Lycoming College 2020 President's Report/Magazine

, 24 With an applicant pool of nearly 3,000, the Class of 2024 includes 337 first-year students, on par with past entering classes. Twenty-three percent of the first-year students rank in the top decile of their high school class — four percentage points above average for freshmen classes of the past decade. High school aptitude test scores of this class are some of the highest on record. Student- athletes make up 37 percent of the study body. Academic majors spread across all disciplines, with the top five being biology, business, criminal justice, astrophysics, and psychology. Forty percent of these incoming students identify as domestic students of color. The group of incoming students is also geographically diverse, with 45 percent of the class hailing from outside of Pennsylvania, including 20 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, as well as from other countries such as Jamaica, Japan, and Mauritius. President Kent Trachte accepted the Class of 2024 on behalf of the College’s board of trustees before addressing the group, touching on how this class will begin its journey “at an unprecedented time in the history of our country,” as the pandemic and calls for racial justice have come to the forefront of the national dialogue. “As a college founded in the tradition of the liberal arts, Lycoming College seeks to create a culture that respects every human life, rejects extremism in any form, and resists the temptation to simplify complex issues and the practice of demonizing others,” Trachte said. “Rather, we strive to understand cultural difference and T H E C L A S S O F appreciate a variety of viewpoints. We seek to be a place where uncomfortable and difficult conversations can take place, where people can reason together, not yell at each other.” Breaking with tradition, Jalen Williams ’21, a criminal justice major and president of the Lycoming Student Senate, addressed students with a pre-recorded video in the days leading up to Convocation. Williams provided words of encouragement to ease the transition to college. “There will be a lot of unanswered questions going into this year, and the Student Senate and all of its organizations have had to change how we run our lifestyles, but that’s okay because Lycoming Warriors are resilient, flexible, and innovative,” he said. “We will push through this, and the presidents of all our clubs are ready to accept any challenge.” Female Students Domestic Students of Color Out of State Athletic Recruits 54 % 40 % 45 % 37 % 19 www.lycoming.edu