Underclassmen to Arrive on Campus on October 3

By  Andrea Luo and Amy Lum

After four weeks of remote learning, underclassmen will be returning to campus on Oct. 3. In the first month of the academic year, however, the Exeter community found new ways to connect with younger students. The New Student Orientation, hosted by the Browne Center on Sep. 8 and 9 for preps and lowers, respectively, helped new students navigate the basics of Harkness in a virtual format. 

Once lowerclassmen arrive on campus later this week, returning students will spend their first days back with their residential community. Meanwhile, new students will be guided by student leaders on Saturday and Sunday to explore campus. Although a virtual tour of the Academy was shared in a pre-orientation course module via Canvas, many students will be stepping on campus for the first time due to the cancellation of Experience Exeter last spring. Students will find opportunities to connect within their dorm through events planned by dorm heads and proctor teams. Additionally, Student Activities will be planning outdoor social activities with the greater Exeter community.

A second round of virtual programming with the Browne Center will take place on Monday, Oct. 5 for preps and lowers. Students will participate in collaborative problem-solving activities, in addition to practicing their Harkness skills in person. Preps will be grouped by their Health classes, while lower graders will be grouped by English class. 

Upperclassmen are looking forward to the arrival of younger students, especially with the campus at half capacity. Over the past month, proctors have hosted multiple virtual gatherings over Zoom to construct a welcoming dorm environment.

Some proctors have expressed the difficulties of welcoming students online. “I’ve always thought of the proctor role as both an opportunity and responsibility to connect with the younger students and mentor them as the proctors did for me when I was new,” Bancroft proctor Margaret Norsworthy-Edghill said. “The virtual experience fails to build the typical type of bond, particularly the trust aspect.”

Additionally, proctors have recognized the challenges that new lowerclassmen will face upon arrival. “Without in-person classes, I imagine it will be very difficult for new students to meet each other. I also know it will be difficult for them to say goodbye to their families so abruptly outside of the dorm and then unpack by themselves,” Langdell proctor Ellie Griffin noted.

Despite these challenges, proctors are very much looking forward to inviting new students to campus. “Everybody in my dorm is excited to have more people in the dorm as it is quite empty right now. New students, especially lowerclassmen, always bring positive energy into the dorm,” Main Street proctor Alex Fraser said. 

Fellow proctor Akili Tulloch agreed. “[T]he dorm doesn’t feel the same with only upperclassmen.”

To create opportunities for new students to get to know one other, proctors have planned various outdoor activities. Langdell proctor Scarlett Lin noted that her dorm has planned an apple cider and donut gathering, a scavenger hunt and a s’mores night for the next few weekends. Meanwhile, Peabody proctor Tony Xiao said his dorm will be conducting an egg drop.

Dorm faculty are optimistic that student leaders will work to create a seamless transition to campus for lowerclassmen. “We are hopeful that those upperclassmen who have been here for a few weeks will be good role models for the new arrivals, both from a perspective of health and safety and also in helping them navigate the day-to-day highs and lows of school here,” Wentworth dorm head Sean Campbell said. 

New students have discovered new ways to connect before their arrival. Many have gotten to know one another over social media and messaging platforms, such as Instagram (@phillipsexeter2024) and Discord. With lots of time on their hands during quarantine, the prep class began forming an online community back in March.

Some students found the Browne Center experience a helpful way to become accustomed to Harkness. In groups of twelve to thirteen people, students solved various puzzles that prioritized collaboration and listening skills. Some of these activities included getting through a maze, saying everyone’s names within a certain time frame and analyzing the meaning of pictures. Students learned the core of the Harkness method: understanding others’ point of view in order to learn. 

However, for many students, classes were harder to adjust to. “It was a fun activity for sure, but I wouldn’t say it really prepared me for the year. Zoom Harkness is tricky, and I feel like it applies differently in each class,” prep Akubah Ndubah said.

Prep Henry Yao spoke about his struggle with Harkness after coming from a fully lecture-based environment. “I’ve often caught myself preparing answers in my head, trying to make sure I got my answer well thought out and precise, that I now realize completely misses the point of Harkness,” he said. “The challenge of overcoming this desire to be right is something that I’m still working on, but definitely something that has improved drastically through this past week.”

The engagement of students and teachers alike has also been a significant change for some students. “For my past classes… it wasn’t really interesting to learn,” prep Kalel Cuffe said. In comparing his old math class to his current one, Cuffe said that it’s been incredibly helpful to “get different viewpoints from other students.”

However, students have noted that the virtual format of classes has made it harder to connect. “In Zoom meetings, my classmates talk about things related to the class instead of having conversations on topics that help you know them,” new lower Maggie Chang said.  

“I believe it is the common experience that binds us all together as one Big Red family, venturing into a new kind of learning process, where friendship and understanding is extremely important in making sure that everyone belongs and feels comfortable with their new environment,” Yao said. “In saying such, this common experience brings us closer together, and [it’s] much easier to come together with other incoming preps and share our experiences with each other during this tough yet exhilarating journey.”