By Kacper Wardynski, Gage Residence Advisor

It would be an understatement to say that Vancouver is a rainy city, this winter has been fairly mild, however if there’s one thing Vancouver is known for, it’s ridiculous amounts of perpetual precipitation. With that comes the need for umbrellas, and with umbrellas come people who have absolutely no spatial awareness or regard for the Umbrella Code. They walk, with the brims of their umbrellas just below their eyes, poking faces, ripping other umbrellas and spraying everyone as they twirl their colorful rainguards; where better to find them than on campus? As soon as the skies get grey, University Boulevard and Main Mall get overcrowded with umbrellas, like giant walking mushrooms bumping into each other, jostling, bustling and pushing through the crowds on their way to class. Every now and then you’ll pass someone who knows the Umbrella Code, who will lift their umbrella over yours if you’re shorter, or dip theirs under yours if you’re taller, they go out of their way to make sure the points of their umbrellas don’t make their way into your eyes, and it’s nice to know that somewhere out there, there are a few who are bound by this common courtesy.

Next time it rains, please don’t be that guy or gal who hits everyone with your umbrella between classes, please avoid my eyes with the poky ends and please look out from under that brim so you stop walking into me. I know, that with the right amount of public awareness, we can combat this obstacle that blocks us from getting to our classes safely.

Join the fight at www.umbrellaawareness.org

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