Dorms Select Proctors for 2019-2020
Over the course of the past two weeks, boarding students opened their emails to find a list of students who would serve as proctors for the 2019-2020 school year. Excitement ensued as the incoming proctors took on the duties of checking in students, attending faculty-proctor meetings and, in many cases, planning upcoming teas.
The proctorship selection process demanded close collaboration between current proctors and dorm faculty, as they work to identify upperclassmen with strong leadership skills and compassion to best serve the dorm.
Upper Ervin Williams, a repeat proctor in Peabody, highlighted certain qualities that identify a strong proctor candidate. “Empathy, understanding and knowing your way around campus are some traits that help make a great proctor,” he listed. “To understand what other people are going through and understand that it isn’t something that you can judge.”
Senior and outgoing Dunbar proctor Ela Ferhangil echoed Williams’s thoughts. “I don’t think you necessarily have to be the loudest, the most energetic,” she added, “you have to have awareness and be able to tell if someone is having a problem without them directly coming to you.”
Similarly, Senior and outgoing Wheelwright proctor Abby Zhang stressed the importance of generating rapport and involvement in the dorm. “What makes a good proctor is someone who has a really large presence in the dorm and is already getting to know people and bringing everyone together,” she said.
Webster Dorm Head Alex Myers expanded on what role the proctors have in the dorm. “To welcome students to campus, to help students navigate life at Exeter, to support the students and faculty in the dorm, to build positive dorm culture. To enforce the rules. To help students make good decisions.”
Prospective proctors fill out an application detailing their intentions and potential strengths as proctor. After application submission, many dorms give feedback on the candidates from students through surveys, which proctors and faculty later go through. Certain dorms will decide to hold interviews with candidates.
Religion Instructor Nuri Friedlander, dorm faculty in Dunbar, detailed the balance between faculty and student voice. “We solicit feedback from the dorm, asking them for comments on the various people who’ve put themselves forward for candidates and to choose who they would want as a proctor. The faculty and the current proctors have a long meeting talking about that,” he said. Friedlander added that, in the end, the faculty make the final say on proctor decisions.
Upper Billy Menken, who will be a proctor in Abbot Hall next year, expressed his willingness to support younger students. “Proctorship first and foremost is about engaging the safety and wellbeing of students in the dorm,” he said. “I want to be a source of support and wisdom for incoming students as well as underclassmen who haven’t had as much experience with the Exeter system.”
Williams had the same wish to facilitate adjustment to the community, but also applied with consideration towards diversity and inclusion in leadership roles. “... Throughout my experience at Exeter, there was an acute lack of diversity when it came to proctorship and people of color in leadership positions," he said. "With my experiences and me being a black man of color, I feel like it was really important to give back to the Exeter community and [for] new students of color, make them feel welcome [and] feel like they have someone that they can talk to.”
Before the school year begins, rising proctors go through a training process which consists of several sessions over the course of spring term as well as a day of training before move-in day. Proctor training involves workshops which outline a proctor’s duties, as well as the steps they should take when presented with certain situations.
Menken noted that creating the right atmosphere plays a crucial role for helping incoming students adjust. “It’s especially important to get training in, either this spring or right before school starts. Creating the correct environment and setting the tone those first two weeks of the year definitely helps kids feel at home at Exeter,” Menken said.
Proctors have many responsibilities, both in and out of the dorm. “Proctor duties also depend on each dorm,” Cotter said. “A large part is duty nights, where people come to our rooms to check in and hopefully stay to chat for a while.” Proctors also take on the task of planning major events for their respective dorms. “We try to plan fun dorm events, like a dorm fantasy football league or a movie night,” Cotter added.
Reflecting on the overarching role of a proctor, Exonians believe that it is essential for proctors to build close relationships with the members of their dorm, particularly new students and underclassmen. “I consider [proctors] the preps’ first friends,” Issy Wise, senior and outgoing proctor in Hoyt Hall said. “We help the preps move in and act as the bridge between the dorm faculty and the students in the dorm.”
Being a proctor can be challenging, but many enjoy the leadership role. “I thoroughly enjoy being a proctor,” said Cotter. “It has been a lot of fun.The lowers [on my floor] have a lot more energy than I do at this point in my career as an Exonian, but that's a great thing. Getting to know everyone has been a great thing.”