PEA to Discuss ALES Film for Academy Life Day

Instead of the usual apple-picking or mug-painting, Academy Life Day this year will be devoted to screening a film produced by the Afro-Latino Exonian Society (ALES) that highlights instances of racial injustice on campus. Following the showing, there will be time for reflection and discussions on diversity and promoting inclusivity in the Exeter community. The Dean of Students Office spearheaded the change along with the Principal’s Staff.

“I fear that attempting to address such a serious and hard issue on what traditionally has been a light-hearted day of fun will cause backlash from the student body as they feel that they are being punished for the administration’s mishaps.”

Academy Life Day falls on Monday, September 25. No classes are held. The day was previously used as a time for dorm bonding activities; however, according to Dean of Residential Life AJ Cosgrove, in the coming years it will likely be used as a platform for Exonians to reflect on what it means to live in the Exeter community.

According to Cosgrove, the administration felt that it was important for the student body to watch the video made by ALES. He added that Academy Life Day worked well as a time to show students this video. “Academy Life Day is well-suited for this kind of commitment. It provides time to watch the video, time for reflection and time for discussions,” Cosgrove said.

ALES made the video in an effort “to bring to light the experiences of Black and Latinx Exonians that often [go] ignored or unheard of by the administration,” upper Rose Martin said. In addition to producing this video, the club met with the administration in the winter term of the 2016-2017 school year to discuss possible methods of making Exeter a more inclusive place for students of color.

After meeting with the administration to highlight racial inequity on campus with little active response, ALES filmed a video of Black and Latinx Exonians sharing their experiences on campus in order to “increase the consciousness of the racial inequity and unjust experiences that occurred with students,” according to ALES Board Member and lower Kaleb Washington.

On the final day of the 2016-2017 school year, the club played the video for faculty members and the administration. The video prompted the administration to call an emergency school-wide assembly to apologize for their inaction, and to express their willingness to work with ALES to improve both on-campus and off-campus culture.

At the opening assembly of the 2017-2018 school year, Principal MacFarlane announced that the school would use Academy Life Day to show all students the video ALES made, followed by reflections and discussions on the video.

This announcement was met with mixed reactions from students who agreed on the importance of everyone watching the video ALES made, but felt that Academy Life Day was not the proper time to show the video. “Addressing racism on campus should be the administration’s top priority,” senior Joaquin Riojas said. “While it’s nice to see they are taking a step in the right direction, I don’t think taking away Academy Life Day is the appropriate thing to do.”

Riojas’ dorm, Abbot Hall, has traditionally gone to the beach for a cookout on Academy Life Day, and he said that he wanted to preserve the day for this purpose because of its reputation as a day of recreation. “I fear that attempting to address such a serious and hard issue on what traditionally has been a light-hearted day of fun will cause backlash from the student body as they feel that they are being punished for the administration’s mishaps,” Riojas said.

Washington expressed similar thoughts to Riojas in that the video should be played on a day that doesn’t compromise dorm-bonding time. “Personally, I disagree with the change in Academy Life Day because it’s not the student’s fault the administration failed to show the video last year, so I believe the video should be shown on their time, not time that is dedicated to the students,” Washington said.

Senior Tim Han, whose dorm Gould House ordinarily goes bowling on Academy Life Day, hopes that if dorm bonding time is lost on Academy Life Day, it can be recovered another time. “I agree that there definitely needs to be a conversation about the issues that ALES brought up. I just hope that the dorm bonding aspect of Academy Life Day will not be lost in the process.”

Cosgrove alleviated student worries by noting that dormitory heads have the money budgeted for Academy Life Day, and that he is encouraging dorm heads and day student advisors to still devote time to dorm activities. He added, “Dorm bonding never happens in a day, and the variety of experiences that happen for students on Academy Life Day tended to be uneven. We are excited that the entire community will be participating in a discussion on diversity and inclusion.”

Along with Cosgrove, students and teachers are eagerly anticipating seeing the video made by ALES and reflecting on its message together. Math Instructor Filip Sain said, “What I hope we get out of it is that we will be better able to see and relate to each other as individuals.”

Upper Niko Amber had similar hopes to Sain as to the effect of the video on campus life. She said, “I hope it will spark a conversation about some of the injustices students of color have been facing on campus, and hopefully at least people will be more aware.” She added, “Being ignorant of what is happening is not better than perpetuating it.”

Along with the goal of sparking conversations, the screening of the video is part of the school’s efforts to become a more inclusive community. Martin said, “This change, along with the diversity training for faculty, is greatly appreciated, but there is room for more. This is the beginning of a turning point at our school.”