The Impact of Academy Life Day
In past years, the last Monday of September was dedicated to dorm-bonding events. Students would depart from campus and participate in fun and collaborative activities with their dorm mates. This year, though, the day was devoted to a new endeavor.
On September 25, students piled into the assembly hall to watch a short film, produced by senior Ori Evans. The film includes imagery of sights and commonplaces on campus, accompanied somber music and bold narration. The speakers detail four different stories of racial discrimination from the perspectives of four anonymous POC Exeter students. Upon watching the video, students met in small groups with members of their dormitories to discuss issues regarding race,inclusion among all students on campus.
My group was comprised of about 10 students from my dorm, including myself. There were at least two members from each grade level present during the discussion, which allowed for a diverse array of thoughts and expressions of experience.
The conversation began with very dry comments, in which it felt as if some of my dorm-mates were just speaking to avoid the tense silence in the room. However, after some time, the conversation began to gain some traction. Very often the seniors, uppers, and lowers offered their opinions to the topics of discussion, but the preps did not seem to speak unless spoken to. Their silence prompted a new topic for the group: Why was Academy Life Day replaced with the viewing of Evans’ video, followed by discussions of equity on campus? Many returning Exonians were dismayed to lose a day of fun in the sun on the beach or picking apples, although acknowledging the importance of tackling the hard and uncomfortable topic. The preps in my group expressed their confusion of being thrown into a conversation with older students, many of whom they had never interacted with in a relaxed setting before. The complex subject matter was complicated to discuss without prior knowledge of the unfortunate events they witnessed in the film.
I was upset to discover that in other student-led conversations around campus, many students had trouble contributing to their discussion due to the agitation provoked from missing traditional Academy Life Day events. While I do agree that the absence of a beach day with other members of my dormitory disrupted from the induction of the new students into their new home, I do think that the questions asked by our faculty administrator were extremely interesting and it would have been nice to hear the opinions of more than those who chose to deliver their thoughts. Not only do different opinions aid in the flow of the conversation, but they allow the other students to gain a new perspective of their peer’s view on the racially discriminatory acts taking place on campus.
It is crucial to acknowledge, nevertheless, that some students were not able to contribute to the deliberations because they did not yet have an in-depth understanding of Exeter and it is difficult to add to the conversation when you are lacking in knowledge. In addition to this, some dorms now feel that younger students have not been integrated properly into the new dorm due to the change from Academy Life Day.
I do believe that the discussions that took place last week could have been facilitated by a more suitable placement of the film and conversation workshops. However, it is my hope that the alteration from Academy Life Day to more serious endeavors allowed the students and faculty to somewhat understand what occurs on a daily basis behind closed doors at Exeter for POC and how we can work together as a community to ensure the wellbeing of all students, regardless of race.