After hours of lugging laundry baskets brimming with personal items and setting up their dorm rooms just right, the 387 students who comprise the Class of 2028 officially embarked on their Haverford experience last week. As the newest Fords joined their peers on campus, there were warm hellos and lingering goodbyes before they broke off into their groups to participate in Customs, the College’s signature year-long program for first-year students.
Drawn from 7,341 applications, the largest pool in Haverford’s long history, the Class of 2028 is diverse and vibrant. Students arrived from 27 countries and 37 U.S. states, and nearly 50% identify as people of color. More than 30% speak a language other than English at home, and 20 of them are Questbridge-matched students.
The first five days on campus, known more familiarly by the misnomer “Customs Week,” are centered on introducing the College’s Honor Code, student resources and academic offerings, tours of the campus and arboretum, and plenty of opportunities for fun. Thankfully for the first-year students, today’s fun is less about getting tossed in the Duck Pond than hypnotist shows, scavenger hunts, donuts with President Wendy Raymond, and the “supafun” dance in the Founders Hall. They met their pre-major advisors, learned more about what it means to live in community, and engaged in discussions about identity, justice, and dialogue at Haverford led by Vice President for Institutional Equity and Access Nikki Young and Dean of the College John McKnight.
Each year, Customs is capped with the Dorm Olympics, a color-war-style afternoon on Founders Green in which five teams compete in events like the human ring toss, sponge relay races, charades, and cup-stacking challenges. As the din of choreographed chants, playful taunting, and rumbling gym class scooters faded, team Green Arboretum was crowned the winner.
Welcome to Haverford, Class of 2028! We’re thrilled you’re here!
Photos by Patrick Montero and Paola Nogueras.
