Exonians Distance Inconsistently
By Otto Do, Jeannie Eom and Hansi Zhu
A post on the Academy’s official Instagram page last week showed students breaking social distancing guidelines. This post, along with a dorm’s post of unmasked students eating in close proximity and touching, prompted debate among students, parents and faculty members over the consequences for rules violations.
The Student Guidebook, which has been revised multiple times, states that students must remain socially-distanced and masked at all times, except when they eat outdoors while remaining six feet apart or when they are in their own dorm rooms.
Dean of Students Brooks Moriarty and Dean of Residential Life Carol Cahalane did not respond to interview requests on the posts.
The Instagram posts sparked criticism from students and parents alike. “I realize that these are unprecedented times,” parent Dacia Napier said. “Everyone is having to deal with completely new situations, but consistency is important.” Though individual students may be rule-breakers, she added, social media posts are a reflection of the Academy.
Student comments tied Soule Hall’s post to white privilege and elitism, citing a lack of proper distancing.
Upper Joe Doe* elaborated on the implications of Soule’s behavior. “COVID-19 has a disproportionately impacted Black and Latinx communities . . . If you don’t socially distance, it’s analogous to saying you don’t care about the lives of BIPOC students. If a Black Exonian and a white Exonian both get serious COVID cases and have to be treated at a public hospital, the white kid is more likely to receive good treatment. It’s not tangentially racist. It’s racist,” they said. “Posting a picture is problematic because it’s an indication that they are celebrating that moment, when there is nothing to be celebrated.”
Upper Liza McMahan agreed. “Soule Hall should work better on advocating a safer environment, not allowing these white boys to do what they want and endangering others more at risk,” she said.
“This has been pretty clear insight into the pattern [of white privilege] that’s been pretty obvious in the past, and it’s also concerning how that continues to be asserted in so many different respects,” upper Zander Galli added. “And now, it’s even from a public health perspective, which is sad and not ideal.”
With the arrival of underclassmen, the number of students on campus has almost doubled. Some upperclassmen have noticed a more general increase in social distance violations, such as those captured in the posts. However, many did not feel they could criticize or call out their peers, citing social pressure and judgment. Some of these students called for more enforcement of social distancing guidelines by administrators.
Senior Ella Sudduth shared her frustration. “[Underclassmen] are able to be in this space because we worked hard [to follow the rules],” Sudduth said. “If we did a bad job, they wouldn’t be able to come… now they’re ruining it for us.”
Galli, however, noted that upperclassmen struggled with guidelines even before new students arrived. “Coming back to school, it was exhausting the first two weeks because I was constantly telling people to put on their masks,” he said. “But after the first two weeks, nobody took it seriously. At that point, I thought, ‘If it’s gonna pass, it’s gonna pass anyway. I might as well care a little bit less about [correcting others].’”
Upper Michelle Park, who elected to stay home, sympathized with new students looking to make friends at the beginning of the year. “There are a lot of variables that they’re thinking about right now. If I were a prep . . . I admit that it would be a little difficult for me to abide by social distancing rules, just because I might feel like making friends is more important,” she said. “Regardless, I still think it’s much more important to socially distance and abide by COVID laws.”
Piano Instructor Jung Mi Lee stressed that following rules will bring further opportunities to the student body. “I want to see my students soon,” she said, “and the only way we are going to be able to do that is if we all follow the rules.”