Academy Packing Plan Released, Subject to Change

Sabrina Kearney/The Exonian

By Gianluca Audia, Jeannie Eom and Andrea Luo

Dean of Students Brooks Moriarty announced the Academy’s plan to send students some of their belongings in an all-school email on April 9. Under the current plan, students will receive an 18” cubic package from the Academy with requested belongings, and Facilities Management staff will pack students’ remaining items. This proposed course of action received criticism from members of the student body, who raised concerns regarding student privacy. 

In response to various inquiries, Moriarty elaborated on the policy in another email on April 18. In this message, he noted that the plan is subject to change, pending a decision on Exeter Summer and the length of the New Hampshire stay-at-home order. Moriarty additionally extended the package request deadline to Sunday, April 19. 

Moriarty’s second email also offered a timetable for the currently prepared packing operation. A six-stage process will cover the process of moving, organizing and scheduling pickups of the student belongings. The first two stages to “move belongings from across campus to student rooms or [the] day student lounge” and ship items are likely to begin in April, while the remaining four stages of packing and scheduling will be postponed to the beginning of May.”

Dean of Residential Life Carol Cahalane noted that, in making further decisions on packing, the administration “will continue to monitor… public health concerns.”

Given student concerns, the administration will also explore options for those who wish to decline Academy-facilitated packing. “If health and safety parameters allow, [the Academy] might be able to do this,” Cahalane said. 

As for families hiring personal contractors to operate the move, Cahalane noted that “for safety and security reasons, [the administration] does limit the contractors who are allowed into our dormitories.”

To alleviate student fears at this time, the Academy will offer non-disciplinary responses where possible for students with prohibited substances. Those with such substances were asked to contact Dean of Health and Wellness Gordon Coole by April 14. 

“Offering a non-disciplinary option felt like the right thing to do to be supportive of the students and address the related concerns,” Cahalane said. However, there are exceptions and limitations to this blanket policy. “If contraband raises serious safety concerns, such as if there is evidence of drug distribution, it might not be addressed with a non-disciplinary response.”

In the event that a student faces a non-disciplinary response, the administration will provide remote handling on a case-by-case basis. “If we determine that what is in the room merits a non-disciplinary response, parents and guardians will be notified. As always, this is a process meant to be supportive of the student,” Cahalane said. 

Specifically, they “will talk with the student and the parents/guardians to explore and understand the student’s needs, offering support to students and parents/guardians where appropriate,” Cahalane said. Moreover, “students will be referred to the Academy Student Assistance Program (ASAP), and [the administration] will help the student in accessing the appropriate supports in their home state or country, if possible.” 

Despite the promise of non-disciplinary responses, students continue to oppose the Academy’s current course of action. After Moriarty’s initial email, a petition entitled “Saving Student Privacy: Let PEA Kids Choose Who Touches their Belongings and When” appeared on change.org. This petition has garnered over 840 signatures, as of April 23.

Upper Allison Hanlon signed the petition due to privacy concerns. “I felt uncomfortable with other people packing up my belongings. I think that it is an invasion of privacy, which was one of the main concerns expressed in the petition,” she said. “I also supported the petition because of the vast amount of people that shared similar concerns about the Academy’s decision that were passionate enough to take it upon themselves to come up with a more appreciated solution. It seemed clear through the number of students who were against it that the decision was not the best option for the students and there could be more discussion on it.” 

Prep Zach Maurus shared the petition on social media. “Exeter feels like home to many of us and therefore we have many personal items in our room that are special to us, and I don’t believe it is fair to students to have unknown people going through personal belongings. It’s a basic infringement on our privacy,” he said.

Senior Paul Cantave echoed Maurus’ sentiments. “I signed because some of my friends posted it, and I agreed with what they were saying,” he said. “I don’t really trust the school at all, because I don’t know who is gonna touch my stuff or if they are gonna take anything.” 

As an ideal alternative, he proposed that the Academy “just wait this whole thing out until it’s safe to let people come back onto campus… People have sensitive and personal things that they don’t want people to find and that the school should not need to meddle in.”

Like Cantave, upper Aren Mizuno suggested that the administration allow belongings to remain in the dorms. “I think that it is pretty unlikely there will be summer school this year, so this should work. However, if students really want something they should also have the option for someone to get it and send it to them,” he said. 

Despite sharing concerns over student privacy, some students voiced criticism of the petition itself. “I feel uncomfortable with the idea that a random person would be packing my room, and I was delighted when I came across the petition,” said Prep Kodi Lopez. However, after reading the petition closely, Lopez said, “it seemed more like students whining about a problem instead of proposing a solution, and, because of that, I didn’t sign it.”

Lower Emily Wang noted that extenuating circumstances justify breaches in student privacy. “I believe handling student belongings is invading student privacy. However, in the midst of a pandemic, there are bigger things to worry about,” Wang said. “It’s not like they did it without letting us know and giving us options on how to proceed if we have prohibited items.”

Though senior Bianca Lee disagreed with the administration’s proposal, she highlighted the difficulty of planning at this time. “I think that [the Academy] should be more transparent about what would potentially happen to the students who are found in possession of anything against the school rules. Right now, students fear if their belongings may be lost in the scramble of packing; they also have concerns about hygiene and unnecessary disciplinary cases,” she said. “It is uncertain that schools will reopen in September, so I don't think coming back to campus to pack individually is a viable option, but the administration should at least be open to conversation before disregarding the genuine concerns from students and their families.” 

The Academy will continue to adjust as it faces the changing circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Acknowledging student concern, Academy will take steps to provide an ideal packing plan for residential students, to be updated as the term moves into its second half.