[media-credit name=’RAY PFEIFFER/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]A large portion of the University of Wisconsin student body is gone. The idea of crowded sidewalks, classrooms and libraries left with the students after spring exams. As is the case every year, Madison's summer months have ushered in changes to the appearance and atmosphere of both the campus and the city.

The bustling school-year campus contrasted with today's summertime makeup is like night and day. Once chaotic weekends have become more peaceful. Crowded bars have emptied somewhat, and waiting outside a bar has become a nearly nonexistent hurdle for patrons still in town.

Packed lecture halls, libraries, dorms and recreation facilities have thinned. Pedestrians no longer worry about bumping into someone while walking on the sidewalk, and students have noticed the changes.

"Compared to what it's like when school is in session, this is so tame," UW senior Phil Wacker said when describing the campus. "There's nobody around. The bars are empty and State Street looks totally different."

The herds of people, mostly students, who once patrolled the sidewalks on State Street no longer traipse the concrete in such massive numbers. The sidewalk cafes have readily available seating, a phenomenon unheard of on a nice day during the school year. The thinner crowd on campus also features something new as families with children come to State Street for a day of shopping.

"Honestly, if I had kids, I wouldn't bring them down to State Street during the school year," Wacker said. "It would be way too easy to lose them in the crowd."

The changes are reflected in ways deeper than appearance though as the absence of so many students has changed the basic atmosphere of the campus. George Twigg, communications director for Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, said the change in atmosphere logically follows the departure of a large portion of the student body.

"There's no question that the heart and soul of the downtown of Madison is the student body," Twigg said. "Without the students around, the downtown not only undergoes a facelift, but the attitude of Madison changes."

UW, tense and busy for the previous nine months, has always used its three-month summer break to relax. The downtown and campus area just feels more at ease, Twigg added.

Wacker speculated the change in the overall campus attitude is most likely a result of the more relaxed outlooks of the students spending their summers in Madison along with the fact that so many have left.

"Everyone left here seems to walk around with a little less on their mind," Wacker said. "Nobody is really too worried about class. Anyone taking summer classes usually doesn't have too much to do. All anyone is really worried about is working their summer jobs and enjoying their summer. It makes things seem pretty lazy around here."

However, the time to buckle down is right around the corner as UW's Fall Semester draws near. According to UW senior Brad Lewis, except for the incoming freshmen, the first couple of weeks back to school are usually fairly relaxed.

"In terms of the pressure of school and things like that, it usually takes some time to ease into it," Lewis said. "The freshmen seem to relax once they get used to everything, but sometimes that takes them a little time."