Students Share Thoughtson the Town of Exeter

By ERIN HAN, BRIANNA HOU, URA SHI, JANIBEK SUBKHANBERDIN, SERENA YUE, and THEA VAUGHAN

When Exonians crave a quick breather from their familiar dorms and classrooms, they head into downtown Exeter. Their favorite drinks or menu items refresh them in the spring and warm them in the fall and winter, a stroll down Swasey Parkway offers calm before exams, and a fifteen-minute trip to Walgreens doubles as a precious chance to catch up with friends. The town, as the haven of these beloved off-campus hotspots, is central to Exonian life.

But this closeness comes with its complexities. Long-term incidents of street harassment and a recent uptick in trespassing cases have added layers of concern to this relationship.

For most students, the town of Exeter holds many fond memories. Senior Sofia Wang reflected, “The town is one of my favorite things about Exeter, and I’m really going to miss it when I graduate.” 

She also shared some of her favorite spots in town. “My favorite places are D Squared and Me & Ollie’s, and recently the Juicery opened up, which is really nice,” she said. “I think these places offer really good study spaces, especially when the library is full or you just want to get out of school in general. The town definitely helps with students’ mental health a lot. I enjoy having that space where you can interact with other people and get food outside of the dining hall.”

Lower Han Yan echoed that identity of the town as an escape from the dining halls. “If I’m desperate for good food, I usually will order takeout and pick it up from a restaurant in town or go to a restaurant with friends,” he said. Yan noted Las Olas and OBA Noodle Bar as his two spots of choice, despite the latter’s high prices.

Upper Asha Masoudi also noted D Squared Java as a favorite spot of hers, as well as Trackside Cafe and a recently opened vintage store on Water Street.

Another beloved location in the town, mentioned by prep Rick Osei, is the popular burger and shake restaurant Lexie’s. Osei explained that it served as a common hangout spot for him and his friends.

However, the town of Exeter is appreciated by students for more reasons than just its food — notably, Exonians shared many happy memories of their interactions with the townspeople. Masoudi recounted one of these moments. “One time, I was sitting outside Stillwells, waiting for it to open,” she said. “I struck up a conversation with this woman sitting next to me on the bench—her husband used to teach music at Exeter. She was super nice and bought me ice cream, and I always remember how nice that was.”

Senior Bea Prairie noted their experience with the many dogs inhabiting the town as another of their favorite memories.

Nonetheless, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Exonians also shared their experiences with street harassment and other such “strange” encounters in town.

“I’m kind of infamous for going to Walgreens at the wrong time,” said upper Gowri Nair. “I definitely feel like I’ve gotten yelled at a lot less in town this year, but my prep year was crazy. Every time, I got yelled at from afar or by cars driving by. My brilliant self would also always go alone in the dark on a weekend which didn’t help.”

Senior Altan Unver described similarly disorienting encounters. “There were some kids in the parking lot right next to the kindergarten, and I remember they were yelling out to us. We just ignored them, but it was just kind of creepy and uncomfortable.” 

Unver also noted the recent trespassing cases on campus. “I have not had any personal interactions, but it comes up in Fac-Proc occasionally and is definitely something to keep an eye out for in the community.”

Yan added, “One memorable time was three years ago in Exeter Summer. A group of friends  and I were walking back, and a car with two teenage kids drove by and the girl in the passenger seat rolled up the window and started barking at us. It was quite strange.”

Unver summarized, “I feel like all of my interactions in town have just been kind of strange and I just find how common these interactions are a little bit weird.”

Upper Lana Wu shared that the frequency of such encounters also depends significantly on the time of day. “Whenever I go out at night with friends, we always get shouted at by random people in cars. But then when I go during the day it’s really chill.”

Some Exonians believe that these negative interactions are a product of the Academy’s negative perception amongst townspeople.

“I love going into town and it makes me kind of sad that the perception of PEA students is so negative,” shared Prairie. “I think it would be nice to figure out a way to bridge the gap between PEA kids and EHS kids. We’re all just high schoolers and it’s frustrating how much resentment there is towards us.”

Despite the conflicting nature of students’ experiences, with many sharing both positive and negative memories, students as a whole maintained a positive perception of the town. 

For one, Unver summarized his feelings towards the townspeople as such: “I would still consider it overall really positive because all the people who I’ve interacted with, other than children, have been very nice.” He noted, however, that there was definitely a strained relationship between the Academy and them, something he hopes will adjust. 

Prairie held a similar view on the feelings between Exonians and townspeople, explaining, “I love going into town and it makes me kind of sad that the perception of PEA students is so negative.” 

On that note, Masoudi remarked that she can understand where the negativity towards the Academy comes from, “Townspeople who don’t like Exeter students usually have a pretty valid reason.” 

Another perspective offered by some Exonians was that they haven’t experienced anything notably negative in regard to the town. Prep Rick Osei, for example, reflected: “I think the town is pretty chill. Usually I go with friends so I can’t interact with the town people because I’m with my own friends, but I’ve never felt unsafe or unwanted in town.”

Yan echoed that sense of safety and acceptance. “I feel like everyone in town has been very nice to me,” he said.

“I would still consider [my view of the town] overall really positive because all the people who I’ve interacted with, other than children, have been very nice. I haven’t really interacted with a lot of town kids and I don’t know how they view Exeter,” said Unver. 

He added, “Frankly, there’s definitely a strained relationship which I think could be ameliorated, but I still think the townspeople are very nice.”

Taking into account the concerns and experiences of students, some suggested initiatives that the academy could take to mend the Exonian-townsperson relationship. Following recent news of trespassing, Yan recommended that Exeter make some changes regarding their approach to townspeople on campus. “I feel like the Academy should be more strict and careful about these cases,” he said. “It’s far too easy for someone with malicious intentions to pretend to be an Exonian and slip past an unlocked door.”

On the other hand, Unver suggested increased communication with the town, in particular with Exeter High School students: “I mean, there are sporting events where the two teams get to interact. If there were more things that the two schools could do, cooperatively, I think that could help improve the relationship between Exonians and non-Exonians.” He finished his thought, however, by noting that the situation was complicated and he couldn’t think of a clear set of amendments.

Many students suggested increased communication and transparency as a step in the right direction for enhancing the academy’s relationship with the town. 

Masoudi explained that an initiative that moved toward that goal, a recent article published by The Exonian from the perspective of the town, had changed her perception of the townspeople for the better. “Especially after reading the Exonian article about townspeople’s perception of Exeter students, I think I have a good perception [of their perspectives].”

Prairie echoed, “I think there’s this idea that we think we’re better than EHS kids because we go to PEA, but I’ve never met anyone who has that mindset. Half the school is on fin-aid and a lot of kids here have put blood sweat and tears into getting into and staying at the Academy, so it feels unfair to have this resentment towards us.”

“I really would just like to squash all of that resentment,” they concluded.