Although the 30-degree wind chill in Hamilton has made the past week feel more like winter than anything else, the Colgate University community remained immersed in grand autumnal spirit over the weekend thanks to Fall Fest 2025. The event, hosted annually by the Student Activities Association (SAA), took place on Nov. 9, 2025, from 1-4 p.m. at Sanford Field House. The SAA’s Traditions Committee Directors, Lexi Moore and Vivian Eckert, had been planning the festival since the summer of 2025. While their initial concepts for this year’s Fall Fest ranged from a flashy carnival to an 80s disco party, one goal remained from beginning to end: uniting the Colgate community while supporting small-town businesses.
Senior Christopher Powers, Co-President of SAA, explained that achieving this community-based goal was not without its challenges.
“This year, the Budget Allocation Committee revised our line item amount, so we were revising what vendors we were working with and also being more efficient with our funding,” Powers said. “Instead of having multiple food vendors, we switched to one that we rely a lot on for our bingo nights.”
Attendees sat around vibrantly decorated tables, enjoying pizza, salad and garlic rolls catered by Joe & Vinny’s Pizzeria. After their meals, students could help themselves to an ice cream sundae bar.
Although the food was familiar, even repeat attendees of SAA events were treated to novel entertainment options.
“We’ve had [Fall Fest] more fall-themed with pumpkin painting and photo booths, and I feel a lot of other clubs and organizations do [things] like pumpkin painting,” Powers said. “We wanted to see if we could use our funding to get something different.”
Power’s goal to achieve “something different” neatly aligned with Moore’s personal mission to promote new traditions at Colgate.
“A lot of my role as a Traditions Director is, of course, trying to preserve the history, but a lot of it is also trying to create new traditions,” Moore said.
Embracing the freshness of Fall Fest 2025, students raced around in colorful bumper cars that blasted pop songs such as “Love Story” by Taylor Swift and “Salt” by Ava Max. In the center of Sanford, a giant blow-up laser tag arena attracted a long line of eager attendees. The seamless operation of these new activities can be attributed to the SAA’s unwavering commitment to student engagement and adaptability.
“Originally, we were going to have [Fall Fest] in the [Huntington] Gymnasium. The maintenance staff told us, ‘No, bumper cars would scratch up the floorboards. We can’t do that,’” Moore said. “I had to do a lot of back-and-forth calls mediating this disagreement between the vendors and the venue.”
The hard work was worth it, as evidenced by the ubiquitous smiles in the field house. Despite the rainy weather, Colgate students of all backgrounds marched down to Sanford with raincoats and umbrellas to join the fun.
“The beautiful thing about [Fall Fest] is that it’s an all-inclusive thing where anyone can go, whether you’re in Greek life or not, [and even if you’re] a junior or a senior,” Moore said.
First-year and Traditions Committee member Isabella Jardine was enthused over her first time attending the event.
“My favorite thing was the laser tag,” Jardine said. “That was amazing. I only did it once in third grade, so it was really nice to have an opportunity amidst studying for exams and writing essays to return to those childhood memories.”
The shouts of laughter and excitement coming from the laser tag arena served as confirmation that college students are nowhere near too old for childish fun.
If you missed out this time, fear not. On Colgate Day, March 13, 2026, the SAA plans to host a Consent Carnival, co-sponsored by Haven. Students will get the opportunity to engage with Haven Ambassadors and other on-campus resources. The event will also feature another exciting roster of rides and games for the Colgate community to look forward to.
