For the first time since 1985, North Beach was opened for students during the school year after intense lobbying efforts from Associated Student Government members.
About 150 people used the beach Saturday, said SPAC lifeguard Seamus Egan. Only about half as many came Sunday, which ASG President Jordan Heinz said could have been because of “chilly” temperatures.
The water was off limits due to risk of hypothermia, but students could still study, play football or volleyball, or just relax outside, despite windy conditions Saturday and colder temperatures Sunday.
This made keeping an eye on patrons easier, said lifeguard Katy Bradford. Instead of sitting in the life-guarding chairs closer to the water, lifeguards sat near the entrance to the beach and watched people kicking around the sand.
“It’s easier to sit there and watch everyone, since there’s no one in the water,” Bradford said.
Freshmen Annie Werner and Nicole Harsch baked in the sunshine for half an hour Saturday until the wind got to them, and the two said they would come back to the beach once it was warmer.
“I think it’s really nice out here,” said Werner, an Education freshman.
Weinberg freshman Priscilla Lueras said she did not think of coming to the beach on Sunday until a friend persuaded her to try it.
“I wasn’t planning on coming because the weather didn’t look promising,” Lueras said.
But studying on the beach was a welcome alternative to hitting the books inside her dorm, she added.
ASG members posted fliers around campus, but some students had been trying to get on the beach all quarter.
“We got kicked off a few weeks ago, and the guy said the beach isn’t open until May 19,” said Neal Poeppelmeier, a McCormick freshman. “It’s been on our calendar.”
Some students were surprised to find North Beach open.
“We were going to sneak in because we thought it was closed,” said David O’Hara, a Speech sophomore. “We were really excited (to find out it was open).”
The beach will open again on Memorial Day and will remain open throughout Reading Week. Swimming will be permitted, Egan said.
Although chilly temperatures and insufficient advertising probably deterred people from coming this weekend, Heinz said he was optimistic that more people would show up in the weeks to come.
“NU students are very much in a routine,” said Heinz, an Education junior. “They need to institute the fact that the the beach is open, just like they go to the Lakefill to study when it’s nice out.”
