Sledding on Slayter Hill

by Randy Clark

Purdue winters are brutal. The temperature often drops into the negatives and the sun does not show up for days. Not to mention that no matter how many layers a person puts on they will still be cold. Luckily, every cloud seemingly does have a silver lining. In this case, the cold winter and extensive snowfall creates perfect sledding conditions. And all Purdue students know that the best place to go sledding on campus is the infamous Slayter Hill. After the first good snowfall, students flock to the hill like seagulls to food. The hill becomes quite crowded, but everybody always has the time of his or her life. while usually making a lot of new friends in the process. It is also important to note that some students take their sledding very seriously. Students have even been known to construct jumps. Unfortunately, nobody actually thinks far enough into to the future to bring sleds to college. So students will sled on anything they can find. In fact, students

have been seen sledding on anything from books to cardboard boxes. However, the most popular choice for a makeshift sled has proven to be a dining court tray. This tradition has become so popular in recent years that the dining courts no longer give out trays because students were stealing such a large number of trays for the sole purpose of sledding down Slayter Hill. The dining courts now instead only have trays at the exits for collecting student’s dirty dishes. If causing Purdue to change their entire dining system to combat a crazy tradition is not an accomplishment, than I do not know what is. So the next time there is good snowfall, grab anything you can find and make your way to Slayter Hill to make some new friends and have a great time.