The Class of 2023 have responded to the challenges these changing times presented in a variety of ways: for example, according to The Daily Princetonian’s Senior Survey, 16.4 percent of the class started as a member of a different class before taking a gap year during their time at Princeton.

Yet a striking statistic in the Senior Survey is despite all the challenges that the past four years have presented, more than 80 percent of seniors said that they were satisfied or very satisfied with their time at Princeton.  The Class of 2023 has built community, created great things and important pieces of art, led organizations, made critical discoveries, served the broader community, and lived through Princeton’s most interesting years.

The Class of 2023’s freshman year was one of the most dramatic in Princeton’s history – three fourths of the way through, the world changed forever with the COVID-19 pandemic.  As students scattered across the world, faculty adjusted to a course of study conducted almost entirely online. The University extended the pass/D/fail option to all undergraduate spring courses as a result of the pandemic.

The Ivy League canceled all spring athletic events and internships under the International Internship Program were also canceled, disrupting the summer plans of many first-years.  For the first time since it was established in 1876, The Daily Princetonian held production all summer.

Another major event took place on campus, after dozens of students, including members of the Class of 2023, were accused of cheating in MAT 202: Linear Algebra with Applications after a TA intentionally posted a false solution on the website Slader. The incident merited significant discourse on the TigerConfessions Facebook page.

The Class of 2023 also saw the end of a long time quirk in Princeton’s academic calendar.  They were part of the last class to have finals after winter break.  The next year, finals were moved before winter break and Wintersession was created.

Over the summer of 2020, protests erupted across the country after the killing of George Floyd. Over 1000 community members protested outside FitzRandolph gate, calling for systemic change.

The Class of 2023 began sophomore year like no other — entirely remote. The typical rhythms and traditions of the fall semester took place entirely virtually, with no small amount of struggle. Students dealt with the burnout and exhaustion that came with online learning, and those living abroad contended with time differences of 12 hours or more to attend their classes and office hours. Attempts to pivot social traditions like Lawnparties to a virtual format (including an $80,000 performance from Jason Derulo) were met with mixed reviews and criticism.

The spring brought a return to campus, albeit with most classes online and COVID-19 precautions such as the Social Contract, which limited student gatherings. The pandemic also took a toll on the mental health of students, with appointments at Counseling and Psychological Services reaching an all-time high in March.

Activists on campus also continued to push for change, including protesting the University’s handling of remains of victims of the 1985 MOVE police bombing. Members of the American Whig-Cliosophic Society debated rescinding an award given to Sen. Ted Cruz ’92 (R-Texas) after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

Things started to look up at the end of the year. In late April, the University allowed the last week of classes to be held in-person, outdoors. Around the same time, the first vaccines came to campus, and some varsity sports including softball, track and field, and crew returned to competition after a year-long hiatus. The slow return to normalcy brought increasing hope for the fall ahead.

After a year and a half of virtual learning, the Class of 2023 escaped their bedrooms and headed back to the classroom fully in-person for the first time since their freshman year. While daily testing and face coverings became the new normal, students were hopeful for a post-COVID-19 campus.

A tornado warning on the first day of fall semester could not rain on the Class of 2023’s parade as students went back to enjoying usual on-campus activities. Students traded out their kitchen Keurig for the fresh coffee of Murray-Dodge Cafe and The Coffee Club, their bedroom desks for Firestone study sessions, and Netflix nights for weekends on a reopened Street. 

Students were brought together through beloved fall campus traditions. The Class of 2023 experienced their first bonfire after the football team swept the Ivy League and danced at the first Lawnparties since their freshman fall. 

Improvement to campus accessibility were in the works: including an accessible Nassau Hall and accessible transit service after advocacy from students with disabilities.

The road to the end of the fall semester was bumpy, as COVID-19 cases rose sharply over Thanksgiving break. Exams took a remote-format and students were asked to leave “at the earliest possible convenience.”

Though the Spring started with all dining halls reverting to a grab-and-go format. The University dropped most pandemic restrictions after spring break, including lifting of indoor mask mandates. Memories of freshman faces were replaced with matured faces no longer hidden by masks. 

The beginning of the Class of 2023’s senior year featured excitement, chaos, and expansion on campus, as the University opened two new residential colleges (only a few weeks late), and demolished First College, formerly known as Wilson College, which many seniors called home at the beginning of their Princeton journey. The new, more modern buildings came as the University went into a post-pandemic construction frenzy, which made some seniors sentimental for the campus they fell in love with as first-years. 

In big campus news, students welcomed the University’s announcement that it would divest from all publicly-funded fossil fuel companies and dissociate from most fossil fuel companies. This news came after years of student activism – though a plurality of seniors believe that the University has not gone far enough with divestment.

It was a year of major athletic success. Princeton seniors struck gold with their timing as they were able to watch the Men’s Basketball Team, led by seniors Tosan Evbuomwan and Ryan Langborg, lit campus on fire by winning two March Madness games, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in school history.

The Class of 2023 prevailed through a college experience far different than what they expected and is set to celebrate their accomplishments at what is supposed to be one of the largest reunions in history. It’s hard to say what the future will bring, but the Class of 2023 can step through FitzRandolph Gate knowing they survived through some of the toughest months at Princeton and came out successfully on the other side.