a group of students in coats and scarves crosses campus on a chilly first day of classes for the spring 2026 semester

Back to School, Amid an Ithaca Chill

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By Cornellians staff

Photography by Alexandra Bayer, Sreang Hok, Jason Koski & Ryan Young

It's that time again: when future alumni from around the country and the world return to Ithaca for the start of spring semester. But as every Cornellian knows, the "spring" part of the season will only kick in a couple of months down the road, at the earliest.

As students marked the first few days of classes in late January—amid wind gusts and temperatures in the 20s and low 30s—our photographers were on the scene.

In many ways, these moments could have been captured any time in the last half-century—except for the cellphones, the sleek laptops, and those bulky noise-canceling headphones.

Scroll down for a back-to-classes photo tour!

students fill a lecture hall in Myron Taylor Hall for the first day of classes for the spring 2026 semester
Two students wearing jackets and backpacks look at each while walking up the Slope to class from West Campus
Dozens of students sit at tables in Olin Library using their laptops.
Students walk across the Arts Quad on their way to classes with Goldwin Smith Hall in the background.
Students eat and talk to each other in Morrison Dining.

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Four students wearing jackets and backpacks walk in a row together on Ho Plaza on the first day of classses
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a professor speaks to students in an art class on the first day of classes for the spring 2026 semester
A student wearing a coat, scarf, and pair of headphones reaches the top of the Slope from West Campus on the first day of classes
Five students socialize in a group before class.
Two students sit at a table in Klarman Hall atrium smiling and talking to each other with coffee and food
two students cross between Statler and Uris halls with the "Herakles" statue behind them on the first day of classes
A professor stands in front of a class in Milstein Hall on the first day of classes

Published January 23, 2026

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