Easton, PA, is a suburban town located in the Lehigh Valley, near PA's border with New Jersey. It's near two major rivers, the Delaware and the Lehigh. The closest city is Allentown, but Lafayette is also within an hour's drive of Philadelphia and New Jersey cities like Trenton and Newark. Lafayette College is located on top of a hill above the city of Easton. Easton is not much of a college town at all. It used to be a manufacturing hub and you can still see the remains of what used to be a vibrant city. There is a main circle with some restaurants and shops, but most students rarely go into the city. Drinky’s is one of the only bars in Easton and you need an ID to get in, so it usually isn‘t something students plan to do on the weekends. Some older students with cars can travel to bars in the area, but underclassmen don’t have easy access to bars. So, the bar scene at Lafayette is lacking. Easton also doesn’t have a good reputation in terms of safety. Walking through Easton one afternoon, I was a little weirded out by some of the people I saw hanging out on the sidewalk. It is good advice to never walk around there at night and if you do choose to do so, do so with a group of people. The weather is really nice at the beginning of school and begins to get colder as November approaches. The temperatures normally don’t dip below 20 degrees but some days are really cold. However, it never gets as cold as some Midwestern schools. Overall, the weather isn’t that hard to deal with.

Lafayette is situated on a 110-acre campus in Easton, PA, near several bodies of water, including Bushkill Creek and the Delaware River. It's a suburban campus with plenty of green spaces and regional foliage, and a central quad serves as the campus' center. Pardee Hall is the largest academic building on campus, while Kirby Hall of Civil Rights is said to be one of the most expensive (it was designed by the same firm that designed Grand Central Terminal). Most academic buildings are at the center of campus, with residential and cultural buildings a little further out. Fisher Field and Fisher Stadium, the primary athletic facilities, are situated at campus' north end, and many of the frat and sorority houses are located to the south. As reported by a Freshman: “Lafayette College has a very small campus. The longest walk I have from my dorm to a classroom is only, at most, six minutes. Most buildings on campus are conveniently located around the quad. The library is at one end, and Farinon Student Center is at the other. Dorms and classrooms border the other sides. The campus is beautiful, and I would say that it is one of the strengths of Lafayette College. The architecture is not as impressive as Princeton’s gothic structures, but is still very pleasant. Skillman Library stands out the most because of its modern architecture. You can see students studying from across the quad because of its transparent windows and bright lights. There is also a really cool sculpture next to it. Walking through campus you will probably come across crazy squirrels that will amuse you. More than once I have stopped to observe these squirrels chasing each other. Fall at Lafayette is amazing. The colors that appear during that season make it my favorite time to be on campus. The only oddly-located building on campus is the William E. Simon Center for Economics and Business which is situated down a hill from Pardee, one of the main classroom buildings on campus. =Going to and from this building you have to walk up a bunch of stairs, but we can all use the calf workouts once in a while, can’t we? In general, the campus is really easy to get around and the buildings and scenery are pleasant to the eye.”

Lafayette freshmen live in double rooms in one of 12 residential halls: Conway House, Easton Hall, PT Farinon House, Gates Hall, Kamine Hall, Keefe Hall, Kirby House, Marquis Hall, McKeen Hall, Ruef Hall, South College-Jesser Hall, and Watson Hall. First-year on-campus housing is required for all students not living with relatives in the Easton area. Upperclassmen can either continue to live in one of the 12 residential halls (except for Conway, PT Farinon, and Kamie) or upperclass dorms Fisher East & West, Rubin Hall, Soles Hall, and Watson Courts. If they are members of a fraternity or sorority, they must live in their respective Greek houses. There is also Honors housing and Special Interest theme-housing available. As reported by a Senior: “South College- Best dorm to live in if you are the party type. If you want to study on the weekends, you will probably have trouble finding a quiet place to do so. This dorm is conveniently located, as it is close to most major classroom buildings. Houses freshman and sophomores. Watson Courts- This is the dorm of choice for upperclassmen who like to party. It is located right next to Farinon Student Center, and is where many clubs and varsity teams have parties on weekends. These are usually exclusive to the sports team. The actual dorm is very nice. Most of them have two floors, a couple rooms, and at least one bathroom. There is a mini kitchen and lounge area. Reuf Hall- Located right behind South College on the edge of the hill above Easton. Reuf has an unusual floor system, in that there is the 2nd 1st floor, a 1st 2nd floor and so on. It is somewhat confusing but residents get used to it. There is a statue down from Reuf Hall, at the beginning of the stairs to Easton, that attracts pot smokers on any day of the week. Kamine- This is a dorm far from most buildings on campus. However, since Lafayette has a small campus, it really isn’t a hassle to get to and from class. Below Kamine is Simon’s, the campus sandwich shop, which recently added a new sandwich called “The Kicker” as the winner of a contest. Late night runs to Simon’s are very common. Kamine has 3 floors, with about 40 people on each floor. It is coed by floor, which is very common at Lafayette, meaning one side is female and the other side is male. Easton Hall- Located next to Delta Upsilon fraternity, Easton is a dorm for freshman that houses all types of students. Watson Hall- This is the only dorm that is isolated from all the others. It is next to Acopian Engineering Center, and houses students from all classes. It is known to house mostly quiet students. Kirby Hall- A dorm located right around the quad, Kirby houses upperclassmen in rooms of 2 or more. There is a main lounge in the hall that has old paintings and very antique furniture. It is a nice looking dorm. Fisher East and West- These are suites for upperclassmen, located next to Kamine. They are known to be pretty nice dorms that house athletes. Rubin Hall- Another dorm for upperclassmen. Ramer- A dorm for upperclassmen located around March field next to some fraternities. PT Farinon(PT for short) and Conway -Wellness dorms located in the same area as Kamine. These dorms are next to the road that goes through Lafayette, and are also across from the tennis courts. Simon’s is an easy walk away. It is also located next to two sororities, where you can hear girls screaming during rush week. There are only 30 people in each dorm. If you want to party in your dorm, do not sign up for any of these dorms. However, if you don’t like to drink and like to keep quiet on weekends, these are the dorms for you. As a freshman, if you want to party, sign up for South College. Freshmen do have a choice for dorming and most students usually get their first choice. If you want a wellness dorm and do not drink, choose Conway or PT. Kamine was also quite strict this year, so don’t plan on drinking freely in that dorm either. Reuf and Easton are both fun dorms as well, where any type of person could fit in. After your freshman year, you will probably know which dorm you want to reside in your sophomore year, as you will have learned what the dorms are like.”

The Lafayette Leopards compete in 23 Division I sports, in addition to club and intramural sports. Men's varsity sports include: baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, tennis, swimming & diving, and track & field. Women's varsity sports include: basketball, cross country, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming & diving, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. Lafayette's primary rivalry (a.k.a. The Rivalry) is against Lehigh College. As reported by a Junior: “Lafayette College offers students an array of athletic opportunities, which includes 23 Division I sports(except football), 18 club sports, and over 30 intramural sports. The school’s mascot is the Leopard and the school colors are maroon and white. The main rival of Lafayette is Lehigh University. The football team made three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division I-AA football tournament from 2004-2006, but they did not make the Patriot League tournament this year because of a last second loss to Holy Cross in 2008. American football innovations at Lafayette include the first use of the huddle and the invention of the head harness, precursor to the football helmet. The men's basketball program also has a long history, peaking in the late nineties under the leadership of Fran O'Hanlon, who led the Leopards to back-to-back Patriot League championships and NCAA Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2000. These seasons were documented by John Feinstein in his book, The Last Amateurs. Most teams have had success over the years with the Women’s Lacrosse team winning 10 championships, Men’s Soccer winning 6, Women’s Field Hockey winning 7, and Football winning 5. Keep in mind that the Patriot League has only been around for a little over 2 decades, so the success of Lafayette athletics is quite impressive. The Men’s Soccer team has recruited two All-Americas for the 2009 season. Andy Romans and Shaun Adair, two senior football alumni, have a chance to play in the NFL, as scouts attended games and practices during the 2008 season. The Women’s Basketball team reached the final of the Patriot League tournament as the 7th seed, but lost to Lehigh by a score of 64-56. For such a small college, Lafayette has high quality sports and very strong athletes who excel at what they do. Sadly enough, this does not carry over to the rest of the student body. There is no school spirit for sports at Lafayette College. Football games are usually never full, and the people in attendance are parents and relatives of players, in addition to some local folks. Sometimes, the basketball games get so quiet you can talk to the players on the court. The 2008 Lafayette-Lehigh game was a disappointment, not only in the way the Lafayette football team played, but the performance of the fans. Many high school crowds are louder than the ones here. It is quite unfortunate because the quality of our teams is relatively high and the student-athletes should be recognized for what they bring to the college.”