Web Exclusive: Student Leadership + E Cubed

By: Alia Bonanno, Juno Cowans, Hannah Dirsa, Tania Rana

In the last few days of summer, student leaders streamed onto campus to undergo trainings and lead orientation. Composed of proctors, student listeners, preseason students, international student orientation (ISO) leaders, and the new E-Cubed (Equitable Exeter Experience) program members, early arrivals on campus had packed schedules.

Student leaders, orientation members, and preseason athletes arrived on campus between Sept. 2 and Sept. 5 before the regular arrival on Sept. 8. Student leaders participated in a number of training, bonding activities, and logistics meetings to prepare for move-in day. Workshops ranged from introductions to Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) and the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA), as well as informational health and COVID-19 protocol panel, deans’ panel, and sexual misconduct procedure panels. 

Similarly, E-Cubed and ISO leaders participated in training to prepare them for the arrival of orientation participants on Sept. 5, after which structured activities and similar workshop sessions took place over the course of the next few days. 

Many faculty, who were already on campus, helped familiarize student leaders with concepts practiced in CAPS and OMA. “Dr. Lee and I co-lead a 2-hour session for student leaders,” Associate Director of CAPS Chris Thurber explained. “We covered the function of Counseling & Psychological Services; the school’s Non-Disciplinary Response (NDR) policy; the function of ASAP; and a wide range of ways that student leaders can support their peers, resist temptations, and set a good example.”

Director of Counseling Services Sze-Hui Lee participated in a forum for parents of international students, as well as an informational session for E-Cubed members led by the CAPS team. “[The] E-Cubed program is outstanding! I am so glad to see the program being offered again and appreciate all the work from DEI [Diversity and Equity Initiative] and OMA office for making it happen,” she said.

“[The early arrival] really provides an opportunity for students to come together to prepare for the new year ahead. I am so glad our training program is as comprehensive and cohesive as it is today,” Lee said.

Leading up to the workshops, proctors had a dinner with Principal William Rawson followed by a two-hour training to acclimate them to their roles. “[The trainings] reminded me of what to do and what not to do,” Wheelwright Hall proctor Liz Handte said. “I think [they were] effective to me and to the other proctors, knowing that we have other resources to kind of lean back on, that it's not entirely upon us.”

Gould House proctor Olivia Williamson appreciated the trainings as well, especially the health and COVID-19 panel lead by Medical Director Katy Lilly and Dean of Students Health and Wellness Johnny Griffith. “It was not new [information], but Dr. Lilly's panel was really helpful. We got to ask questions about [COVID] policies and clarification on what they looked like and sometimes reasons on why they were implemented,” Williamson said. 

Student listeners also had specific training for their role, one meeting designed for first-year listeners, another for two-year listeners. “Even as a student listener, you don't really know exactly what [being a student listener] means. You know, you're trying to help people, but you don't really know what that looks like... I think this was kind of a good way to not just get thrown into the deep end and kind of be eased into it and [to be] shown the lay of the land,” upper and first-year student listener Ina Mason said. 

Fall sport captains helped to run preseason practices and participated in the student leader training as well. “[During preseason] I really wanted to keep [our] energy up... And I think that the team is looking really great this year. I'm just trying to get the team closer so that we can have not a season only for winning, but for getting closer and having fun while we win,” Handte said.

Upper and student listener Tucker Gibbs appreciated the schedule. “Ms. Breen, who runs the leader training program, has done a great job in making sure we can sleep in and have free time before school starts, but also get this crucial training,” he said. 

Some day students experienced difficulty with the extended periods between meetings, as dorms were not yet open to day students. “It’s nice to have time to relax. However, as a day student, the long expanses of time in the afternoon when we’re not allow[ed] to go into dorms yet, left us with not much to do,” upper and Community Conduct Committee (CCC) member Ophelia Bentley said. 

Senior and Webster Hall proctor Michael Popik agreed to the value of having extra days on campus. “I enjoyed getting to see my proctor friends before other students arrived on campus,” he said. “This limits our responsibilities: no homework... makes for great social times. I’m never going to complain about seeing friends for a few days more.”

“I'm excited to do more of the training. I know that [admin] said that they're going to try and have us meet as proctors twice a month, which is a lot more than they did last year,” Williamson said.

Upper and student listener Enzo Nakornsri said, “For someone who is only a Student Listener, I wouldn’t say the schedule was packed with events being thrown at me left and right, which I felt was a nice change of pace and allowed me to adjust to school without the pressure from significant assignment.” 

Other students felt the schedule, despite the extra days, did not leave enough time for rest. Fall preseason athletes with leadership roles attended morning and afternoon practices, along with leadership training. “My goal for next year would be to spread the work out over more days so that fall athletes have more free time. It was an intense few days for that population in particular,” Breen said. 

Senior and ISO leader Gretl Baghdadi said, “The ISO schedule is created so that the students attending the program are busy and they don't have time to sit alone with themselves and think about if they're lonely or homesick. The leaders were also a part of that busyness, so I didn't really get to be in my room and unpack yet.”

The pilot E-Cubed program featured a similarly busy schedule, designed to acclimate students to campus and academy life through seminars and activities. “[E-Cubed is] a pre-orientation program for Black, indigenous, other students of color, low-income students, and LGBTQ plus students at Exeter… It basically gives them an opportunity to navigate how Exeter works, and [helps them to] feel comfortable in this space, and in boarding school,” Amen proctor and E-Cubed mentor Michelle Park said. 

Mentors began training last spring, where they learned how to lead and navigate the program. They also participated in a logistics training the day before the E-Cubed mentees arrived on campus to fully prepare them for the program.

“[The program] went from like eight in the morning to like nine-thirty at night and some days it started at seven,” Park said, “[The mentees] didn't really have time to like get settled into their dorm rooms and just hang out and chill. That's an aspect that I hope will be changed in the future.”

Despite the challenges of the long days, Park felt the program was valuable in helping students adjust to the environment through mock Harkness classes, identity-based activities, and core value discussions. “Basically all of the mentors spoke about how they wished that they had this program when they were younger at Exeter. I think the mentees seemed to really appreciate having this because within the session, they were able to find friends and build relationships with teachers,” Park said. 

During this period of before-school training, student leaders have put in the effort to foster an environment of thoughtful guidance and emotional support. Nakornsri said, “I hope everyone had a restful summer break and is ready to have a fantastic year. Start the term off strong, end the term off stronger.”