Warm weather sets campus hearts aame after winter months

Warmer temperatures and blossoming flowers are key ingredients in a sweet recipe for love.

As spring makes its way to Ann Arbor, many University students and local residents are finding themselves immersed in opportunities for love and lust. Welcome to the season of the spring fling.

Spring offers a delightful alternative to the bitter winter months when many were too cold to step far outside the confines of warm rooms, houses or libraries for an extended period of time. In the spring, however, people are everywhere, creating endless possibilities to meet one's mate. Just look at Casa Dominick's on a sunny afternoon, when hoards of thirsty students and locals pour in to enjoy pitchers of sangria. Or consider the large numbers of students frolicking and socializing on the Diag. Without a doubt, people are on the loose.

Photo Illustration by JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily As warm spring weather descends on campus, many University students have no choice but to get a lot closer to a few choice members of the opposite sex.

While psychology Prof. Oscar Barbarin did not know of any theoretical research to support the phenomenon of springtime love, he did offer a speculative explanation.

"Spring is a time of re-awakening," he said. "Longer days, (the hope) for warmer weather. Many people move from the doldrums of winter and are uplifted by the changing climactic and physical environment, (which can have) a positive emotional impact and a positive physical effect."

In fact, there is some medical evidence to support Barbarin's explanation. During the winter months, millions of people are affected by a condition known as Seasonal Affective Disorder in which lower levels of sunlight alter the production of brain chemicals and can lead to depression, fatigue and over-eating. Usually, SAD is treated with light therapy because supplemental sunlight often returns brain chemicals to their normal levels, which alleviates depression.

Research thus makes it clear that sunlight does indeed put people in a better mood, which makes them more sociable and increases their chances for meeting that special someone.

An LSA sophomore, who wished to remain nameless, has witnessed the phenomenon of springtime sociability both in the streets of Ann Arbor and in her own love life.

"From November to February, people don't really know that 35,000 kids go to this school because you see the same people," she said. "The weather makes you dreary so you're not at your best."

But as spring rolls around, this sophomore claimed, "People are more social. The weather makes people smile, which makes them more attractive."

And she even admits to feeling more attractive in the past month as she recently embarked upon a journey that her friends have termed,"March Madness."

"Nothing happened for me in the winter," she explained. "Then during spring break, it was like boom! I met a new guy every weekend."

Some, like first-year student Paul Duggan, believe people have flings more often in the spring simply because it is a needy time of year.

"Everyone realizes that they don't have 'somebody' and they want to get laid," Duggan claimed. "It's tried and true."

Eastern Michigan University senior Josh Barnett shared Duggan's sentiment. "Everyone's all cooped up all winter. Now we're getting out," Barnett said. Now we're getting out," Barnett said. "(Spring's) just another reason to be horny."

But many other students, like LSA senior Kelly Klimek, said they believed hormones were especially active in the spring because of the season's apparel. As the temperature rises, people wear less clothing and "more body shows," Klimek said.

Put simply: More skin shows in the spring, and nakedness seems to be an immediate signal to think about sex and romantic possibilities.

In addition to the positive effect attire, or complete lack of clothing can have on spring romances, Duggan believes people are likely to embark on romantic endeavors in the spring because they are more confident about their appearance in the springtime. He attributed this seasonal ego-boost to the tans that many students sport this time of year. Studies show that tanning does in fact improve self-esteem, which is why it is prescribed as a treatment for those suffering from the effects of SAD.

But unfortunately for some couples who started dating before sunny skies and warmer weather hit Ann Arbor, the spring can be such a great time to meet new people that it may actually destroy a pre-existing relationship.

Barnett, whose friend recently broke up with his long-time girlfriend, has noticed that spring is a time to "either start or end a relationship." He explained that sometimes people who are in committed relationships are enticed by the seemingly endless possibilities that present themselves in the spring, causing them to ditch their sweetheart in hopes of sampling from the assortment of beautiful babies in the playing field.

But Barnett does not appear to be breaking up with his girlfriend any time soon. "I find myself being more romantic in the spring," he boasted.

Surely Barnett is not the only one who has a serious syndrome of spring fever. But if by some chance you haven't been swept away by the possibilities of springtime love, get to work, because love is in the air.

04-15-99