Slope Day is an annual day of celebration held at Cornell University, historically held during the last day of regular undergraduate classes, though it has been moved to the following day as of 2014. The Slope Day Programming Board (SDPB) is responsible for organizing the event, selecting artists, and managing the Slope Day's execution. Though Slope Day has gone through many phases, in recent years the focus has shifted to live music and catered food and beverages on the slope on Cornell's primary campus in Ithaca, New York.
History
19th century
Slope Day's origins can be traced to 1890, when the annual Navy Ball began on the Cornell University campus. The Navy Ball, held in October on the day before a major regatta on Cayuga Lake, was an evening dance with a band for the purpose of raising funds to support the Cornell crew and other athletic programs. Students traditionally skipped classes on the day of the regatta following the ball.
20th century In 1901, the Navy Ball was moved from October to May for the first time, and a committee including John L. Senior, Willard Dickerman Straight, and Henry Schoellkopf arranged the event and entertainment. Attendance in classes on the following day was dismal, and in 1902, the university declared the following day a holiday called Spring Day. The annual Spring Day festivities involved a wide range of activities, from mock bullfights to circuses, typically on the Arts Quad. Spring Day remained a Cornell tradition for over 50 years. However, during the 1960s and 1970s, official Spring Day celebrations were considered an anachronism, as Cornell was in the midst of Vietnam-era protests and civil unrest. A brief revival occurred in the spring of 1971. The Sunshine Memorial Festival was organized by a Cornell student group, Ithaca Rapid Transit. It was sponsored by Maxwell's Coffee House, a student-run coffee house, founded by Daniel Vlock ’74 in 1971 in Mary Donlon Hall, a freshman dormitory, and Noyes Center. Maxwell’s was the first coffee house in North Campus and was named after a dog housed in the dormitory and not the Beatles song. For the concert a plywood stage was constructed at the base of Libe Slope. The speaker system was provided by Cornell Engineering School students and was powered by extension cords plugged into outlets in student dormitory rooms. Several local bands played for free. The best known was Boffalongo, who subsequently became King Harvest and were known for their hit song "Dancing in the Moonlight". An estimated 5,000 people attended. Music and dancing took place until midnight when the Cornell Safety Patrol turned off the electricity. Two additional Sunshine Memorial Festival events were planned for the Spring and Fall of 1972. However, as is typical for Ithaca weather, they were rained out. In 1979, an event then called "Springfest" was held on the last day of classes. Cornell Dining sponsored a chicken barbecue on Libe Slope and served beer to the students. At the time, New York State's drinking age was 18, making it easy for the university to sponsor both food and alcohol service for the event. For the next six years, Springfest involved live bands playing at the base of Libe Slope, with students dancing and drinking on the Slope itself. In December 1985, New York state raised the drinking age to 21, so Cornell officials announced that the 1986 Springfest would be held in a fenced-in area on North Campus instead of the Slope. The student body responded with a massive "Take Back the Slope" campaign. All across campus, T-shirts, signs and chalk on sidewalks beckoned students to boycott the official Springfest and "Take Back the Slope." They did by the thousands, and the name "Slope Day" replaced "Springfest." In 1987, the university caved to pressure and had Robert Cray play on the Slope, but by 1988 the bands were gone once again and Slope Day became an unofficial event. For the next decade or so, the university tolerated Slope Day, and took little action to control it except for the banning of beer kegs in 1991. For many students the focus of Slope Day became the consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol. Starting in the mid-1990s, the university began a more gradual reining in of Slope Day, instead of repeating the failed strategy of regaining control all at once. SlopeFest, an alcohol-free event featuring carnival-style entertainment started to take place on West Campus in 1999. In 2001, the amount and type of alcohol students could bring onto the slope was limited.
21st century
Starting in 2003, the Slope Day Steering Committee, initially organized as the President's Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs by president-emeritus Hunter S. Rawlings III, took charge of Slope Day, restricted access to Libe Slope, brought live entertainment, and provided catered food and drink service. This time, the university's assertion of control succeeded. The students did not revolt as their predecessors had done in the late 1980s, leading to increased University prohibitions against drinking at the event.
In the 21st century, Slope Day measures have tried to limit excess underage drinking. Bracelets with tabs that are used as tickets to purchase alcohol are only offered to those who are of age, and only one drink is sold per purchase. Free water has been handed out to all attendees since 2006, and several volunteers on the slope have supervised students. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for the first time ever, Slope Day became a 2-day event held fully online in 2020 and 2021. It returned as a one-day, in-person event in 2022.
Music
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