. Where are some shorts?

As Salvation Army volunteers rang their bells and Christmas lights twinkled across Ann Arbor, it seemed that something wasn't quite right.

"A lot of people were studying around the Diag in short sleeves today," said LSA Rob Bertman, who was studying outside Cava Java yesterday. "It's nice that it's warm out, but if it would snow, I would get into the holiday spirit."

Across the street from Bertman, Salvation Army volunteers dressed in red smocks solicited donations.

"It doesn't seem like it's Christmas time," said LSA first-year student Dan Buda, who volunteers as a Salvation Army donation collector through his fraternity.

"You usually see Salvation Army people with stocking caps and big coats," said Buda's partner, LSA sophomore Tim Zielinski as a rollerblader skated past. "It's a little weird."

Though warm out yesterday - not at all like Michigan's normal holiday season - many students' said their spirit wasn't dampened. Other students also cited spending time with friends as a key part of the holidays.

"The purpose of the holidays is to be with friends and family and the warm weather helps that. Being in the spirit is a state of mind, and when you're in the stores, you're inundated with that holiday stuff anyway," Education senior Amanda Wells said.

Signs of the season can be found across campus.

"We saw Christmas trees," said Public Policy first-year student Kirstin Gates as she walked her bike through the Diag. "It was strange driving down Main street and seeing Christmas lights though."

Seeing Christmas trees may not be enough to put students in the holiday mood.

"I'm just not in the spirit because of the weather," said LSA first-year student Amy Kimball, who decided to eat outside because of the warmer temperature. "I associate December with warm weather clothing, but I just saw someone driving down the street with a Christmas tree, and it was weird because I'm used to seeing trees with snow on them."

One student had different ideas about the unseasonal weather.

"I'm from California. This is the holiday season," Kinesiology third-year student Jeff Singer said.

Unseasonably warm weather has prompted many University

students to spend their days outside.

Above: LSA sophomore Reema Soof and University alumnus Sikander Shah study on Palmer Field

yesterday.

Right: A

jogger,

wearing a pair of shorts in yesterday's unseasonably warm

weather, runs past the trees

lining Main St. The trees were

decorated with white lights for the

holiday

season.

RORY MICHAELS/Daily

12-03-98