In a Summer Rainstorm, Opening Exercises Welcome Class of 2030

Braving a brief but dramatic downpour, the Class of 2030 and incoming transfer students took part in the University’s Opening Exercises on the lawn of Nassau Hall, armed with umbrellas and bingo cards. 

“We are going to keep powering through because you are the Class of 2030 and this will be memorable,” President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 promised the crowd as the light summer mist turned into a cloudburst. 

In his remarks, Eisgruber spoke about the importance of a liberal arts education in an age of artificial intelligence and recounted personal experiences as a college student and law professor to encourage students to pursue scholarly exercise of their own minds rather than seek shortcuts. 

He closed by reading a passage from the poem “Ithaka” by Constantine P. Cavafy, aptly selected after the recent release of Christopher Nolan’s summer blockbuster The Odyssey, to remind students to slow down and enjoy their time at Princeton. Eisgruber added that the “journey” of the next four years “will be Princeton’s most precious gift to you.”

Bailey Taylor ’30 liked the unifying message of the interfaith ceremony, which featured several readings from different faith traditions. He was also impressed that the ceremony continued despite the rain. “That shows spirit,” he said. 

Originally from the U.K., where the educational system often requires students to specialize earlier in their careers, Taylor said he is excited to experiment with his interests for his first years on campus. 

Collin Holifield ’30, a transfer from Missouri who served for four years as a technical engineer in the U.S. Army, said he aligns with Eisgruber, who cautioned against using AI’s information-retrieval abilities as a substitute for substantive problem-solving.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily the use of AI that’s wrong,” Holifield said. “It’s just the inherent disability you’re imposing on yourself and your way of learning.”

Freshly back from one of Princeton’s service- and outdoor-centered orientation programs, Holifield recounted how his Community Action group partnered with Friends of Princeton Open Space to remove invasive vines from trees and helped hand out educational pamphlets at an event in Trenton supporting schoolteachers. Acknowledging Princeton’s privilege, he said it was good to interact with communities outside the Orange Bubble.

Derek Chen ’30, a Princeton native, participated in another orientation program, Dialogue and Difference in Action, centered around small-group discussions of complex topics. He said the issue of transformative justice — an alternative approach to addressing violence by prioritizing harm reduction in the local community — intrigued him the most.

“I heard a diverse range of perspectives and definitely need some more time to parse it out,” he said. 

Michael Wei ’30, who hails from Florida, participated in Outdoor Action and was excited to go on a camping trip to Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania. 

“We went up the mountain, saw the view. It was really nice,” he said, adding that his group fortunately avoided a thunderstorm while there.

One of the bingo cards distributed by Tiger Magazine at Opening Exercises in September. 

Courtesy of Tiger Magazine

The same luck didn’t follow him to Princeton, however. When asked about his thoughts on Eisgruber’s remarks, Wei said he missed parts of the speech because of the rain. 

Fortunately, he had been able to follow along on his bingo card, distributed by Tiger Magazine to, in their words, “help you hang onto every word.” Squares included: “ ’gruber mentions his time at Princeton,” “AI hated on in professional lingo,” “name-drops famous alum,” and “The Princeton Experience®.”

At the conclusion of Eisgruber’s speech, a few voices in the crowd could be heard saying, “Bingo!”

“We did not win,” Wei and Holifield said, laughing as they left Opening Exercises.

BY THE NUMBERS

UNDERGRADUATE CLASS OF 2030

First-time, first-year enrollment: 1,414

Asian American: 23% 
Black or African American: 8.4%
Hispanic or Latino: 9.7% 
Multiracial: 7.3%
American Indian or Alaska Native: 0.1%
Native Hawaiian American or Other Pacific Islander: 0% 
White: 29.1%
Race/ethnicity unknown: 8.5%

International students: 12% 
Children of alumni: 11%
Receive financial aid: 71%
Eligible for Pell Grants: 25%
First-generation college students: 19%
Bachelor of science in engineering students: 26%

TRANSFER STUDENTS
Enrolled: 35
From community colleges: 32
Military (reservists or veterans): 20

GRADUATE STUDENTS
Applicants: 19,879
Admitted: 1,175 (6%)
Enrolled: 674
Doctoral-degree students: 513
Master’s-degree students: 161
Humanities and social sciences: 321
Natural sciences and engineering: 353
International students: 317