Here at the University of Vermont, students are surrounded by the natural beauty of the Green Mountains. Sadly, most of us have absolutely no time to go anywhere near them. During autumn, the best time of year for hiking, students are ravaged by a heavy workload and a full schedule. Between clubs, homework and that damned paper we’ve all been putting off, no one has time to just get out and enjoy some of the best trails in the country. Luckily, there may be a solution for all you starved hikers and outdoor enthusiasts out there, and it is called Mountain Day. In colleges and universities around New England, one day a year is dedicated to going outside and reveling in the changing leaves and crisp air. More than 20 colleges celebrate this day by canceling classes and encouraging students to spend it outdoors. The most interesting part of this is that Mountain Day is not on a specific day every year. On the most glorious day of fall, the colleges announce in early morning the cancellation of classes. This not only guarantees perfect weather but gives the students a sense of absolute freedom.   Now I know many of the faculty and administration at the University of Vermont would call this frivolous.     However, I would like to call to attention UVM’s serious lack of any sort of tradition. Yes, there is the Naked Bike Ride, but there is not a single university sanctioned time when students at Groovy UV get to go out and truly experience why they are here in the first place. What good is living in the Green Mountain State if the only mountains you climb are the piles of laundry on your floor or the stack of books on your desk? Unfortunately, Mountain Day will never become a reality without the help of the student body. I ask anyone who cares about the outdoors, or just wants a day to relax, to write a letter to, call, e-mail or in some way contact President Fogel and his administration and ask specifically to start this awesome tradition. The time has come to stand up and say, “Hey! There are some Mountains and I am damn well going to climb them on a Tuesday!”