What to Take Away from Academy Life Day

I think it’s safe to say that, so far, Academy Life Day has been the most controversial and talked about event here at PEA. Last week on September 25th was Academy Life Day, and PEA spent the day having conversations centered around the ALES video that came out at the end of spring term last school year. The video documented stories of students who have experienced racism on campus. Many students were disappointed that the traditional Academy Life Day–a day reserved for dorm bonding– was replaced with a day of discussion on race, a topic that makes many people uncomfortable. However, feelings of disappointment skyrocketed once Academy Life Day was over.

The day started with an all-school assembly, with remarks by Dean Atif, the Dean of Multicultural Affairs, followed by a speech by Principal MacFarlane. Then, students were separated into discussion groups with people from the same dorm. That was where most of the reaction from the entire day seems to be coming from. Some people left those discussions hurt, confused, and offended. Some left happy with the results of their conversation. Some left indifferent. The whole point of the discussion was to understand what happened in the video, and what we, as a community, can do to make a difference. However, from the dialogues around campus that were sparked as a result of these discussions, clearly that was not the case in many of the groups.

First, many students reacted by saying, “Why am I here, when I could be having fun?” Many people–students and teachers alike– are affected by racism or prejudice in Exeter, a predominantly white community. Students feel unsafe in town and sometimes even on campus, just because they aren’t white and look different. People in their cars have yelled out racial slurs at students of color, and even gone so far as to tell them to “go back to where they came from.” And if fellow students, classmates, roommates, dormmates, or even friends, don’t feel comfortable in their own living space, then we have to come together as a community to do something about that. Therefore, even though bonding with your dorm is important, it’s more important that we talk about racism, and what we as a community can do to make all students feel comfortable and safe.

In some discussions, rather than examining what happened in the scenarios and what one could have done, students were discussing the validity of the accounts in the video. That was not the point of the discussions we were supposed to be having. In the assembly where the thirteen skills were explained to the student body, one of the skills was to accept someone’s opinion as true to them. Therefore, we must accept that the stories in the ALES video reflects how those people were affected by those events, no matter what the intent was. Validity is irrelevant, considering that the person in the video was hurt, and deeply offended too. So, in the discussions, rather than picking apart the story and looking for excuses to call it invalid, one should focus on what should have happened in that scenario. One could also discuss how bystanders could stand up for the victim in each situation.

Some students even heard, “Why am I here when racism doesn’t affect me?” First of all, Exonians are supposed to embody non sibi; this comment clearly is the anti-definition of non sibi. Just because you yourself haven’t had any encounters with racism doesn’t mean that you can’t do something to help make it stop. As long as Exonians feel unsafe and are being discriminated against, then it’s the responsibility for fellow Exonians to do something about that. Even something simple, to show compassion, can go a long way. For example, if someone sees someone else being harassed by being called racial slurs, one can make a significant difference. Rather than just walking away, one could tell the attacker to back off. Once they have, go to the person, and ask them if they’re okay and if there’s anything they can do for them. Showing someone that you care after being verbally assaulted by another person is very reassuring, and somewhat soothing too.

All these ridiculous comments, including others that were not mentioned within this article, must stop. As Exonians, we need to constantly strive to make our community a better place for other Exonians and ourselves. We can do that, by having honest discussions about racism, and remembering that fellow Exonians are deeply affected by this issue. And as good people, we need to do something about that.