I hate the phrase, “It’s that time of year again.” It is synonymous with retailers using overzealous voiceovers to hawk backpacks in their September commercials. The saying insinuates we never stopped going to school in the first place. This, as we know, is not the case in this era of budget cuts, impossible to crash prerequisite courses and the now standard three-semester school year.

I strain to remember the years when the two month stretch between the last and first day of school meant something. Beach days, sleep away camp and family trips in the station wagon to historical monuments was a given.

The idea of studying political science in a fluorescent-lit classroom over the summer term was still a sparkle in a budget committee’s eye. I blame them, and/or, academic affairs for closing courses, raising tuition and making graduation seem unfathomable without sinking deeper into debt just to pay for that extra term.

This being understood, why on the first day of class – particularly of the fall semester -- does the professor seem inclined to open the introduction with the rhetorical ‘how was your summer vacation?’ It jabs at students and serves as a reminder that college, post-budget cuts, is like a revolving door of coursework.

Of course before an answer can erupt from the bleary-eyed student body, the professor has moved on to detailing lines one through 75 in the monotonous syllabus.

Even CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed is getting in on the taunting. In a CSU update email sent to all employees, Reed wrote,”I hope that you all had an enjoyable summer term and are returning with renewed energy for the academic year ahead.”

Thank you Mr. Reed, but it’s a little hard to return with renewed energy when we never got a chance to leave.

However, the editors of The Golden Gate Xpress will still try to answer the proverbial question with our first newspaper of the semester. We’ve included a special “Back to School Section” which we know is ironic, considering the idea of a summer vacation for most students included summer school or work.

We’ve written articles about cheaper textbooks, the smoking ban on campus and political clubs at SF State to bring you up-to-date after your alleged vacation. Don’t forget to voice your gripes and joys about the semester in our opinion section and pick up a new issue of the paper every Thursday.

Graduates say the four or 14 years you spend earning a diploma at SF State will seem short once it’s all over. I don’t know if that’s true but I do contend that my vacation seemed fleeting.