Dear Whitman College Class of 2026,
Welcome to Princeton and to the best residential college! We are Suhani Balachandran and Laura 
Sandoval, the co-chairs of the Whitman College Council (WCC) for this upcoming academic year. We 
hope you all are having a great summer and are excited to begin your Princeton journey. Everyone 
here at Whitman is so excited to welcome you!

Other residential colleges may claim they are the best, but Whitman is the clear winner. From our 
lovely (air-conditioned!!) dorms to the most beautiful courtyard for studying and playing spikeball 
(and where we often host food trucks), you will truly find a second home within our white castle 
walls. But what really makes Whitman one of a kind is the people: the amazing workers, incredible 
college staff, and your future best friends are all waiting for you here.
Princeton, while presenting you with so many opportunities to explore your interests and follow 
your dreams, will absolutely push you far out of your comfort zone. But the people at Whitman 
College will always provide a safe, comfortable, and inviting community you can count on, a support 
system that will be there for you all four years here and beyond.

One foundational aspect of our freshman year was the WCC, a group of students that aims to 
strengthen the Whitman community by organizing many events and acting as a liaison between Whitman 
students and college staff. Some of what we do includes:
-  Study breaks: biweekly opportunities to get away from that Writing Sem essay or physics p-set 
for fun activities with old and new friends and great food on us!
-  College events: examples include Whitman Olympics, a friendly competition between zee groups; 
Spring Fling, a food- and fun-filled celebration of the end of the year; and trips to NYC for 
Broadway shows or local farms for pumpkin- and apple-picking!
-  Student support and advocacy: the transition to college is stressful and can feel isolating, but 
we are here to let you know that you are never alone. We’re committed to collaborating with college 
staff to solve any issues that arise within the Whitman community, especially providing support to 
address those related to student mental health.

We hope that you are looking forward to your time at Princeton and Whitman! If you have any 
questions, thoughts, or even just want to introduce yourself (don’t be shy!), feel free to email us 
at suhani@princeton.edu and lauravergara@princeton.edu! We can’t wait to make your first year as 
amazing as it can be.

On behalf of the whole WCC, we give you a warm Whitman welcome to Princeton!
With lots of WHALE love,
Suhani Balachandran ‘25 and Laura Sandoval ‘25
WCC 2022-23 Co-Chairs