At a place where daylight hours are minimal and still shrinking, lighter and brighter are really important.

Amazingly, when the snow did come, it kept falling at a rate of about five to eight inches in the first round. It's still snowing now days later. Apparently, the ground won't appear again until May about the time he will return home for the summer.

I don't want to know what type of celebratory activities happened that first snow night. I like to think they were all outside making snow angels or building snow forts but I didn't ask and the pictures I received were just snow covered vistas and buildings.

Most of these kids are in Alaska for the "on the edge" experiences of climbing ice walls, hiking glaciers or going on week long wilderness survival treks. These students are learning how to survive in the wilderness while on scientific research expeditions and search and rescue missions.

Having a celebration for the first snow fall seems pretty tame compared to some of the adventures our son has already experienced in Alaska. Remarkably, celebrating the first snow is one that he says will stand out among all the others.

It doesn't seem to matter where one goes to school. There are traditions. Here in Greencastle at DePauw one such event is the Monon Bell game coming up this weekend.

At Indiana State University the unofficial tradition during homecoming is known as "The Walk." Thousands of students make the two mile walk east on Wabash Ave to the Football Stadium stopping and having a drink at each bar along the way.

The Walk can be traced back to the early 1980s when students walked from Saturday night football games back to campus, stopping for a beer at every establishment on Wabash that served it.

This tradition has met great resistance throughout the years from the university faculty, local residents and the police, yet every bar on Wabash continues to welcome anyone who wants to experience "the Walk."

At Indiana University the Little 500 is a tradition including men and women's bicycle races to raise scholarship money. It's been called the world's greatest college weekend and has drawn celebrity spectators like John Mellencamp, Barack Obama and Lance Armstrong, who called the Little 500 "the coolest event I ever attended."

And, there is the Rose Well House at IU, an open-air pavilion in the oldest part of the campus, the Old Crescent. According to tradition a female student is not officially a co-ed until she has been kissed beneath its dome at midnight.

As an IU alumni I will attest to these traditions being among the best.

Purdue University features "Purdue Pete" who was created in 1940 when "Red" Samuels and "Doc" Eppell, founders of University Book Store, asked Art Evans to develop an advertising logo for the store.

Like magic, this one-dimensional form evolved into a human shape, and in 1956 Purdue Pete started his remarkable life as entertainer and energizer of Boilermaker athletics.

Today, three students share the responsibility of acting as the mallet-wielding Boilermaker. To be chosen, they must be at least six feet tall, weigh no less than 180 pounds, be involved in campus activities, and possess leadership qualities.

At Ball State University, the Frog Baby statue in the fountain brings students who rub its nose prior to an exam good luck. And, during winter weather students dress the frog baby in warm clothes to protect it during the cold.

All in all, making snow angels and throwing snow balls seems pretty tame. On the other hand, considering what the students at APU do in an ordinary day, snow angels and snow forts seem like a great way to celebrate. If they get bored they can always go scale an ice wall on a mountain.

I only hope we have snow by Christmas when he comes home. I miss making snow angels with him and hope he will indulge me. I know having snow here will make things seem brighter and lighter just like they do in Anchorage. Maybe, just having him home again for a little while will do that with or without snow.