Photo by Samuel Jackson for The Lafayette

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

College President Nicole Hurd, facing a faculty no-confidence vote, walked into Tuesday afternoon’s faculty meeting to resounding applause from over 150 students gathered outside of Marquis Hall to support her. The majority of the supporters were student-athletes.

“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 present at 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, also 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.

Former Student Government President Thania Hernandez ‘25, current Student Government President Alex Brown ‘26 and Vice President Sasha Carter ‘27 also entered Marquis Hall for the meeting. 

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.

“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.

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

Both head football coach John Troxell and head baseball coach A.J. Miller were present at the rally. The two were seen helping students organize their formation but denied being involved in the creation of the event.

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.

“We love our president,” said Chris, one of at least six employees from Lafayette’s facilities operations department at the demonstration. He expressed discontentment with the faculty motion, calling the vote a “one-sided thing.”

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.

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