Illuminating

Every night, I pass this house in Somerville. Part of me thinks, “Hey, what about reducing carbon emissions!?” But the other part thinks, “WOW!” A lot of human energy and care goes into creating a work of art like this one. Both Somerville and Medford have many well-decorated houses. (The Tufts campus straddles the Somerville-Medford town line.) Somerville offers a tour of the best of these creations each holiday season.

Fletcher students have finished their classes and are now completing exams and papers. There’s a kind of exam-stress-induced electricity in the Hall of Flags each day, but I also see emails going back and forth about snowball fights. Somehow the students manage to have a good time despite the exam pressure.

I’ve worked for a university for a long time now, and I organize my life around the academic calendar. Passing houses with bright holiday decorations each day reminds me that not all my neighbors run their lives that way.

Those of you who are coming down to the application deadline will want to know the office’s holiday schedule. The University will be closed on: Monday, December 24; Tuesday, December 25; Wednesday, December 26; Monday, December 31; and Tuesday, January 1. You can always email your questions to us, or call on the days the office is open. We’ll be back with a relatively full staff on Wednesday, January 2.

Happy holidays, and I wish everyone a great start to 2008!