Happy New Year everyone!!!! I hope your winter break was filled with love, laughter, and lounging around from time to time. As we are beginning to embark on a new year with new goals, adventures, and opportunities lets create a timeline of what to expect for the spring semester at your typical HBCU.
January
In January everyone is coming back from winter break and begin to get back into the groove of things. Not much happens during this month seeing that it’s mostly focused on getting your schedule finalized and starting classes. This month (depending on where you’re located) is also the month where you may experience snow days. The weather consists of mostly rain, snow, and dark clouds. You do have the occasional sun days but they usually follow with cloudy or rainy days.
February
February is the month where the semester begins to pick up. This is when the weather begins to shift and the campus becomes more active. First things up is Black History Month. This holiday is a pillar in the HBCU community as it’s a holiday that celebrates our history and everything that an HBCU stands for. Within this month you can also expect to see a plethora of dartys beginning to unfold. If you aren’t familiar with what a darty is let me help you out. A darty is exactly what it sounds like. A day party. This means that the weather is nice and people have the sudden urge to take full advantage of it and decide to throw a party outside. Dartys tend to be reborn during this month after its hiatus during the winter and some of the fall season. Now for this next special occasion is for all of my Hamptonians. I’m not sure if other HBCUs partake in this “holiday” but at Hampton one of the most memorable and popular traditions is 100 days. For those who are unaware of what 100 days mean then let me break it down for you. 100 days is a Hampton tradition where we begin the countdown until gradation. We begin this countdown 100 days away from graduation. Although this celebration is dedicated to our seniors, the whole student body gets to experience the many activities that the seniors indulge in during this time. Overall February is in other words the pre-game era for March.
March
There are only three main things that happen in the month of March. Probates, midterms, and spring break. Probate season is when the Greek organizations on campus have their neophyte presentations. This allows each organization to introduce their new line of spring pledges to their student body, faculty & staff, family, friends, and alumni. Probate season is the main event on any HBCU campus. Next is a not so loved event on campus which is midterm week. Before and during midterm week is one of the most stressful times on campus. Midterms determine whether you’re on the right track in your classes or if you’ve been slacking off and this is a wake up call. During this time it is very crucial that you come to terms with where you are academically and where you need to be to make it to the next chapter in your academic journey. The last and one of the most anticipated breaks within the academic year is spring break. Spring break is the time where you can let loose, enjoy life, and party off some of that stress you may have built up from midterms or from surviving the first half of the semester.Â
April/May
Now the reason I combined April and May is because they both are typically surrounded by the same thing which is finals and graduation. One thing that I can say that may differ from school to school is something Hampton calls Pirate Fest aka Spring Fest. Pirate Fest takes place in April and consist of a week long of many different events and activities. This is basically homecoming pt.2. Pirate Fest is the last campus wide event before finals week. Within Pirate Fest the main two events that students look forward to is the fashion show and the step show competition. Last year’s theme was Mardi Gras so I can’t wait to see what’s going to be in the making for this year. Once Pirate Fest is over it’s all about finals week. Finals week along with midterm week are the most stressful and time consuming weeks out of the entire academic school year. For seniors we must take our finals earlier in order to prepare for graduation. Which leads me to my last and final event for the spring semester. In May is when the commencement of all applicable seniors is held. Graduation is the rite of passage that advances you into true adulthood. This significant milestone is what certifies the last four years of your undergraduate journey along with all of the hard work and dedication it took to get you to that moment when you finally walk across that stage and receive your degree. Graduation is the end of one journey but the beginning to the rest of your life.Â