A Changing PEA
Coming in as preps during the 2013-2014 school year, we were told that we got the better bargain. What was the norm for us--few to no Saturday classes, wireless Internet, and Pass/Fail during our first term–was cherished, and in some cases, whined about by older Exonians. All of these perks were brand new, and considering how dreadful it is to have even three Saturday classes a term, I can’t imagine always having Saturday classes. Not to mention that most of the students I know, including myself the majority of the time, do not finish their homework by eleven. Having the internet shut off would make finishing some assignments almost impossible.With all these things in mind, one could easily argue that Phillips Exeter Academy is committed to making our lives easier. On the other hand, all these efforts could be for the sake of convenience, rather than with the student body in mind.For example, take Saturday classes: in order to have Saturday classes stripped from our schedules, we lost a week of Thanksgiving break. This was a fair trade, and people were happy. This year, looking at the school calendar reveals more Saturday classes, but no vacation time has been regained. Last year, people were so glad to have their weeks at the Academy facilitated by having two full days of rest. This year, the increase in Saturday classes shows that it was not in fact for the purpose we thought, or else the class days wouldn’t have been re-added. It was just for some random convenience irrelevant to the everyday lives of Academy-goers.Furthermore, last year advisee meetings were added to our schedule on Wednesday mornings after meditation. Many students and faculty complained, explaining how this messed with their Wednesday schedule. In my advisee group, we were aggravated because the time we had originally met at was better suited to our schedules than the required meeting time. Generally, the feedback was negative about the new advisee schedule, but changing back to the way it was first has not happened. This leads one to assume that the advisee schedule is more for the convenience of the institution than for the people.Overall, life at PEA has improved dramatically over the years, from wifi to pass/fail. But there are certain recent "improvements" that are questionable if you consider how they affect the students’ individual lives. Certain ideas sound good in theory, but upon closer examination, another outcome is revealed that is still good for the school, but not its inhabitants.