By Joseph Iemma
Staff Writer
Ah, what’s better than warm weather? Actually, let me rephrase that. Anything is better than this past winter.
Spring is my favorite season, and for many reasons. Aside from the beautiful weather, which is much needed now, spring is a season where seemingly everything begins to come back to life. Trees start regaining a seasonal green, animals awake from their seasonal slumber, flowers begin to sprout up, and children are once again outside playing the sport of their choice.
It’s a beautiful season indeed, but unfortunately, like everything in life, spring has its trade offs. Is it sunscreen? No. Rain? Not really, rather rain than snow! It’s the return of the bugs. They come in all shapes and sizes, some bite, some sting. Perhaps the most recognizable bug is our friend, the bee, and the war it rages on the campus.
The bees are always looking for an easy lunch by a garbage can near you. The bees and their friends, the yellow jackets, patrol this rendezvous spot and seemingly attack or at least intimidate anyone who dares to throw out their trash. Believe it or not, this can turn into a dangerous situation. According to healthline.com, three percent of the population is allergic to bees. If stung, these individuals can land in the ER, facing costly bills, and in some cases, a life or death situation.
I kid you not, bees become a real problem on campus during the spring semester and bees constantly find themselves going toe to toe with Public Safety. In an interview with Public Safety, one officer disclosed his so called ‘Battle with the Bees’.
“I believe it was during finals week of the 2014 spring semester,” said Officer Bradley, who has been at Public Safety at Post for six years. “A swarm of bees had overcome a garbage can outside of Pell Science Hall, and of course, I was called in. Mind you, with a fire extinguisher in hand, to ‘neutralize’ the bees. I sprayed once, and this sent the bees into an enraged swarm into a nearby tree. I did not receive another bee call that day, so I guess I did my job!” Bradley said.
Despite the heroic efforts of our Public Safety Department, bees over the years have had violent encounters with Post students. Lisa Greco, a junior Chemistry major, remembered two bees in particular on her way to class.
“It was my second day of classes here at Post. I had class at Humanities and I wanted to make a good first impression with my classmates and professor,” Greco said. “But, of course, two bees outside on my way to class stung me, right after I threw something out in a nearby garbage can and I went to class with what looked like two huge pimples on my arm and neck!”
Maybe the bees just don’t like us, but nonetheless, bees have become a pervasive problem on campus. Hey, even I was attacked last semester, and yes, it was near a garbage can!
Perhaps this problem that can be dealt with by Public Safety or the Post grounds staff that maintains the campus. Until then, try avoiding the garbage can land mines because perhaps at any given moment, one tossed away water bottle can be taken as an act of war by bees, and you can very well ‘bee’ their next victim.
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