Way back in February, a friend of mine from Puerto Rico asked me why Syracuse was so cold. Granted, it was hard to explain to the shivering girl, considering that sub-70-degree weather was the stuff of myths where she grew up, but I gave it my best shot:

‘If it weren’t for the cold,’ I told her, ‘this place would be too perfect.’

Two months later I stand by my answer. Anyone who ventured to the quad last Friday while the temperature was in the sixties and a bright sun lit the blue sky knows that SU + warm weather = something about as close to paradise as it can possibly get.

Sure, the world is full of fictional utopias (Candy Land, Narnia, Canada) that would probably be more fun, but no real-world experience can top this place.

Maybe the Playboy Mansion, with all its artificially enhanced models (there’s no way they’re that blonde) is more your cup of tea. But for my money, Newhouse is the place to go for cute girls and better magazines. Besides, most of the professors are more than old and creepy enough to step in for Hef any day of the week.

Maybe you prefer a carnival, with its big Ferris wheels and inbred employees. But MayFest provides all of the drinking, festivities and general debauchery of the fairground with only a fraction of the animal poop.

Maybe you’re more into ballparks, with their professional sports and funny-looking mascots. But can they really compare to the Carrier Dome? Mr. Met may bring Citi Field right to your seat, and the Baltimore Oriole could certainly show you a good time, but only Otto the Orange can give you the Dome.

This place has it all. From interesting and useful classes to interesting and useful life lessons (liquor before beer…), Syracuse University is practically a breeding ground for awesome memories, if you can remember them.

Take, for instance, Halloween. What could possibly beat a night out dressed as Will Ferrell from ‘Old School’? Sure, the costume didn’t impress as much as I had hoped, but hey, it was cold outside.

And who can forget the first week of classes? Wait. Don’t answer that.

Yet, even in the dead of winter, this place was rocking harder than the Jonas Brothers at a middle school gymnasium. Cold weather did little to freeze the spirit of the Orange student body.

Still, it’s a sad twist of fate that after months of winter weather, the first signs of sunlight signal the end of a semester.

If I had it my way, this warm weather would last far longer into the fall and start far sooner in the winter. A Saturday on the quad tossing a ball around with friends would be the norm, not a special occasion. The same SU that brings us joy throughout the school year could give us springtime in March, summertime in October, and plenty of sunshine in between.

But then, that would be too perfect.

Danny Fersh is a freshman broadcast journalism major and the humor columnist. His columns appear every Wednesday. Danny would like to thank Rebekah, Kelly, Blake, Abram, his Sadler Crew (including Irene), Joan Deppa, Paris Hilton, Hub Brown, Doc Mason, Carrie Bradshaw, Barack Obama, Fergie, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Jemima, Profesoras Pezdek y Bar, Little Bubba, Petra, Jim Boeheim, his twin brother Bill Coplin, the girl who recognized him at the dunk tank on Euclid, Maverick, Iceman, mom, dad, and anyone he ever called panicked on a Tuesday night to help him think of dirty jokes. He can be reached at dafersh@syr.edu.