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A variety of WU students sit and stand on upward trending arrows. Art by Addie Martin. Last year, the Willamette administration prepared for the “demographic cliff,” or a decline in first-year enrollment brought on by low, recession era birth rates. But now, in the 2025-26 academic year, despite the demographic cliff showing its effects, undergraduate enrollment is up. Willamette's 2025 enrollment trends depict fewer first-year students, but expanded transfer and graduate s

Ken Wytsma, Willamette’s new chaplain, speaks with The Collegian in his office in the Dean’s Suite in Smullin Hall on Sept. 30, 2025. Photo by Keenan Yoshizawa. This fall, Willamette welcomed Pastor Ken Wytsma as the newest university chaplain, marking the return of the chaplaincy role to Willamette since the closure of the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life (OSRL) in June 2024. Wytsma is a scholar of justice, theology, history, and religion and an author. One of his b

Rally-goers gather along Center Street and Summer Street for the “No Kings” Rally on Oct. 18, 2025. Photo by Keenan Yoshizawa. Thousands gathered on Oct. 18 at the Oregon State Capitol State Park with signs, and some with inflatable costumes, to join the “No Kings” rally and march through downtown Salem. Across the capitol mall, a smaller crowd of approximately 150 people gathered in a rally to promote a petition to recall Oregon Governor Tina Kotek. This “No Kings” event in