Photo by Samuel Jackson for The Lafayette

College President Nicole Hurd greets supporters before Tuesday’s faculty meeting.

Two signs of support for college President Nicole Hurd preceded Tuesday’s faculty meeting: a student-athlete organized rally and a banner of mysterious origins.

Hurd, facing a faculty no-confidence vote, walked into the afternoon meeting to resounding applause from over 150 students, the majority being student-athletes, gathered outside of Marquis Hall to support her.

“I think she’s done a lot of good for the community as a whole and for the entire school,” said Easton Brenner ‘25, a member of the baseball team who claimed to spearhead the rally.

The gathered students stood in two lines leading up to the entrance of the building, creating a passage for Hurd to walk through. As Hurd approached, the crowd erupted into applause that continued for over five minutes as she slowly walked down the line, greeting students with a fist bump or a hug.

Vice President for Finance and Administration Audra Kahr, who arrived with Hurd, profusely thanked the crowd of supporters. Vice President for Student Life Sarah Moschenross stood on the steps of Marquis Hall, recording Hurd’s entrance on her phone.

Several faculty members expressed unease about the demonstration.

Jeremy Zallen, a history professor and a signatory of the motion, noted that though intimidation did not seem to be the primary motive of the gathering, “the effect was uncomfortable.”

“I had to ask to be let through, but they only parted just enough to squeeze through, and while they aren’t big for college athletes, they are certainly bigger than I and most faculty!” Zallen wrote in an email.

Other professors felt differently.

“These aren’t strangers, these are my students,” math professor Justin Corvino said. “Of course I’m going to walk right through that.”

“It sounded like, from a distance, something that you would run towards, not run away from,” Spanish professor Michelle Geoffrion-Vinci said of the crowd. “It sounded like joyful noise.”

Planning for the event spread amongst some athletic teams on Monday, making its way into campus-wide GroupMe chats and the anonymous social media platform YikYak.

Members of the football, lacrosse, baseball, soccer and volleyball teams — among others — said they were there to express their support for Hurd.

“It demonstrates this lack of solidarity between the athletics and the rest of the school,” Liu ‘25, who observed the gathering, said of the student-athlete majority.

Both head football coach John Troxell and head baseball coach A.J. Miller were present at the rally. According to college spokesman Scott Morse, the demonstration “was not an initiative of the athletic administration.”

Director of Public Safety Jeff Troxell watched the demonstration unfold from 20 yards away on the porch of Ramer History House.

“I’m just here as a precaution to observe what’s going on,” Jeff Troxell said. 

Several faculty members entering the meeting declined to comment. In Farinon College Center, students approached by The Lafayette were largely unaware and uninterested in the gathering.

On the other side of campus, a professionally printed banner — reading “We love you President Hurd” — appeared on the Williams Center for the Arts early Tuesday morning, hung by an unknown supporter. By Wednesday afternoon, the banner had been defaced and facilities employees were seen removing it.

Jeff Troxell confirmed on Wednesday that Public Safety was investigating the installation of the poster. Several employees of Lafayette’s facilities operations department said they were not involved in the hanging of the sign, and another public safety officer confirmed that Williams Center employees said they did not create it.

While the banner was hung, its message was altered twice. On Tuesday night, some of its text was covered with a message written on a torn piece of paper, changing the sentence to “We expected better from you President Hurd.” On Wednesday morning, the word “Goodbye” was spray painted over the original “We love you.”

Student Code of Conduct Appendix VII prohibits signs hung on “external building surfaces” and “all advertisements on campus must include identifying information of the sponsoring organization.”

Selma O’Malley ’26, Clara Witmer ’27 and Makenna McCall ’27 contributed reporting.

This article was originally published on Jan. 28. It was updated on Jan. 31.