While the Ada spring sunsets are photogenic, that doesn’t mean the wind is any less fierce.
The Ohio Northern University campus is a wind tunnel. Throughout the fall, winter, and spring, powerful winds rip through campus. If you came here thinking that Mother Nature would leave the quiet countryside of Northwest Ohio alone, then you are sorely mistaken. This is what students deal with when a college campus is placed in the middle of a field. Powerful winds sweep West to East across the open country landscape and campus. The fall and winter months are when the wind becomes much more severe. Sixty-degree weather can flip to an arctic cold front blast in a matter of minutes. This is an occurrence that every student and faculty member must deal with during this part of the year.
The wind intensity varies across the different areas of campus. The area behind Stadium View West is one place where the winds are the most intense. Residents of Stadium West (myself included) deal with their building being blasted with heavy gusts. As the winds pummel the building, the sounds of extreme gales and an eerie shrieking follow. It sounds as if a banshee is right outside the window, and feels like the building will be blown off the foundation. This almost constant annoyance makes socializing, working, and even sleeping difficult.
These powerful gusts make a simple walk to class a battle against Mother Nature. You will most likely lose this battle if balance is an issue. Trying to maintain a steady balance when walking in these conditions can be very tricky. Think of walking with a jet engine at full thrust behind you the entire time. Students have, in fact, been blown off their bikes while going to class because of the wind intensity. As so many people claim to hate Northwest Ohio, Mother Nature claims to hate the region just as much. It only gets worse as winter progresses. If you think the winter winds are bad, wait until the spring.
Upperclassmen and returning students understand that the winds are an annoying issue on campus. However, it is always interesting to see what the freshmen think about this. To find out, I sat down with freshmen Nathan Wion and got the scoop. “I think it is annoying. The winds are incredibly strong and riding my bike to class can be a challenge”.
Wion states that the one thing campus can do to lessen these winds in certain areas is to put in more trees by the housing residencies. “It isn’t as bad where I am because we are in the center of campus. We have a lot more trees that help disrupt the winds”. In the case of Stadium West, putting in more trees behind the building would disrupt the gusts of wind that sweep across the open land between the stadium and the complex. Rural homes are often surrounded by trees because they act as a protective barrier against the houses. The same would most likely work for Stadium View.
Attending Ohio Northern means living the Polar Bear life and being open to many other great experiences. One of those experiences is being able to withstand the fall and winter months and the screeching, freezing winds that accompany them. It is safe to say that while there are many great experiences at Ohio Northern University, the wind tunnel is not one of them. However, part of being a Polar Bear means accepting the fact that you will have days when you feel like you will be blown away. It is all part of the Ohio Northern experience – just hold on tight and hope for those extra needed trees.