There is a very clear pattern that around February/March time every year, the geese of campus begin to couple up. In the past few weeks, I’ve started to notice…it’s happening again.
Strong disclaimer: this article is not condoning nor promoting the observation of geese and/or swan sex. We are usually warned to keep away from the geese around the time that they begin to lay eggs, as they become more violent at those times. The pattern I have spotted is that this coupling up applies to the students of York as well.
Each year, it seems many friends of mine begin to enter relationships (or more often situation-ships) at around this same time. Is this a coincidence? Have the geese of Heslington taken so much control of students that we have begun to mirror the biological urges of the big boi himself? Is there something about the late winter, early spring air which brings people and birds together alike? Perhaps there is simply something to be said for a post-Valentines blues instead, with students fervently seeking love.
If you’ve found yourself manically swiping through the armies of torso-less faces on Tinder, or racking your brain for a Hinge prompt that’s even a tiny bit funny, then this might be more true than you’d like to think.
My only concern is that the geese will begin to take things further. Perhaps it’s not the students copying the geese but the geese copying the students. Across the gulf of Heslington, minds immeasurably superior to ours regard our University with envious eyes, and slowly but surely, they draw their plans against us.
Perhaps within a few years we’ll have water-birds holding YUSU hostage, geese-exclusive accommodation (they might as well have Derwent) or strikes demanding strong geese representation on campus.
Regardless of the explanation, I offer simply an observation. Whether you see it as something to be wary of or sought after, as the end of spring term approaches, love is once again in the air.