Lehigh Valley Voice - August 01, 2022
Lafayette encourages students to jump into the thick of things, take risks, and care deeply
By Deb Lehman
Overlooking the historic Delaware River in Easton, P.A., Lafayette offers students a whole lot more than a scenic campus with easy proximity to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.
“Lafayette is a tradition-rich liberal arts college with a selective enrollment small enough to make you feel like you belong to a real community…and large enough to give you unique opportunities across the arts, sciences and engineering,” said Stephen Wilson, Executive Director, Communications Division.
“Lafayette demonstrates a powerful combination of academics and athletics, engineering and the liberal arts, campus and community,” Wilson continued. “Students approach problems with critical thinking from many perspectives. They then apply that thinking to create real-world discoveries and solutions that impact our local community and communities across the world.”
Yesterday and Today
James Madison Porter and 200 other Easton residents traveled to Philadelphia in 1824 to meet Marquis de Lafayette, last surviving major general of the American Revolutionary war. At 19, Lafayette defied his king and crossed the ocean to fight for an independent America. Inspired by the general who had fought alongside his father, Porter rallied the citizens of Easton in 1826 to establish a college that “shall be forever hereafter called and known by the name Lafayette College.”
“We still harness our namesake’s spirit, Lafayette,” said Wilson. “The Latin words, Cur Non, emblazoned on Lafayette’s banner, means Why Not and is our school’s motto. Why not have the courage to live boldly? Why not engage in every aspect of learning? Why not use your intellect, energy, and talent to find your place in the world?”
