This is the time of the semester when campus really comes alive. With fresh fall leaves and pumpkin- flavored beverages comes the wonderful frenzied activity always associated with academic crunch time. Campus scenery is improved with the addition of students sleeping in public places and the cranky attitudes of all those who aren’t sleeping at all. Add colorful language and you’ve got a nice fall soundtrack.

Indeed, it is crunch time. We would go out on the weekends more, but we privilege academic rigor over everything else. Midpoint Music Festival? Meh. We would rather read Shakespeare. Shakespeare in the park? Nah. We’d rather spend our time pondering John Rawls’ thoughts on political justice. And we know we should be more social, but reading in the same room counts as social time, right?

There’s nothing like walking into class to receive yet another assignment to boost your mood for the day. Thankfully, we’re all frequently encouraged to celebrate the important things in life, like sleeping, eating a healthy, balanced diet and spending time with our family. However, we cannot help but prefer reading 10 books a week and cranking out at least a dozen papers.

Supposedly, IKEA might make a desk that also functions as a bed, with a built-in laptop/pillow. This type of ergonomic efficiency really excites us. We simply can’t wait to transition from sleeping to studying and back in lightningfast times. Until then, Gallatgher Student Center will suffice.

Bring on the midterms, we say. Who needs to see his or her family when he or she can sit through a two-and-a-half-hour long lecture? Clearly, bioethics is more important. We know this means crunch time for professors, too. They stay up for hours on end grading our stellar sleep-deprived papers and grading our tests littered with coffee stains and tears of failure. It’s obvious that this system benefits not only the students but the faculty and staff as well.

But at the end of the day — or the beginning, depending on your lack-of-sleep schedule — just remember: sleep is caffeine for the weak.

You go, midterms. You go.