2024 at Lafayette College was cluttered with change and disagreement but buoyed by a number of firsts.
The first student-led theater department show. The field hockey team’s first Patriot League championship win in over a decade. The 50th anniversary of the graduation of Lafayette’s first fully co-ed class.
Campus groups advocated for change. Lafayette for Reproductive Autonomy, Justice, and Empowerment fought for the college to fund free menstrual products in campus buildings, a goal achieved after administrative pushback prompted a student demonstration. Pro-Palestine student group Pards for Palestine entered the year small but mighty, holding a series of small, peaceful protests in the spring, one eliciting rebuke from the college administration.
A group of underclassmen made a bid to bring Kappa Delta Rho — a disbanded Lafayette fraternity — back to campus, though its efforts have stalled. Another fraternity successfully joined campus — a multicultural fraternity, Phi Sigma Chi.
National politics grazed by Lafayette. The vice presidential debate, initially scheduled to be held on campus, was canceled after its candidates dismissed the Commission on Presidential Debates. Lafayette College and Northampton County were put in the national spotlight in an election that saw Donald Trump return to the presidency. The Department of Education’s investigation into Lafayette reached its conclusion, claiming that the college did not properly react to anti-Semitic social media posts and banners.
Student Government established a new temporary committee to gauge the opinions of the student body and made substantial upgrades to the Pard Pantry. The achievements occurred against a near-constant background noise of vacancies and bylaw violations.
Some sporting teams regressed in 2024, with the football team notably suffering a disappointing year, marked by a blowout loss to rival Lehigh. While the men’s basketball team surprised many with a 7-0 Patriot League run early in the season, their year was also marked by former head coach Mike Jordan settling his lawsuit with the college.
Meanwhile, a sophomore was charged in April with possession of child pornography and filming students in the shower, stunning campus. Months later, another student — this time an alumnus — was jailed for child pornography possession.
Administrators and staff members left the college, including Dean of Students Brian Samble, who departed in early January. College turnover continued well into 2024. Provost John Meieier left to take on a position at the American Mathematics Society, and two other staff members, Jennifer Dize and Karina Fuentes, left the college in August. Amidst the departures, new faces such as Provost Laura McGrane and Dean of Students Walter Snipes joined Lafayette’s leadership.
All the while, the college earned successful grants and climbed national rankings. It saw more than 10,000 applicants apply to Lafayette for the second time in history.
Administrators sought to finalize a long-term strategic plan for Lafayette. An updated mission and values statement, meant to communicate the college’s purpose and core principles, was finalized by the Board of Trustees in August after a series of revisions while the final strategic plan was passed in December. All was not rosy, however — the faculty rejected the strategic plan in a historic first after it had previously called for a formal endorsement of the plan.
We don’t know where 2025 will take us, but we’ll be here bringing you college news, as it should be.
