Redefining “Townie”

“The word ‘townie’ implies that the town of Exeter is just a playground for PEA students. It sounds like the students are only here because they go to school here and that we, the people who actually live here, don’t mean that much to you guys.” This is a quote from Jon Mirsky, a senior at Exeter High School.In my first two weeks at Exeter, I’ve already heard references to the “Exeter bubble”. At Exeter, we are invested in school politics as if they are international politics. We care about the quality of food at the dining halls, the diversity of students and things like the emergency doubling of dorm rooms. On the positive side, the Exeter bubble enables us to be a tight-knit community that cares about the school. But, not only do we ignore national and global communities, but because of the Exeter bubble, we also ignore the community we are placed right inside: the town of Exeter.If Exeter students never set foot outside school grounds, this wouldn’t matter as much. But that isn’t the case—Exeter students go for coffee at Me and Ollie’s, ice cream at Stillwell’s and dinner at Las Olas. We are part of the town’s ecosystem; we cross the crosswalks, we buy things from the stores and for four years of our lives we call the town home. Mirsky said that “it sounds like the [PEA] students are only here because they go to school here,” but I think the town of Exeter is more to Exonians than just the town around the school. Without the town and its residents, we wouldn’t have Las Olas, Me and Ollie’s or our amazing staff, the water we drink or even the river on which we row; many times we wouldn’t have the audience we do at school plays and concerts, and we certainly wouldn’t get access to presidential candidates that come around every four years to woo the Exeter townspeople. We are fueled by the town of Exeter and we are part of the town’s community—as a whole school and as individuals.Of course, becoming a better part of Exeter’s community will not take place overnight; it takes time and commitment. It seems this commitment is already beginning. Some students are bridging the gap between EHS and PEA by becoming friends. Teachers who believe a bridge between the schools is important are welcome to making it happen. Maybe soon we will connect some of the two schools’ clubs and, in the end, friendships will arise.For four years, Exeter, the school and town, is our home—we are fish in the Exeter pond. I’m sure everyone is grateful to be here and doesn’t intentionally disrespect the town, but our attitude towards it could be more positive. Perhaps if we expand the Exeter bubble to encompass the town instead of just the school, we will learn to call the town’s people friends, instead of “townies.”