Inflatable whale in MacVittie College Union Ballroom (Michaela Lewis-Hardies)
Geneseo recently welcomed a 65-foot inflatable whale to campus. Yes, a whale. Appearing as part of the three-day campus-wide festival A Whale of a Time, the whale headlined an event that also featured workshops, performances, interactive installations, and a sunset cello performance from inside the whale.
The festival was part of Ideas that Matter, a year-long campus-wide initiative that brings students, faculty, and staff together to discuss the theme of the year through lectures, talks, performances, and exhibitions. The theme for the 2025–26 academic year is Climate Change and the Individual. Related events closely examine the outcomes of climate change and what choices we as individuals and as a community can make to help find solutions.
Melanie Blood, dean of workforce development and associate provost for curriculum at Geneseo, says “The 65-foot inflatable sperm whale on campus was an exciting and playful way to bring the campus together to explore how climate change is affecting marine life.”
For example, the artist of the inflatable whale, Billie Lynn, hopes to inspire conversation about climate change and environmental responsibility with her art, which was also the main focus of the events that took place.
Other events in the Ideas that Matter Initiative include the GREAT Day keynote address on issues of nature, environmental justice, anti-racism, and mental health, the Extreme Energy Workshops, which will discuss renewable energy, and the creative writing workshop Poet/Tree Anthology, which will display students’ work on trees throughout campus for everyone to see.
Past Ideas that Matter themes include last year’s topic of Artificial Intelligence and the previous year’s topic Myth and Science, which included talks and events surrounding the total solar eclipse seen in Geneseo that spring.
For more information on Ideas that Matter, upcoming events, and ways to participate, visit Ideas that Matter.
—Michaela Lewis-Hardies ’26