Everything a student needs is arguably available on campus: food, shelter, study spaces. Living at Cornell can isolate students who have no need to leave campus from the surrounding community. Thus, opportunities to go down the hill and experience Ithacan culture are inherently valuable and refreshing.  Mostly for this reason I decided to return to Apple Fest this year; I had tried the apples last year, and I thought I knew what to expect this year.

As I anticipated, vendors brought apples of all varieties and sold Fall inspired products from ice cream to fritters to soup. Although I did enjoy a spiced pumpkin soup, some strange apple varieties, and a dairy-free vanilla and pumpkin ice cream, the real treat from the whole event was seeing and petting small, curly-haired, sweater-clad goats–a nice change of pace for someone who rarely even sees dogs on campus.