Exonians Ring In School Year With Big Red Carnival

This past Saturday, Sep. 12, Student Activities hosted the Big Red Carnival at Love Gym. The event, which began at 7:30 p.m., turned out to be a festive success: students poured into the gym to play carnival games, eat cotton candy and socialize with new and returning friends. Throughout the night, the gym was bustling with the sounds of laughter and talk.As the first event of the year, the carnival naturally gathered a large crowd. “Many of the stations, including the photo booth, were popular and had lines most of the evening,” science instructor Scott Saltman said.Students found the carnival a fun and friendly environment conducive to meeting new people and a warm way to introduce the new students to the community.“I think it was a great event to not only have fun, but also to meet new people. There were lots of people around which made mingling easier and cliques harder to maintain,” senior Jordan Haney said.Others enjoyed the laid-back nature of the carnival and its light-hearted fun. “Everybody I saw seemed to be having a good time. Doing the carnival seems like a good low-key way to welcome everyone back and to welcome new students,” Saltman said.In years past, the Academy has always hosted its traditional Dunbar Hall “Back in Black” dance on the first Saturday of the year, but it has been postponed to Sept. 26. While students were surprised by the change, many viewed it positively, describing the carnival as a warmer and safer environment to welcome new students, many of who were still nervous about assimilating into the Exeter community.Senior and proctor of Dunbar Hall Maegan Moriarty understood and appreciated the change of events, describing the carnival as “a preventive friendly environment.”“I want to say the purpose of the carnival was to introduce the new kids to the campus and to give them a more fun and inviting Saturday night as opposed to a ‘Back in Black’ dorm dance where they might be subject to some exterior pressures,” Moriarty said.Indeed, because of its friendly nature, the carnival was well received by preps and new lowers. “All the preps and new lowers that I talked to had a really great time. They all came back to the dorm with balloon animals and caricatures and were really excited about them. It was really nice to see that,” Moriarty said.From bean bag and ring toss games, to the inflatable wrecking ball to the high striker, students had lots to do at the carnival. Director of Student Activities Joanne Lembo noted that students especially enjoyed the “Selfies with the Principal” booth, fortune tellers, painted caricatures and especially testing their strength on the high striker.For others, the best part of the night was the food. Above the bleachers, students could take a break from the competitions and refuel with some tasty snacks including snow cones, cotton candy and fried dough. “The food and shaved ice was a great thing to do because no one wants to have fun on an empty stomach!” Haney said.Later in the night, students were given the opportunity to take selfies and hang out with the Academy’s new principal, Lisa MacFarlane. MacFarlane said she had a “wonderful time” meeting and spending time with students from all different parts of campus. She felt very welcomed into the community. “I just hope the pictures come out okay!” MacFarlane joked.While students enjoyed the carnival, many wished for more activities, noting the long lines and empty gym spaces. “I think the carnival was fun but could have been a little more suited for our age. I wish there had been a bouncy house and more inflatables. It would have made the night more fun and interactive,” upper Alex Rothstein said.Others also realized that the event lasted longer than necessary. “By 9:30, most of the students had left, so I don’t think it needed to be running for three hours,” Saltman said.While returning students thought the event was great for hanging out with old friends, they also wished there were more opportunities or icebreakers to meet the new students. “The carnival wasn’t really an area to meet new people. It was more of a place to catch up with old friends,” Rothstein said.Despite these comments, the Big Red Carnival proved to do exactly what was needed: welcome students to campus with a fun night.“The carnival was really cool. I met a group of friends, and we pretty much roamed around the gym and ate fried dough and snow cones [all night]. I didn’t really know people outside of my dorm before the carnival, so I was really happy to finally meet other people. I felt a little more normal, a little less fish out of the water,” lower Amanda Sherwood said.