Ah, summer. This week in D.C., the thermometer hit 90, and the humidity followed suit by rising high and long enough to remind us all what a hot summer in our nation's capital, built on swampland, really feels like.

Speaking of sticky, the biggest buzz on campus right now besides commencement is the cicadas. If you don’t live in the mid-Atlantic anymore, you’re missing out on a real treat in experiencing the descent of these two-inch, translucent green-winged creatures. Sure, they make a little squish when you step on ‘em – or a crunch if you’ve treaded on their cast-off shells. And even the crunchiest nature-loving geek like me took a step back last week when one whizzed by my head just a little too close for comfort before landing on my T-shirt to stare up at me. (I stared back.) But the cicadas have given everyone in town something new to talk about – a nice change from politics and the weather.

The coolest thing to me about the cicadas is that this particular variety, Brood X, only emerges from underground every 17 years to mate. In a few more weeks, the cicadas will disappear again, and we’ll all have to go back to talking about rising interest rates, the war in Iraq, and our “favorite” presidential candidate. Until then, though, I rather like hearing stories like the one I heard last week from a D.C. taxi driver who claimed a restaurant downtown is serving cicada pizza for $6 a slice. Mmm. Extra protein.

Whether you still live nearby or you’re miles away from the white-noise cicada song, give your AU mates a call. I don’t know about you, but I met some of my best friends in college.

All the best-
-Melissa Reichley
Editor, Alumni Update

P.S. Check out these fun cicada posters that some SOC students recently created for a festival celebrating the best work in Photography, Film and Video, and Digital Media.

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