Hi everybody, happy pi day! I hope you are all doing well. In this blog, I’m going to write about the way pi day is celebrated at Amherst College, both my freshman year (the only year I remember how they celebrated) and today, during my senior year. If you have any questions, please email me at sgoldsmith24@amherst.edu!
Pi day my freshman year
I was a freshman at Amherst from 2020-2021, during the thick of COVID lockdowns and precautions. The College was made into a “bubble”, which meant that students weren’t allowed to leave the grounds of campus. This made for a pretty boring, isolating year, but Amherst did try to offer activities and create a sense of community. On pi day in 2021, I clearly remember walking to the Science Center with my friend Sydney from our dorm through the snow in order to pick up slices of pie. They had French silk, my favorite, and we took it back to our rooms and ate them together. It was a nice way to break up the day, but that was the extent of the celebration.
Pi day my senior year
This year, students received emails from the Residential Engagement and Wellbeing office in the week leading up to pi day teasing the pi day activities. This morning, we got an email that said little signs with the pi symbol on them were hidden all around campus, and if we found one and brought it to a table in front of Val, we could take a pie home with us. I personally didn’t find (or even look for) the little pi symbols, but I saw people swarming the table all morning. I think it was a fun way for students to be engaged in the campus activity – making them search for something, and meet in a common location to redeem it for a pie. Happy pie day, everyone, I hope you ate some good food.
Thanks for reading! Next week is spring break, so I’ll be back in two weeks.