On Monday, what should have been a warm April rain was instead four inches of snow mixed with a chilly drizzle. The muted colors of the sky and ground matched the quiet mood on campus. The students who did venture out kept their heads down and their voices were muffled by scarves. There were no impromptu snowball fights, no improvised sledding on Montgoris trays. This was not a snow to be enjoyed, but endured. Rains are expected to continue for the rest of the week, turning an already slushy ground cover to a cold and dirty soup.

Meanwhile, only a month of classes remain. Students have enough time to finish term papers, and enough time to justify delaying another week. Or two. Student Government has elected a new e-board, but they have not yet officially taken office; the same is true of The Torch, which goes on a two-week production break after this issue. More importantly, the war with Iraq has reached Baghdad, and though it may be premature, there is already talk of the endgame and reconstruction. We are in the last gasp of a winter already several weeks too long.

The weather forecast at least offers cause for hope. The temperature is expected to rise steadily, albeit slowly, and the melting snow that soaks the ground provides all the more moisture for the grass and flowers of May. The same is true for the coming rains, which promise a thick, green carpet on the Great Lawn. The sky is still dark, and warm weather is still a few weeks off, but for now, springtime, dark and cool, has sprung.