Campus Day is returning to Simpson College after a two-year hiatus. The events will kick off on Tuesday, April 5 with a karaoke show hosted in the Black Box Theater by the Campus Activities Board. 

Later that night, free breakfast for dinner will be hosted in Kent Campus Center. The Student Government Association will provide free breakfast before service time on Wednesday from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 

Lawn games will be available throughout the day and in the evening the musical group Icarus Account will perform in the Black Box.

Campus Day has a long history at Simpson. According to records from the Campus Archives, it began in 1889 when the campus was in dire financial straits as a way for students to give back to the campus. Classes were first suspended for Campus Day in 1911. On April 25, 1921, The Simpsonian became the first location the annual celebration and service event was referred to as campus day. 

Since its inception, there have been some changes. Students now offer service to the local community with notable recipients including nursing homes, Wesley Woods Camp and Retreat and several small businesses on the square. Stand Around has been moved from the night before campus day to the beginning of the academic year. The faculty roast has been completely eradicated. 

It’s still a student-run event. This year’s Campus Day chair is senior class president Korie Torres. It’s still largely focused on service and student groups do a majority of the work. 

“Some of our most common participants are greek life, athletic teams and faculty at College Hall, even some random SC groups have done it before,” Torres said. 

It’s hard to say if this year will be like previous years though. Due to COVID-19, Campus Day was canceled in 2020 and 2021. 

“Because only the seniors have done Campus Day in the past, we’re seeing fewer people have signed up this year,” Torres said. 

Torres explained that in the past, participation has been as high as 700 students and faculty. However this year, only 12 teams had signed up at the time. 

Associate Dean of Student Affairs Rich Ramos argued that the differences could be a great opportunity. 

“This allows us to rebuild the tradition and also try to build new traditions as well,” Ramos said. 

Regardless of how many students participate, it’ll still be an activity-filled day for those who do get involved. 

“When we had campus day annually, service members and community members were looking forward to it and calling student development to try to find out when it would be and how they could get involved,” Torres said. 

Everyone who participates will get a free t-shirt.

Teams interested can still sign up by contacting Korie Torres at [email protected]. However, because of shipping time, shirts may not arrive until after Campus Day happens.