Sporting sunglasses and clutching portable chargers, students offer advice about what to bring, wear and expect on Slope Day, as the University tradition rapidly approaches.
In an email sent to the Cornell community, the Slope Day Programming Board clarified that attendees are required to bring their student ID and Slope Day wristband. Additionally, it is highly suggested that attendees bring cell phones; empty, translucent, non-glass water bottles; pre-purchased food tickets and a government-issued photo ID.
The Sun interviewed students about their best practices for enjoying the day of music, celebration and community. Students spoke to what they have done right and what they wish they had done differently in Slope Days past.
Sonya Akhtar ’25 advises pacing yourself on Slope Day. The long-awaited event lasts five hours, so it is important to prepare to sit outside for quite some time.
“It’s definitely a marathon, not a sprint,” Akhtar said. “I feel like beforehand you think that it’s going to be this super hype concert, but performers [are not] there for the entire five hours that it lasts. So you’re just going to be sitting there for a pretty substantial amount of time.”
Prior to the actual show, students gather early to get together and have fun, exchanging stories from the semester as they anticipate the excitement ahead and await the performers.
“Before the performers come out, it’s more so just like everybody seeing each other [as] kind of a last hurrah [now that] classes are over,” Akhtar said. “This is a collective moment among the student body. It’s like a big [daytime party].”
One piece of advice from Devyn Bryant ’25 is to keep track of the people you come with. The crowded nature of Slope Day makes it very easy to lose one another, especially when first arriving. Bryant notes it is important to be very intentional about where you go and who you go with, but getting lost is okay.
“It’s not necessarily bad to be alone and be drifting between people that you [run into],” Bryant said. “My freshman year was pretty much just running into people and just being like, ‘I’m going to spend time with you, but then I’m going to go into the crowd and spend time with somebody else.’”
Michelle Wei ’24 is approaching her final Slope Day and is looking forward to making some core memories before she graduates, maybe even burying a bottle of Bacardi on the slope before Slope Day, one of the notable 161 things to do during your time at Cornell.
In 2023, Stephanie Jung ’24 attended Slope Day for the first time. She named her phone, water bottle and a portable charger as necessities for the day.
For Slope Day this year, Kaylani Williams ’25 plans to embrace a specific aesthetic, drawing inspiration from a popular festival style. She plans her outfit with both style and practicality in mind, recognizing the challenges of the day’s predicted hot weather.
“This year, I’m going for ‘circa 2016 Coachella’ because I just want to have fun for my second-to-last year,” Williams said. “So next year I can be extremely comfortable instead of having to look cute.
Her planned outfit, a skirt and flowy top, will keep her cool, an essential quality of an ideal Slope Day outfit. “You want to be comfortable all day,” Williams said.
This approach highlights a mixture of playful aesthetics with sensible choices to ensure enjoyment throughout the event.
Karina Rivera-Lanza ’25 reflected on past Slope Days and similarly suggested that attendees dress for both comfort and the weather.
“We usually get up at 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. to make sure we have breakfast,” Rivera-Lanza said. “Just [bring] the band, and dress not in warm clothes, because it [is] really hot outside… Wear shorts.”
Featuring A Boogie Wit da Hoodie and Flo Rida, this year’s Slope Day will be held on May 8, with gates opening at 11 a.m.
Isabella Diallo is a Sun Contributor and can be reached at [email protected].