From a Communal Table to an Arboretum Celebration—Vassar Honors Its Past by Gathering in the Present
Students, staff, faculty, and community members gathered round at the first-ever Vassar Table, hosted on Noyes Circle on April 23. People lined up to collect their plates at the Street Eats food truck outside Gordon Commons before picking up a gift bag and making their way through the buffet line.
The long, V-shaped table made it easy to converse with a diverse group of old and new friends. “It’s a beautiful day outside, and I like that you can just run into anyone, see people that maybe you’re friends with or acquaintances but you wouldn’t regularly grab a meal with, and be like, ‘Hey, let’s sit down together and eat,’ ” said Caitlin Gong ’26.
The event was part of this year’s Community Care festivities and featured a menu inspired by Vassar’s rich history, traditions, and stories, including dishes such as Brewer Style Ale Braised Beef, Three Sisters Stew, and the Vassar Devil and Vassar Angel desserts, catered by Twisted Soul.
“Together, these dishes reflect a story of connection that links past and present, bringing us together just as generations of the Vassar community have done before,” said Amanda Goodman, Director of Administrative Affairs, who helped plan the event. Goodman was inspired by The Longest Table, an annual potluck lunch held in New York City.
Staff members were excited to enjoy the beautiful weather and eat together outside. “Food means everything. Food is life,” said Custodian Jimmy Ranieri. “Food is an expression of culture, taste, excitement, and emotion, and I think it expresses a lot of things.”
The Community Care gatherings continued with Friday’s Arbor Day celebration, held on the Library lawn, to conclude the Arboretum’s Centennial Year. The celebration included the Class of ’28 Tree Planting (the class chose a persimmon tree) and an Honor the Groundskeepers get-together, where ice cream was served.
The Groundskeeping team also opened an 1884 time-capsule, whose contents included a vintage Vassar pendant.
“When I first came to Vassar as a freshman, the first thing I noticed was the beautiful campus and the abundance of trees,” said Carl Webster ’25, Presidential Administrative Fellow in the Office of Advancement. “It’s nice to see that trees still factor into a part of this campus. We take shade under them, we relax by them, and we use them as markers to identify different parts of campus.”
Vassar Director of Sustainability Kenneth Foster and President Elizabeth H. Bradley gave opening remarks, and Bradley highlighted the work that Vassar students and staff have been doing for the trees on campus. She noted scientific data confirming that trees provide immense benefits to physical, mental, and emotional health, and encouraged students to take advantage of the trees surrounding them. “I’m grateful to the Co-chairs of the Arboretum community, the leadership of Facilities and Grounds, which have been amazing, and other partners who have been busy planning the future of this arboretum. It’s a hundred years old—we’ve got to make it as healthy as ever two hundred years from now,” said Bradley.