This article is featured in the 2026 Commencement special issue.
During their time on campus, the Class of 2026 saw Dartmouth transform in many ways. National events and institutional endeavors alike brought discussion and change to campus. As they prepare to graduate, The Dartmouth looks back at the biggest news stories from the Class of 2026’s four years at the College.
Class of 2026 welcomed on campus
The matriculation of the Class of 2026 in fall 2022 marked 50 years since the start of co-education at the College, as the first women to matriculate were members of the Class of 1976. At the time, the Class of 2026 was the most globally diverse in Dartmouth’s history, with 66 languages spoken and 64 countries represented. The class was also the first since 2019 to have a college experience unaffected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the spring term of their freshman year, football head coach Buddy Teevens ’79 — the winningest coach in Dartmouth football’s history — was injured in a bicycle accident on March 16, 2023. He later died of his injuries on Sept. 19, 2023. The stadium at Memorial Field was renamed the Buddy Teevens Stadium at Memorial Field in October 2024.
In February 2023, the College accepted a proposal from the Student Workers Collective at Dartmouth, the undergraduate dining workers union, for a new $21 hourly wage, up from $15. The proposal also included mental health and sick pay for undergraduate student dining workers. The SWCD voted unanimously to ratify the contract on Feb. 21.
On June 12, 2023, Sian Leah Beilock became Dartmouth’s 19th College President and is the first female president in College history. Later that month, the Supreme Court ruled against race-based affirmative action in college admissions. Shortly after, Beilock reaffirmed the College’s commitment to maintaining a diversity of “differences of opinion” and “lived experiences” in a campus-wide email.
Under Beilock, a focus on dialogue, institutional restraint amidst student protest
On Sept. 22, 2023, Beilock was inaugurated as the 19th College President. In her address to campus, Beilock emphasized the importance of alumni loyalty, “brave spaces,” breakthrough innovation, climate change action and mental health.
The year was marked by campus reactions to the escalating Israel-Palestine conflict. After Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Beilock condemned the terrorist group’s action, and Hillel and Al-Nur hosted vigils for victims of the war on Oct. 12 and Oct. 19, 2023, respectively.
Other reactions included student protest. On Oct. 28, 2023, two students were arrested for trespassing after setting up pro-Palestinian encampments in front of Parkhurst Hall. Efforts toward discourse on campus emerged in dialogues between the Middle Eastern studies department and the Jewish Studies department, notably during the week following the Oct. 7 attacks.
On Jan. 10, 2024, Beilock announced the Dartmouth Dialogues program, an initiative intended to teach “future leaders to engage meaningfully across political and personal differences,” according to the program’s webpage.
In February 2024, the College reinstated the standardized test requirement for applicants to the Class of 2029 and beyond. Dartmouth had adopted a test-optional policy for applicants to the Classes of 2025, 2026 and 2027 and a test-recommended policy for applicants to the Class of 2028.
In March 2024, members of the men’s basketball team voted to unionize, becoming the first American college athletes to do so. In December of the same year, the team withdrew the petition in anticipation that the incoming Trump administration would fill positions in the National Labor Relations Board with Republican appointees who could establish a negative precedent against college athletes’ unionization.
On May 1, 2024, police arrested 89 individuals at a pro-Palestinian protest on the Green, including students, faculty members and two reporters for The Dartmouth. The evening began at 5 p.m. with a “Labor For Liberation” protest and escalated after protestors began setting up tents on the Green. By the end of the night, New Hampshire state troopers had cleared the Green, according to past reporting by The Dartmouth.
A slight majority of participating students voted no confidence in a Dartmouth Student Government referendum on Beilock’s leadership on May 15, 2024, and the faculty of Arts and Sciences voted 183-163 to censure Beilock for her actions in response to the May 1 protest on May 20, 2024.
On Dec. 10, 2024, the College adopted a policy of institutional restraint, which named a new Committee on Institutional Statements the “official spokespeople for Dartmouth” and stated that the College “should exercise general restraint in issuing institutional statements” so to “provide space for diverse viewpoints to be raised and fully considered.” The institutional restraint policy replaced the previous “Institutional Statements versus Individual Statements” policy that had been in effect since June 1, 2022.
In April 2025, Beilock abstained from signing a letter authored by the American Association of Colleges and Universities condemning the Trump administration’s revocation of federal funding from universities and colleges for alleged civil rights violations, specifically towards Jewish students in the wake of Pro-Palestinian protests. The letter was signed by 530 universities in total; Dartmouth was the only Ivy League university to abstain from signing. Beilock defended her decision by stating that she believes petitions are “rarely effective tools to make change” in an email to campus. Thousands of alumni signed petitions supporting and opposing Beilock’s decision.
In October — almost one year after President Donald Trump defeated former vice president Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election — the College was offered and later rejected the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, which would have limited enrollment of international students to 15% and reduced grade inflation through “public accountability mechanisms,” among other provisions, in exchange for additional federal funding. Beilock wrote that the compact would have “compromised our academic freedom.” The eight other universities offered the compact alongside Dartmouth also rejected the deal.
Remembering Won Jang ’26 and Ryan Lafferty ’26
Won Jang ’26 was found dead on July 7, 2024 — during the Class of 2026’s sophomore summer — in the Connecticut River after attending an event co-hosted by members of Beta Alpha Omega fraternity and Alpha Phi sorority the night before. Jang was a member of Beta and is remembered for his optimism, generosity and care for others.
The two houses were suspended for two years for “repeated misconduct,” according to past coverage by The Dartmouth, and two Dartmouth students were charged with a misdemeanor for providing alcohol to minors. Jang’s death sparked re-evaluations of Greek life on campus, including the appointment of a new director of Greek life. Beta and APhi will both participate in formal recruitment for the fall 2026 term, marking the first time either of them do so since fall 2024.
On April 13, Ryan Lafferty ’26 died at age 23. Lafferty was the president of the Dartmouth Parliamentary Debate team and one of the most successful debaters in Dartmouth history. Lafferty is remembered for his brilliance, generosity and mentorship.
National events ripple to Dartmouth
Two weeks before conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk’s planned visit to Dartmouth, he was assassinated at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. Kirk had been invited by the Dartmouth Political Union to debate left-wing political commentator Hasan Piker. In a statement to The Dartmouth at the time, College spokesperson Jana Barnello wrote that the scheduled debate between Kirk and Piker was “rooted” in the College’s “principles” about political discourse and that the College “believe[s] deeply that free expression and respectful debate are essential to academic life.” On Sept. 25, 2025, the Dartmouth chapter of Kirk’s organization Turning Point U.S.A. hosted a vigil in honor of Kirk.
From December 2025 to February 2026, the Department of Justice released files relating to convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein, which included communications with and documents relating to former Dartmouth trustee and former Epstein client Leon Black ’73. Black previously donated $48 million to fund the construction of the Black Family Visual Arts Center on campus. The College states that it has “no current financial relationship” with Black and has no plans to re-name BVAC. Students and community members have protested the College’s decision to not rename the building.
Student-athletes excelled
In March, the men’s ice hockey team completed a historic run to win the Eastern College Athletic Division for the first time in program history, defeating Princeton University in overtime 2-1. The team’s ECAC title qualified them for the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament for the first time since 1980, where they were ultimately defeated by the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the first round.
Nordic Skier John Steel Hagenbuch ’26 represented Team USA in the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics this March, competing in the men’s 10K interval start freestyle and 4 x 7.5K relay.
Comedian Rachel Dratch ’88 will deliver the 2026 commencement address on June 14.
Olivia Sapper ’29 is a reporter from Darien, Conn., and is majoring in Government.
