A drizzle of rain began to fall as students and faculty alike craned their heads up to the sky. Many had their eyes hidden behind whatever eye coverings they could find, hoping to catch even the slightest glimpse of the totality of the eclipse as a thick bed of gray clouds lay overhead. 

For many, the experience of the eclipse was a disappointing one. What had been a bright and sunny morning suddenly turned into a dark and gloomy day. 

Maxwell Firth had been looking forward to the event since whenever he initially heard about the eclipse. He and friends, Kyla Korpics and Danielle Palma, were just some of the many who were out on the quad picnicking to watch the eclipse. 

Jacob Smith, a mid-level education major, also ventured to the quad hoping to catch a glimpse of the eclipse. Despite the weather, Smith, in his own words, was “still excited to be here with my friends.”

Meanwhile, an hour before the expected totality, the time struck 2:30 p.m. The university’s indoor celebration of the eclipse was nearly empty. Only ten students lined the rows of chairs, expecting to watch NASA’s live stream of the eclipse. Snacks such as Sun Chips, Eclipse gum, and Sunkist soda were offered to match the day’s theme. 

“I think a lot of people went to watch it live,” said Geoffry Short, one of the ten students who was seated to watch the live stream. He continued, “On campus, we didn’t have a lot of resources to get access to the glasses for it.”

On the quad, expectation grew despite the absence of glasses as totality drew near. Big groups of people gathered on the sidewalks from Centennial to Sutliff as well as on the quad. They stared above Warren Student Services, and every now and then cheers broke out as the clouds parted to reveal something that won’t happen again until 2044.