There was Madison, its summer persona ambling along nonchalantly.

Bascom Hill left barren. The streets sparsely populated. The campus buildings desolate. Then came a slow trickling of people.

Soon, more streamed in. Anon, a flood of more folks, another wave of wonderers, and a last showering of students.

Hark! A new city was born. The before-and-after snapshots are telling. Bascom Hill is now spotted with students. The streets and sidewalks are flowing with people. And campus buildings are reawakened by a babble of new voices.

With the introduction of about 40,000 students (30,000 undergraduates and 5,500 freshmen) Madison has taken the influx in stride, adopting this new character with open arms and completing the change without becoming too schizophrenic.

So while it’s apparent that Madison’s two personas smoothly transition from one to the other annually, the question remains: which is the more amiable character? In essence, what does the rebirth mean for the city?

Does it surface as the savior of a boringly tranquil city, breathing new life into its tired veins? Or perhaps it’s more impish in nature, an apocalyptic inundation that portends times of doom and chaos?

Signs of this ominous forecast loom large in the headlines of late. Muggings and robberies are becoming quite popular, for example. This, marked along with the caution taken when perusing the streets around campus, has started coloring police quotes.

Indeed, seas of people fill every nook and cranny on campus during the day. And no longer does taking a night jaunt mean a quiet stroll on the town with a street musician’s serenade playing in the background. Instead, intoxicated bellowing fills the ears while sights of Superman-esque characters — regressing to primal competitions like smashing bottles — engage the eyes.

So with hordes of people seems to come also hordes of debauchery. Yet many a fond memory can be had in one of those roaring, belligerent conversations. And businesses probably give a grateful nod to the sudden influx of consumers.

And don’t forget that to walk down the street and run into 10 acquaintances in 10 minutes remains a social phenomenon not experienced in many other settings. Moreover, this great flood, which has caused Madison’s rebirth, has brought with it a rich variety of novel and exciting people to stimulate conversation, ideas and just maybe a few other things necessary for the survival of the species.

In fact, as is probably running through all minds, this flood of people has come to learn for the most part. So, I offer few words of wisdom to help these people on their educational journey and increase chances of survival:

1. Even if you have large muscles and Superman-like powers, and even if it may seem like a good idea at the time, destructive displays of machismo will not seduce any female to be your Lois Lane any time soon. Other forms of noxious behavior will probably meet with similar results, so it would probably be in your best interest to tone down wild behavior.

2. Travel with others. The streets can obviously be dangerous, so don’t be naíve. Special note to freshmen: travel in your large herds, meet people, have fun and ignore the heckles from three stories above that loudly proclaim your freshmen status as you’re walking innocently to a football game. Non-freshmen, remember you were there once, so be nice.

Maybe Madison is a bit more schizophrenic than originally proposed. Both personalities —- laid-back summer Madison and bustling student-filled Madison —- seem as fitting to the city as a hand to a glove (or perhaps a fish in the water would be a more appropriate comparison).

Last piece of advice: stay for a summer and make up your own mind.

Kate Flick ([email protected]) is a junior majoring in sociology.