Even though Autumn officially started over a month ago, Memphians have just begun to receive its first hints of cooler weather and falling leaves. Opinions among MUS students, regarding the autumn weather, are all over the place. The Owl’s Hoot recently surveyed fifty students from ninth to twelfth grade to share their favorite and least favorite parts of the season.
Despite this survey being a voluntary response sample, meaning students chose whether or not to participate, and thus may not perfectly represent the entire student body, the results still reveal strong patterns in what MUS students love (and dread) about fall.
74% of respondents said their favorite part of the fall is the temperature and weather, celebrating cooler air, breezes, and that crisp autumn feel. Students across every grade described enjoying the change in atmosphere, often mentioning how “the weather just feels better.”
Meanwhile, 8% of students highlighted sports and football, particularly MUS and Ole Miss games, as their favorite fall feature, while 6% pointed to holidays and celebrations like Halloween and Thanksgiving. Another 2% praised leaves and nature, calling the scenery “beautiful.” 10% of the answers were unique responses, that included anything from fashion to food.
When it comes to the fall frustrations, school and workload topped the list at 20% with students mentioning exams, projects, and essays as the biggest enemies of an amusing Autumn.
Coming in close behind, 24% of students complained of temperature and weather, but for the opposite reasons. These students cited cold mornings, gloomy skies, and unpredictable weather.
Other gripes included leaves and nature (8%), sports (6%), and health and allergies (6%), while a few mentioned fashion (2%) and holiday stress (2%) as downsides. About 32% gave miscellaneous answers that didn’t fit cleanly into a category.
While all grades shared similar trends, the tone shifted slightly between the classes.
While seniors loved the weather but complained most about stress and college applications, juniors split their favorite evenly between sports and holidays. Sophomores leaned into fall aesthetics, focusing on nature and colors, while freshmen frequently chose “school” to be their least favorite, perhaps still adjusting to the rigor of the Upper School.
In statistical terms, the distribution of responses shows clear clustering around two main variables temperature and schoolwork. While the sample isn’t random and therefore can’t generalize perfectly to all MUS students, the data still offers valuable insight into the population’s attitude.
