Year in Review, Fall: Exeter Explores “Goodness” Through Open Forum Conversations

During the fall term, goodness and its involvement on campus were discussed through several media. The discussion began with an assembly in October led by religion instructor Russell Weatherspoon, who spoke about the importance of combining goodness with knowledge at Exeter.

Following his assembly, Student Council (StuCo) held an assembly centered around goodness in the style of an open council; any student could stand up and share his or her thoughts about goodness at Exeter.

At these assemblies and around campus, many students criticized Exeter’s competitive culture and the tendency for students to act individually instead of with others as a community.

This negative competition was seen to be in direct opposition to Exeter’s values of non-sibi and goodness. In order to further the discussion, the entirety of the faculty met for a Harkness style meeting to ask the question, “What is goodness?”

During this meeting, the faculty analyzed the presence—or lack—of goodness throughout many aspects of Exeter life, and debated the varying views of goodness, while looking for concrete solutions and steps that could be taken for improvement.

Although there were diverse opinions on the definition of goodness, throughout the discussions it was evident that both faculty and students believed in the community’s need for unification.