On Sunday, Sept. 21, 2025, students gathered on Library Lawn to celebrate a day all about the sun. Aptly named, “Sun Day” is a day to educate the community on all things solar; it is a global event that brings attention to solar energy. Here on campus, the local version of this international event celebrated renewable energy efforts at Vassar. The event was run by a sustainability organization entitled Students for Equitable Environmental Decisions (SEED) as well as the Environmental Science Department (ENST) at Vassar. With the help of the ENST department, SEED planned this elaborate, interactive event in order to engage the Vassar campus and the Poughkeepsie community with environmental justice.
The dedicated group of students at SEED devote their time to working towards a more sustainable campus. They push for more structural change—like installing heat pumps or solar panels—and they make smaller changes, like planting non-invasive plants on the campus’ greenery. SEED has a mission of decarbonizing the Vassar campus and is working toward making not only Vassar, but the Poughkeepsie area, a more sustainable and green place to live. A major component of Sun Day was an embodiment of these renewable energy efforts on and off campus, giving students a chance to learn more about alternate energy sources. Beyond explicit climate education, the event was also a fun opportunity to gather as a community and celebrate the sun.
At 1 p.m., Library Lawn went from its usually calm and empty state to bustling with students, making their way around a semicircle of folding tables facing a stage. Up on the stage, a Vassar student jazz combo group played sun-themed songs like “Sunny Side of the Street” by Benny Goodman, and the entirety of their performance was renewably powered. Community members and students made their way through the circle stopping at stations like the cyanotype printing. Students manned a table with bins full of flowers and leaves while others came through and organized them on cyanotype paper. Leaving them under clear bins, the sun printed outlines of the foliage onto the paper. At the next table over, students collected rocks and used paint markers to design sun-themed paperweights. Library Lawn buzzed with the sounds of people chatting with each other and jazz.
Using chalk boards, volunteers explained the progress of greenhouse gas emission reductions with a surprisingly hopeful hand-drawn graphic that asked how the situation had happened.
The answer? Renewable energy.
During a brief pause of the jazz music, Poughkeepsie Town Supervisor Rebecca Edwards emphasized the importance of electric energy while also highlighting a phenomena of fearmongering around the lithium batteries that powered many electric cars or solar powered systems. She went on to explain why this attempt to scare people away from using renewable energy like solar power or switching to electric vehicles was harmful to the climate movement. Edwards also spoke on the importance of events like this, and concluded with a cheer of applause as the jazz group took back to the stage.
The day was perfect for such an event: The sun beamed down as students filtered through Library Lawn as they stopped to play solar energy jeopardy or peruse the free clothing giveaway table from the Vassar Greens team. Members of SEED also circulated around, answering questions and enjoying the music and sun. Sun Day goers wandered through the activities while listening to the jazz and pausing to listen to the speakers.
The second speaker to come out was Lisa Kaul, representative of Dutchess County District 6, who also spoke on the importance of switching to solar energy, and renewable energy in general. She maintained that solar energy is evolving into a cheaper alternative to fossil fuels like coal or oil, and emphasized, “I can tell you somebody who works with the law, solar [energy] is incredibly popular across the political spectrum.” Because of her perspective within the county legislature, her value for solar energy and the hope she sees for its use in the future is uplifting. In an activist movement often so full of dread, progress is an important thing to be reminded of. Sun Day was full of this brightness—a celebration of the efforts to protect the planet and the people on it.
As the event came to its close, the air of Sun Day remained bright. Leaving with one more sun‐themed paper weight or cyanotype print than one might have come in with, the event brought together a community of those who are passionate about the planet. It also brought to light a change in the world’s advancements yet to receive the attention it perhaps deserves . Aviva Moss ’29, who manned the solar‐themed trivia station, explained that she participated in Sun Day for this very reason: “The more I learn about solar, the more I am surprised that we’re not talking about it. I wanted the opportunity to educate people while also having fun, and to celebrate the technological revolution that we’re living through.” Events like Sun Day are how we can continue to educate and uplift for the good of the environment and all of the people who exist within it. Happy Sun Day!