New Indoor Spaces Opened

By Moksha Akil, Anna Kim, Tenley Nelson, Ellie Ana Sperantsas and Hansi Zhu 

Due to the onset of cold New Hampshire weather as winter approaches, the Academy opened up a selection of previously off-limits indoor spaces for students to gather during meals and free time.

Dean of Students Brooks Moriarty sent a schoolwide email on Oct. 28 announcing that Elm Street Dining Hall would begin to accommodate indoor seating and that the Elting Room, Elizabeth Phillips Academy Center and Phelps Commons would also be available for students to gather during dining hours.

Moriarty sent an additional email on Oct. 30 detailing new indoor activity spaces available and the hours during which they are accessible. “Since capacity limits in EPAC cannot accommodate the demand, we are trying to offer other spaces where you can gather as you do in EPAC,” he said. 

According to another communication sent out by Dean of Students Administrative Manager Lee Rollick on Nov. 13, open spaces include the Phelps Science Center, Forrestal Bowld Music Building, Love Gym, Downer Fitness Center, the Goel Center for Theater and Dance and Phillips Church. The specific opening hours are on the Community Events Calendar on ExeterConnect.

In order for students to gather in groups, all indoor spaces require an adult monitor on site to ensure that students are abiding by guidelines. Buildings are also clearly marked by arrows to enforce a one-way traffic pattern.

Moriarty explained why some spaces could not be made available to students. “We’re not making use of the Academy Building right now because it’s an old building,” he said. “It doesn’t have good ventilation. That’s the reason why [students] can’t be in that building.”

Technical Director Jacob Josef, who assisted with the development of the Goel Center becoming a designated indoor space for students, elaborated on the decision to open the building. “The Theater and Dance Department hope that opening the lobbies for gathering during the colder months will give the students an alternative to being outside or in their dorms,” he said. “The Goel Center is beautiful, and we hope it provides a sense of calm and serenity during these challenging times.”

In order for Phillips Church to be available to students, Reverend Bonnie-Jeanne Casey said that changes needed to be made to the building. “Many of the leaded glass windows have been repaired or replaced to allow for windows to open more easily. The ventilation system throughout the building has been serviced and we have been told the air flow meets COVID compliance standards,” she said.

Casey also expressed her desire for the Church to open more of its spaces in the future. “We hope to open the basement again. It is unclear if we will be able to safely use the kitchen space there to prep food, but our hope is to be able to allow students to bring meals into the basement or have a vendor deliver food,” she said. “Sharing a meal is central to many religious traditions, and it has been a loss for some groups not to be able to ‘break bread’ together in the same way, but these are not normal times.”

Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Shawn Fishel noted that COVID regulations have made the Downer Family Fitness Center less accessible to students. “All our students seem to enjoy being able to come in, [but] with all the guidelines for COVID, it makes it really difficult,” he said. “We have to have time in between sessions to allow the air change when we’re cleaning… And then with the scheduling too, because of classes and sports, there’s just so much stuff that overlaps.”

Fischel noted that the reopening, though limited, has been successful. “I think it’s a good idea because everyone’s going to be on campus, and they need to have a place to exercise… I do feel comfortable because of the testing rate, how well that’s been, and I feel like students have done really good jobs wearing their masks and washing their hands.”

As a result of this early success, Fischel hoped that the Downer Fitness Center would expand its hours. “I feel like it would be awesome just having a space that’s indoors, warm and [where] everyone can hang out, and [the Fitness Center] a perfect space to do that. So I would like to see if there’s a way to make it available four times throughout the week,” he said.

Many new students expressed excitement at the opening of the new spaces, noting that it helped them discover what was lost during the pandemic. “It has been very nice to see how things would have been if it were in normal times. As a prep, I haven’t really seen Goel before, so it is nice to experience how it should be more or less,” prep Andrea Nystedt said.

Some questioned the safety of congregating in indoor spaces. “I want things opened up, but a lot of people aren’t social distancing, and I think that if we want to be able to do more, the COVID-19 regulations need to be strictly enforced,” prep Natalie Welling said.

Others noted that the rigidity of the opening times made it difficult to make use of the indoor spaces. Senior Ozzy Gomez-Santana said, “I haven’t been able to find time in the day to utilize these public spaces. I’ve also found that I can interact with my friends outside under the tents just as well.”

Despite mixed student reactions, Moriarty noted efforts to further open up campus. “We will continue to work on opening up more spaces for socializing and will be in touch with information soon.”