By Savannah Sandhaus
I arrived at the Kennedy Hall bus stop just in time on the evening of Oct. 23 to admire a carved pumpkin resembling the face of a cat, ears and all — one of those whimsical tributes that make Cornell’s campus feel alive in the fall. Before stepping onto her bus, a Cornell master’s student told me she attended a university-hosted pumpkin carving party. Just a few weeks earlier, Risley Dining held a pumpkin-themed dinner, which involved pumpkin pancakes and even hot chocolate, along with miniature pumpkins that had appeared on the tables as centerpieces.
I may have indulged in taking one of those Risley table pumpkins back to my dorm — trust me, there were plenty to spare. Later that night, I drew a little face on it. I’m no artist, so it's wonky, Sharpie-drawn eyes stared back at me. The moment instantly brought me back to years of painting pumpkins with my older sister to leave on our front stoop in Philadelphia. Now, it sits on my dorm room desk, a small but steady reminder of both home and a new chapter as a Cornell freshman — nostalgia wrapped into something simple and seasonal.
As I watch, for the first time, the colors of Ithaca transform into their vivid reds and oranges, I realize Cornell seems to provide these little keepsakes, intentional or not, that we can take along with us. Each one holds a piece of the season and, in some small way, a piece of who we are becoming here.
The small glass vase of flowers I bought at the Ithaca Farmers Market now sits on my jewelry bureau. Their once-bright petals have wilted, but I find beauty in that decay — it marks the passage of my time here. September has quickly come and gone, and October has fully settled over Ithaca. The dried flowers serve not only as dorm décor but also as a token of the fleeting seasonal beauty I can hold onto.
For Arden Wilkes ’29, that same instinct to preserve the season takes a slightly different form. Her dorm is lined with smiling ghosts and pumpkin-shaped pillows perched on her shelf — small touches that make the space feel festive. “I even have it smell like apple pie in there,” Wilkes said. “My little cousins sent me a care package with the decorations and Halloween treats. It reminds me of family and home.”
Wilkes says decorating has made her dorm feel more like a sanctuary than just a place to decompress. “It makes my space feel relaxing and homey,” she said. “And sharing it with friends helps make it all less stressful, especially during prelim season.”
She also finds pieces of fall reflected in the photographs from back home in Rhode Island. “I have a collage in my room with pictures of my friends from home during the fall football games,” she said, continuing, “but I also get to continue putting new ones from here. I can’t wait to keep adding to it.”
When the semester ends, Wilkes plans to swap out her Halloween décor for winter additions, then Valentine’s Day pieces and so on, circling back to her pumpkins and ghosts for next year. “It keeps the spirit high,” she said. “Not to mention it’s a great conversation piece when people come over.” The beauty of a dorm is that you can personalize it. It’s a way to feel the spirit of Halloween and the autumn season each time you return to this new home after a long day.
When I asked Wilkes what memory or feeling comes up first when she looks at these seemingly simple decorations, she paused before smiling. “Family and back home in general,” she said. “There are definitely times where it would be nice to have a home-cooked meal again, to feel the familiar comfort of where I grew up. But still, I found myself looking forward to coming back to my new home after fall break — to the life I’ve started making here.”
All across Cornell’s campus, students hold onto little traces of fall, allowing us to savor the moment sweetly in our own ways. Whether it’s a pumpkin centerpiece rescued from Risley or a ghost pillow atop a dorm shelf, they’re more than just small fall momentos. They’re quiet reminders that we are learning to make new places feel like home.
Savannah Sandhaus is a first-year in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at sjs482@cornell.edu.
