Sugar Day!

Sugar Day is an annual tradition at Hiram College that dates back to 1921. It's a day of service for first year students held at the end of March. Students work on a variety of charitable and community service projects, and also team up to help beautify the campus. Professors and upperclassmen are also involved to help fulfill the college's commitment to community engagement. The foggy, wet weather was less than desirable for outdoor projects, but did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the participants. On Thursday morning, College Relations Manger Denise Henry led me to the Fleming Field House where a large group of students were staging for the scheduled events. Some packed off to different venues to begin the cleanup and beautification efforts. Others remained to assemble packages of personal items for those in need. Photographically speaking, the cavernous field house presented a challenging lighting environment with a very dark and high ceiling. One look at this and I realized there was no way to bounce light down from the ceiling. So I used a flash diffuser to illuminate my subjects and overcome the ghastly yellow glow of the overhead lights. From here I made my way back outside to catch up with students working on campus beautification. Groups were out spreading mulch and a tree was planted near the Colton lab. I also found a contingent of students working at the Little Village Early Learning Center, and another at Hiram Farm. Light to moderate rain persisted all morning, but the students stayed with the task and much was accomplished. Here are some of the scenes I encountered.