Campus is Buzzing

Elizabeth Reid-Bey ’23 already had something in common with at least seven other freshmen in her class — the most popular female first name — though it took the Redford, Michigan, native a few weeks to feel settled into her new surroundings. 

“I was a little anti-social at first,” says the Music Therapy major. “But everyone here is very outgoing and especially in our class. I really tried to stay to myself but my classmates wouldn’t let me. Everybody was asking me to come out and be social. Now I have several good friendships.”

The College welcomed 387 new students this fall, and at least 348 of them are members of the Class of 2023. Overall enrollment is up to 1,217 — 87 ahead of last year. It is the second consecutive year the College has welcomed close to 400 new students.

“These larger classes change the educational and professional experience of students and faculty alike,” says Dr. Janet Bland, Provost. “For faculty, more students mean a greater distribution of majors and thus more people in the classes. It means the ability to offer a greater diversity of courses, and to create a critical mass of students sharing a field of study within a major or department.”

Having more students builds energy and excitement across the campus, strengthening Greek life membership, adding to the number of students participating in plays, and creating more competitive varsity athletics teams. 

“There are more students here, and likely more students who are interested in what you like, making for a richer campus and classroom experience,” Bland says.

Reid-Bey says she feels a special bond with her classmates every day.

“At first, my classes were a little rocky. A lot of us are used to coming from high schools where we didn’t have to study much,” she says. “You can’t do that here. Now we’re all getting into study groups and helping each other.”