Autumn leaves are on display outside the Carpenter Center.

A gorgeous maple stands out against the Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts. Completed in 1962, the Carpenter Center is the lone building in the U.S. designed by the architect Le Corbusier, and one of just two in the Americas. Photos by Jon Chase/Harvard Staff Photographer

Campus & Community

The season of the soul

4 min read

Autumn’s falling leaves and temperatures bring bustle and melancholy

Gone are the warm, carefree days of summer; the cool, crisp air of a new season brings with it winds of change, and fall has arrived. Foliage turns gold and crimson before our eyes, and the tempo of life quickens with the bustle of a new academic year. It is a time of harvest, of corn and apples and pumpkins, culminating in a shared celebration of giving thanks. With fall comes football, of course, with blankets and scarves to warm us, and crew races to cheer from the banks of the Charles. But autumn also brings nostalgia and melancholy, as trees become bare, and days shorten. Sunlight fades; the chill and bleakness of winter lie not far ahead. So it is with mixed feelings that we embrace a new season, while wistfully remembering warmer and lighter times so recently gone past.

A few bright leaves mimic the colors of the Sackler Museum in the background.
A few bright leaves mimic the colors of the Sackler Building in the background.
Yellow leaves overhang a fence with the Malkin Athletic Center in the background.
Students in polka dots and houndstooth descend the leaf-covered steps beside Houghton Library.

Yellow leaves overhang a fence running beside Bryan Hall adjacent to Kirkland House, with the Malkin Athletic Center in the background. Students in polka dots and houndstooth descend the leaf-covered steps beside Houghton Library.

Nicholas Nesbit from Harvard Extension School enjoys some leaf time with his daughter Roisian, 2, while waiting for the football game against Dartmouth to begin.

Nicholas Nesbit from Harvard Extension School rolls in the autumn leaves with his daughter Roisian, 2.
A pumpkin decorated with pumpkin seeds is on display outside of Winthrop House.
Gone to seed? The Winthrop House courtyard displays some seasonal finery.
Autumn leaves are on full display outside of Matthews Hall.
A stately paperbark maple shows its colors against venerable Matthews Hall, completed in 1872. The hall is built on the site of the Indian College, Harvard’s first brick building, which housed a printing press, classrooms, and living quarters for English and Native American students from 1655 to 1698.
Harvard’s heavyweight boat passes beneath the Weeks Footbridge in the men’s championship eights race during the Head of the Charles.
Harvard’s heavyweight boat passes beneath the Weeks Footbridge in the men’s championship eights race during the Head of the Charles on Oct. 21. The previous day another Crimson heavyweight boat won the men’s club eights race, beating second-place finisher Dartmouth by 12 seconds.
First-years Alex Baker and Brendan Kiely shout their support as the Harvard heavyweight eight pass beneath the Weeks Footbridge.
Student Athena Ye holds a sign "Here we go Crimson" during Head of the Charles weekend.

First-years Alex Baker and Brendan Kiely shout their support as the Harvard heavyweight eight pass beneath the Weeks Footbridge on Oct. 20. Athena Ye ‘23 makes her way to the footbridge to cheer on her team.

Harvard’s boat in the men’s lightweight eights race passes beneath the Weeks Footbridge.
Harvard’s boat in the men’s lightweight eights race passes beneath the Weeks Footbridge.
Molly Lesser ’20, co-captain of the Radcliffe varsity lightweight team, and teammates including Analysia Watley ’21, rear, hoist their boat into Weld Boathouse.
Lyndzy Passmore watches the races with her dog, Lulu.

Molly Lesser ’20, co-captain of the Radcliffe varsity lightweight team, and teammates including Analysia Watley ’21, rear, hoist their boat into Weld Boathouse. Lyndzy Passmore, who rows for the E.O. Smith High School in Mansfield, Conn., watches the races with her dog, Lulu.

Herb Motley ’65 (center) with arm upraised, leads classmates including Forester Clark ’58 (right) in Harvard fight songs prior to the game. Clark played football for Harvard while a student.

Herb Motley ’65, with arm upraised, leads classmates including Forester Clark ’58, right, in Harvard fight songs prior to the game.
The Harvard football team takes the field against Dartmouth.
The Harvard football team takes the field against Dartmouth. The Big Green won on a Hail Mary pass as time expired, 9-6. The game marked the 100th anniversary of Harvard’s Rose Bowl win over Oregon for the national championship in 1919.
Ben Abercrombie ’23 and his father, Marty, enjoy a moment on the sideline during the game
A Harvard grandmother cheers on the Crimson.

Ben Abercrombie ’23 and his father, Marty, enjoy a moment on the sideline during the game. Abercrombie was injured playing in his first varsity game two years ago, and is currently living on campus and taking courses. A Harvard grandmother cheers on the Crimson.

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Dean Rakesh Khurana should be pleased with the pumpkin carved in his honor by Wigglesworth first-years. The jack o’ lanterns were displayed at Annenberg Hall on Halloween.

Jack o’ lanterns were displayed at Annenberg Hall on Halloween.
Music Department staff don costumes for their annual Halloween celebration.
Music Department staff don costumes for their annual Halloween celebration. Front row, from left: Brid Coogan, Nancy Shafman, Jonathan Savilonis, Kaye Denny. Back row, from left: Enrique Marquez, Lesley Bannatyne, Eva Kim, Elizabeth Berndt-Morris, Chris Danforth.
Empty chairs in Harvard Yard, littered with autumn leaves.
Empty chairs in Harvard Yard, littered with confetti-like leaves, mark the spot where a lively discussion may have taken place.