We are kicking off an academic year like no other. While the experience is not the same as years past, Tigers everywhere are adapting to find new ways to connect, teach and build community under these challenging circumstances.

A special virtual Outdoor Action Program was developed for the Class of 2024. The small-group orientation experience in August allowed the new undergraduates to get to know their classmates, learn about Princeton from their upperclass OA leaders, and experience a bit of “virtual adventure.”

On Sunday, Princetonians far and wide joined together virtually to welcome members of the new class with a series of events including President Eisgruber’s Welcome Message, a Pre-read Assembly with author Jill Lepore, and a virtual Step Sing.  

This academic year will indeed be one for the books, presenting us all with unique difficulties as we persist through the pandemic. But as President Eisgruber put it in his remarks to Princeton’s Great Class of 2024 during Sunday’s Opening Exercises: “You become Princeton Tigers not in easy times but in hard ones.”  Let us rise to this challenge together.   

Stay safe and healthy.

Michael Hotchkiss, Ayana Gibbs, Jess Fasano, and Ben Chang