The Labor Day Quiet

Like every other morning, I reached the top of the stairs by the suspension bridge and crossed the now-closed University Avenue, but something didn't seem normal. It took me a few more steps -- past the construction fencing and portable trailers -- to realize what was different about today.

There was no noise.

Usually, my walk to the Arts Quad takes me through a veritable construction zone, between the Milstein Hall work on one side and the Johnson Museum work on the other. Traveling towards Goldwin Smith, I start to hear the sounds of the work on the new life sciences building. If I head towards the Engineering Quad, I'm in earshot of the noise coming from the Statler addition.

Today, there was nothing. The students were walking around and classes were in session, but the crane, bulldozers, and drills were silent. There was no beep beep of trucks backing up, only the chimes from McGraw Tower. My seminar was not disrupted, as is usual, by the harsh sound of jackhammers or the sharp yells of construction workers. It's amazing how far a conversation -- or even footsteps -- can travel when there's no din of construction in the background.

I know that construction is necessary, and beneficial in the long run, but it has a unique ability to disturb the peaceful calm of the campus which I experienced today. On Labor Day, everything was quiet, and it was good.