Students Remain Speculative of Annual Prize Day

Every year, several students are awarded prizes based on their level of academic achievement in various departments.This year, the two-hour long Prize Day Assembly is planned to take place on June 5 and feature over a hundred different prizes.Prizes are awarded from every department and also feature several special prizes. Each department chooses prize winners through a different process. Although a majority of the students agree with the process by which departments select prize winners, there are several students who remain speculative.Upper Charlie Boyd believes that all prizes are chosen fairly. "The Department Prizes seem to be chosen fairly for they incorporate both grades as well as classroom intangibles that can’t be derived from a student's transcript. This is done through discussion by the teachers who taught the students throughout the year and therefore know what else they bring to a class."Lower Abby Scheetz argued, "Some prizes are fair, but with others some people don’t even know why they received it or feel that they were given it by chance."English teachers do a blind reading of all the papers submitted and only read in course levels that they have not taught in. There are three people on each committee who rank the English pieces, according to English department head Lundy Smith. He said, "Sometimes there are three winning papers, two, or even one. Sometimes equal prizes are given. We try to identify the best papers. There’s no set limit."He continued, "I remember an RAL won once that was a B paper, but the student worked really hard to revise it. It’s really exciting as a teacher to see students turn in papers that they revised—it really shows that they cared enough about the piece to work on it some more."The prize papers are bound in a collection that is available in the library. "I use the papers as examples when I teach the RAL, or when teachers ask me about Exeter’s writing program. I really hope that students get a chance to read them sometime," Smith said.The religion and history departments awards prizes to those who meet the criteria of particular prizes. Awards are given according to grade levels and can be awarded to a student who has only taken one course in the subject. Religion department head Thomas Ramsey said, "Different prizes recognizes students who have shown significant achievement in the curricular offerings of the religion department, and is given to students who have done excellent work in more than one course, and is typically given to uppers or seniors."Members of the department meet and discuss potential candidates for the Religion prizes, according to Ramsey. "Qualities of prize winning students in the past have included a passionate interest in the study of religion, ethics, and philosophy, a commitment to intellectual inquiry in these fields of study, breadth and depth of involvement, and excellence in the academic skills used in these disciplines," he said.Math awards are decided upon the scores of an optional test that students take halfway through the year. Upper Jack Bright said, "I like the math prizes because I think that they are the [fairest] prizes because you can’t argue with the test scores."Other prize winners are decided by the students themselves as in the case of the Gavit Prize. The Gavit Prize is presented annually to a member of the Upper Class and is selected by members of the Class and the Principal in recognition of outstanding character as displayed in all phases of school life.Prep Rex Bone believes that the Gavit Prize is a prize that can be looked forward to by all members of the Exeter community. He said, "I think the Gavit prize acts as a great incentive for upperclassmen, giving them something to strive for, a prize awarded not by teachers but by peers, which makes it all the more enticing."Upper TJ Hodges believes that the selection process for the Gavit Prize is fair. He said, "I don't think there's any harm in recognizing someone with strong character. Each upper receives a slip that has a description right next to the nomination line."Some think that the selection for the Gavit Prize has the greatest potential to be flawed. "It's a good concept, but people could easily abuse it and it could turn into a popularity contest," Prep Julia Borneman said.In the case of The MacKenty prize, which is awarded each year to the senior who has made significant contributions to the study of astronomy, the manner in which the winner has been chosen varies from year to year. "Most of these students have been involved in proctoring at the observatory or making an outstanding contribution to the astronomy classes or making the Astronomy Club active. Some have had long standing service and some haven't had quite as long but have been impressive in their stays," according to the observatory course link.After Prize Day, seniors will get another opportunity to receive graduation awards courtesy of several different colleges.