Bikini Sunbathing

For the last couple of days, the DC area has been experiencing a heatwave. It’s been a rough couple of days, with temperatures hovering around 90F. While 90F is not an ideal temperature in most circumstances, it is even less ideal when it’s finals week and Housing and Dining refuses to turn on the air conditioning for some unknown reason. I’ve spent the last couple of days devising ways to stop myself from feeling like I’m roasting as I force myself to study and concentrate in the hot, hot temperatures¹.

I understand that everyone on my campus is in the same boat when it comes to suffering in this heat. None of the air conditioners in the residence halls have been turned on, and everyone is stressing over end of year exams and are fleeing into air conditioned buildings such as the library or the student center in the search for cooler temperatures. However, what irritates me to no end, heat or no heat, is that whenever the sun comes out in such strength, girls decide to sunbathe on campus in the skimpiest bikini they can find and drape themselves all over every open, grassy surface.

If it is a girl’s desire to get a tan, that’s her choice. I have no problem with that. What I do have a problem with, though, is that whenever I walk around campus I have to navigate around seas of bikini-clad girls who are determined to get a tan, no matter what else might be going on throughout campus². My school had its Admitted Students Day last week for the incoming freshman class of 2013, and for every huge tour group I saw of admitted students, I saw roughly six girls in bikinis, tanning on the quad. I mean, really. What irritated me even more is when there were girls lying in their bikinis in the shade. What is even the point of that? If the bikini is worn in an attempt to only cool off and not sunbathe, then take a dip in the pool. The campus has two pools for a reason!

My school is not a beach, nor is it a tanning salon. It is first and foremost a university, and I think students should treat it as such, especially on days such as Admitted Students Day or Preview Day, where potential and future students and their parents come to tour the school. There is a time and place for everything; lounging around in a bikini³ throughout campus grounds is not the time or place for sunbathing, even if it is incredibly sunny out.

1. I picked up a lot of tips about how to cool down your body temperature when I was living in Australia. I never thought I would have to use any of those tricks when living in DC! [↩]
2. There is always something going out at campus, whether it be concerts, fundraisers, guest speakers/lecturers, visiting diplomats, or functions organized by various student organizations. [↩]
3. I would address this to male students who sunbathe too, but they seem to be content in playing Frisbee on the quad during hot days, and they don’t have any scantily clad sunbathing going on. [↩]

Cross-posted from breakthesky.net. Please leave any comments there.