Activities like free concerts on the quad and barbeques keep the campus a thriving environment during the summer. Students and members of the community are welcome to enjoy the hot days and cool nights of summer on campus with these Summer Session events.

The concerts and free watermelon on the quad, sponsored by the Nevada Alumni Association, have been a tradition for nearly 40 years and is one of the most well-known summer events. Kerri Garcia, director of Summer Session at Extended Studies, hopes to keep the tradition.

"It's been growing for forty years," Garcia said. "But we can still make it better."

The bands playing at this summer's concerts contribute to a diverse sound. Municipal bands are scheduled to play the concerts called "John Phillip Sousa" and "Big Swing" along with such local bands Brant and Sol' Jibe.

"We wanted to have a mix of bands without cutting off what everyone loves: the municipal bands," Garcia said.

Events like the Tuesday night movies and the Thursday barbeques, sponsored in part by the Associated Student of the University of Nevada events programming board Flipside, are also hosted. These activities continue to attract members of the community to the campus and keep summer session students entertained.

"We want to the students to think of the summer session as a third term," Garcia said. "We want them to feel connected to the University outside of the classroom."

Free lectures on interesting topics, which generally occur during the fall and spring semesters, have recently been added to the Summer Session's roster of events. While some of the summer activities appeal to an enjoyment of the senses, Garcia hopes that the lectures stimulate intellectual debate among the students and the community at large.

The lectures cover a broad array of subjects. Personal conflicts covered in "Taming the Gremlin," by Jennifer Mahon, associate professor in the College of Education. Dennis Dworking, associate professor and chair of the History department, tackles the issue of "How African Americans Saved Civilization: Jazz in Paris after World War I."

"The lecture series represents the academic side of the summer activities," Garcia said. "The lectures are very informative and are a nice way to spend the afternoon."

Single events such as the Nevada Repertory Company's and the Reno Little Theater presentation of "Godspell," complement the regular summer events being hosted all throughout the summer on campus and can provide students and the community much to do in the hot summer months.

"We want to show that the campus is very rich in activity and academic possibilities," Garcia said. "And what better time to do that than summer."