The Bowdoin Orient

"Spring forward, fall back." We all know the drill. Every second Sunday of March an hour mysteriously vanishes from existence only to be returned five months later on the first Sunday of November. Daylight saving time is a cultural phenomenon that claims to be rooted in practical efforts to save energy during the summer months, but let's be honest: we just like enjoying nice, long summer days. This past Sunday the blissful period known as daylight saving time came to a crashing end. The extra hour of sleep helped cushion the blow, but when we look outside our windows and see the sun setting before our final class of the day ends we'll know just what that extra hour of sleep cost us.

If we want to be pragmatic, reverting to standard time every fall just doesn't make sense. I'm sure there are a few people who love and need the sun to rise bright and early every winter morning, but the vast majority of us would rather have that hour of sunlight after we're through with classes and work.

As it stands, most of us will only see a few hours of sunlight each day during the upcoming winter months—and most of it will be through a window. The evening, when most of us like to be outside playing sports or going for a run, will become night before any of us have a chance to enjoy it.

We used to be an agrarian society. We used to have to be out in the fields early in the morning and sunlight played an important role in helping us do that. But now the majority of the world's population lives in metropolitan areas and it's no longer normal for people to wake up at five in the morning. So what gives?

Proponents of the status quo will say that reverting to standard time ensures we have a competent work force at work every morning. Sunshine early in the morning prevents early morning rush hour traffic from being in the dark. It helps people wake up and helps everyone start their days off in a better mood than they would be if they had to get up in the dark. Unfortunately all that's just not true.

Early-morning risers often still have to get up while it's dark outside, and because of our extra hour of sleep, evening rush hour traffic that would've been during daylight now takes place under a more dangerous night sky.

Furthermore, our society expects us to stay awake late into the night. Sporting and entertainment events no longer only occur during hours of sunlight (as they used to before stadium lights and indoor arenas came to be common-place). Monday Night Football doesn't usually end until close to midnight and this year's World Series runs just as late.

Maybe I'm just a silly college student who's sleep schedule is so messed up I couldn't possibly understand the real-world benefits that reverting to standard time brings. (After all, I usually don't wake up before 10 a.m. and don't go to sleep before 2 a.m.) But I can see a lot of reasons why we should keep saving daylight all year round and not too many for walking back from Sills at 4 p.m. in complete darkness.

Craig Hardt is a member of the Class of 2012.

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• Joe Lieberman’s gamble on health care reform is rather risky
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