Graduation Issue 2020

G R A D U A T I O N

F O R

02 Read about Exeter’s response to the Black Lives Matter protests, as well as statements from Black and non-white faculty members.

06 Read our Senior Spotlights and learn about Seniors of the Year Janalie Cobb, Suan Lee, Pepper Pieroni and Ayush Noori.

32 Read our coverage of the coronavirus pandemic this spring, from March to May of 2020.

74 Read the reflections of seniors on their Exeter experiences.

90 Read The Exonian’s Humor Section, and have a laugh.

94 Read about our athletic teams and our Athletes of the Year.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020 JUNE 7, 2020

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Exeter Grapples with Police Brutality

By ANDREA LUO, KIESSE NANOR and DANIEL ZHANG On May 25, 2020, George Perry Floyd, a 46-year old Black man, was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota, setting off national protests over racial injustice in the United States. Protests have occurred in over 300 cities, in all 50 states and in 18 countries. The first part of this article is a timeline of the Academy’s response to the recent unrest. The second features student, alum and faculty voices and experiences.

In the wake of thousands of lost Black lives, including Floyd’s, at the hands of police officers, protesters across the nation are challenging systemic racism and injustice. The Academy received widespread criticism for its response to the unrest and its perceived failure to create a supportive and nurturing environment for Black students and employees.

Last Friday, May 29, Principal William Rawson called for compassion from the Exeter community in an all-student email. “I urge that, even from a distance, we try to hold each other more closely, that we support our students and adults of color and that we act together against racial hatred, violence and injustice,” Rawson wrote.

The word “Black” was not used in the email.

On Monday afternoon, the Academy’s official Instagram account, @phillipsexeter, posted an image of two Exonians, intended to be the first in a series. An alumnus criticized the post for featuring an image of privilege during a time of national conflict. This alum personally disparaged the two students and misidentified them as white.

Current students were quick to defend their peers and criticized the alumnus for personally attacking minors. Students also noted that the Exonians themselves did not choose the timing of the post. At the same time, many condemned @phillipsexeter for being “ridiculous and insensitive,” as senior Alisha Simmons put it. On the now-archived post, students called for more correspondence than a two-paragraph email.

On Monday evening, Rawson released an all-school email with a three-minute video statement enclosed. The video was reposted to @phillipsexeter.

Rawson received further criticism for not using the word “Black” and only referencing white students in his video. “I know many students, many white students, have reached out to their peers of color to provide support and understanding,” Rawson said.

“So are you donating to funds that support [Black Lives Matter]?” Simmons commented under the video. “So are you asking alumni to donate?

Where are the links to resources to educate people? Where are the links to organizations to donate to? Where are the links to mental health resources for black students? And for the love of god, can you say the word ‘black’? It’s about black people not students of color.

Black. People.”

Rawson later apologized in an interview with The Exonian for not using the word “Black.”

“I have told students that I was wrong in my video message not to speak in this moment specifically to anti-Black violence and injustice, and not to condemn specifically anti-Black racism,” he said. “I will speak specifically to anti-Black violence and anti-Black racism in my graduation remarks and other communications.”

“Open your purse,” numerous students added in Instagram comments beneath Rawson’s video.

On Tuesday, June 2, @phillipsexeter posted an image of a black screen with the caption text “#blackouttuesday,” participating in an online trend to show solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. The trend itself came under widespread criticism for its performative nature and for its use of the hashtag #blacklivesmatter, drowning out other resources from the Black Lives Matter movement. @phillipsexeter disabled comments for the post.

“Imma need you to turn comments on because if you had them on you would have a bunch of people telling you it’s not right,” Wynter Tracey ‘19 posted to their story. “Are your black students only good for marketing and educating their racist white peers? It is as SIMPLE as saying that [Black] Lives Matter and the school can’t even seem to do that… this is a very specific conversation that needs to be had about the way BLACK students are and continue to be simultaneously used, reviled and ignored on that campus. The PR talk is not enough at this point.” @phillipsexeter later modified their caption to “#blackouttuesday black lives matter.”

After more criticism directed towards the trend itself, @ phillipsexeter once again edited their caption to “blackouttuesday black lives matter.”

Students then mobilized through social media to demand that Exeter’s governing bodies contribute financially to Black Lives Matter and companion causes, commit to hiring more faculty of color and transform campus to a safe space for Black students.

A petition between Exeter and Phillips Academy Andover students garnered more than 895 signatures, calling for four demands: the explicit acknowledgement of nationwide and internal anti-Blackness, as well as the formation of a plan to support Black students; the use of both academies’ platforms to expand education about race and to recruit more employees of color; donations to civil rights organizations assisting Black Americans; the hosting of a Giving Day to such civil rights organizations, comparable to the annual Exeter/Andover Giving Days.

Despite this petition, the Academy’s Interim Chief Financial Officer, Marijka Beauchesne, provided the following statement: “Exeter is a school which has its mission [to] ‘unite goodness and knowledge and inspire youth from every quarter to lead purposeful lives.’ The Academy’s resources have been entrusted to us for the purpose of advancing that mission, and we devote those resources to financial aid for our students, the salaries, benefits and professional development of our adults, and the safety and preservation of

our facilities.”

“As considerable as our resources are—and as fortunate as we are to have them—our needs and aspirations in the areas of student financial aid, support for our adults and care for our facilities invariably exceed our resources. For example, we are able to provide financial aid to nearly half of our students, though we know that fewer than 5% of American families can afford an Exeter education without financial aid, so that we have work to do on the financial aid front to fulfill our mission for youth from every quarter.”

“In addition, a substantial portion of our financial resources are restricted as to how we can use them—we are legally obliged to use those funds in accordance to the donor’s instructions. Because of the unmet needs of our mission, and because of the legal considerations we must obey, we are committed to directing our resources to addressing the needs of the Exeter community’s members.”

On June 3, Exeter hosted Community Healing Sessions in five affinity spaces (Black/ African-American, Latinx, Asian/Pacific-Islander, American Indian/Alaskan Native, White) led by faculty members.

The Academy chose affinity spaces to remove the burden of education from Black students.

“Our Dean of Students Office, Office of Multicultural Affairs, faculty, advisers, affinity groups and many others are working hard to support our students and especially our Black students during these difficult times,” Rawson said. “Affinity healing spaces were provided [on Wednesday]. Faculty have used classroom time. There is no more important work that the school is doing right now.

Discussions are being held to consider how the work can continue over the summer.”

Rawson renewed the Academy’s dedication to providing a diverse and safe space for Black students on campus. “Without a doubt, these tragic events will be a catalyst for renewed effort to provide greater support for Black students and faculty and all other students and adults of color in our community, work harder to increase the diversity of our faculty and other departments, increase diversity in leadership positions, and, importantly, improve our retention of faculty of color,” he said to The Exonian.

Rawson thanked students and faculty of color for their responses. “Many Black students, Black faculty and other students and faculty of color have written to me, called me or met with me over the last few days to express their deep pain and seek change in our community,” he said. “I am grateful for every voice. The call to action is compelling, and we are determined to respond with meaningful action.”

In an email from Rawson affirming Exeter’s commitment to Black lives, a safe community, and Black faculty retention, he further announced the formation of a Trustee Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force, to be led by Trustee Jackie Hayes ’85, “to engage with faculty, staff and administrators and support the important work that needs to be done.” More information is forthcoming on these initiatives. Phillips Exeter

has shared resources pertaining to racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement on its website. The Afro-Latinx Exonian Society (ALES) urged students to educate themselves in a statement with resources on Black Lives Matter and racial justice. “Before you look at and take full advantage of the resources listed below, we ask that our non-Black allies check in on their peers, friends and families,” the 53rd ALES Board wrote. “In this difficult, painful time, we wish that you do not put the burden of education on your Black-identifying peers. By asking them to engage in discourse for your betterment and growth, they must set aside emotional labor. They need time and space to process, grieve, and heal more than any of us. We encourage you to look towards educating yourself through the reading list and links attached instead.”

Voices The following Black students gave The Exonian their perspectives, requesting that their comments be included in full. The Exonian is honored to share their voices.

Senai Robinson ‘21, Student Council Co-President: “I am black man watching racism who has been given the privilege of being one of two Student Council presidents.

As both a black student and president, I abhor the response of Exeter’s adult leadership.

I understand the limitations and hesitations. I understand Exeter’s non-profit status. But my fear and life shall not be devalued to a status. It will not be devalued to [an] Instagram post. It will not be devalued for ‘thoughts and prayers.’ A while back, an amazing black faculty member said to me that students of Exeter are not likely going to see the Deans and Principal lead their students in a Black Lives Matter protest.

And for so long, I’ve accepted that. I’ve played my part of the palatable calm black man so that my voice isn’t undermined.

So I want it to be heard loud and clear when I speak this.

Breonna Taylor’s life is worth more than white institutions’ appeasement of non-black families and partners. George Floyd is worth more. Tony McDade is worth more.”

“I don’t wish to debate whether or not the actions Exeter has taken are worth little because to some it’s worth [much]. But I am saying that I am tired of ‘first steps.” I’m tired of ‘my hope.’ Make it a reality.”

Adar Tulloch ‘19: “I think that, as an alum, it is extremely disappointing to see the silence on behalf of the academy. For a school built upon the message of non sibi, it certainly has not felt like Exeter has truly been empathetic of its Black students during this crisis. But I cannot say that I am completely surprised, looking back at my four years at Exeter, where I saw the disproportionate turnover rate of Black faculty, which I tried to hint at in my comment. And now what we have currently is a culmination of the administration’s lack to the commitment of social justice and utter ignorance of how to support their Black students manifested as a slew of misguided, pandering-politician-like comments of our principal; ‘you reap what you sow’ now puts us all in this anguished position. Along the lines of James Baldwin: I love Exeter, and for that reason I ‘insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.’”

“The administration has got to step up and take action that reflects an authentic support towards Black and Brown stu-

dents.”

Josh Riddick ‘20 sent an email to the Varsity Football program entitled “Dear Exeter Football,” addressing the explicit racism he experienced and witnessed in his four years at the Academy. His words are below: “In my first week at Exeter, during my first football preseason, I was 14 years old when our old head coach used the n-word in front of our entire football program. I remember watching in shock as not a single member of our football program spoke out against him publicly and would continue to let this incident circulate only in private conversations. It was never publicly reported until I took it to our Director of Athletics during my lower winter.

No follow-up on the incident occurred and I was encouraged to have ‘honest conversations’ about his language with him in the future.”

“During my lower spring in 2018, while participating in JV Lacrosse, I was included on an email hain from the [Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse] captains. The email chain was intended to be a ‘motivational’ pump-up for the Deerfield rivalry that weekend. One of the messages from a white [alum ‘13] in the chain read, ‘They are a bunch of stuck up f*[*]ks, but yall [sic] n*[***]s need to show them what getting STUCK the f*[*]k up really means.’ This was sent to a team with a single-digit number of black players and 40-50+ white players.

This email chain containing this message had been forwarded to the entire lacrosse program for multiple years prior to me reading it. I still wonder how many young black men had to read that message and still pretend to feel safe and included in the Exeter lacrosse program and in Exeter athletics as a whole.”

“During my four years, I have also experienced multiple students, including members of our very own Exeter Football Program, use the n-word in front of me and towards me.

Sometimes, they were singing along to songs and sometimes, it was just a way to provoke me or get a reaction out of me.”

“They understood the hurt that hearing white people say that word brings me, yet did it anyways because ‘they forgot’ or even worse—just to see me upset so they could laugh. Because using the n-word around black people is ‘funny’ to them.

Understand that when you use the n-word as a white kid in front of your black teammates, or when no one else is around, you are only helping to perpetuate and normalize harmful behavior that reinforces a large system of white supremacy.”

Wynter Tracey ‘19: “The movement needs your money, time and presence: at demonstrations, in difficult conversations with yvour problematic peers, supporting bail funds and black-owned businesses, etc. It is a sad fact that NO amount of effort put in now will undo all the hundreds of years of damage, life lost and resources stolen from Black people; it is also absolutely up to you to make that effort now to make our futures as bright as possible.”

Ree Murphy ‘20: “In terms of how the Academy has handled things, I think it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The hard part about being a student looking in is that there is so much we don’t know. Do I think the post was poorly timed? Absolutely. However, I also think the Exeter Instagram is an institutional Instagram that is likely automated and pre-scheduled, and the way it operates within the digital space will never look the same as how we are all per-

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sonally used to operating our own social media platforms. In other words, while I recognize the post’s insensitivity, I also recognize that instagram is not to me what it is to ‘Phillips Exeter Academy.’”

“To that end, when we can reach our administrators via email, it seems misguided to attempt communication through an institutional Instagram. Exeter has had varying levels of silence on many issues regarding the support of students of color (especially black students), and I do believe that there are many working to change this who are on campus right now.

So I encourage them to reach out to students and/or student leaders first in order to ask what they can do so as to take the burden off of us to reach out first. [Dean of Students Brooks] Moriarty’s email with resources, the affinity Zooms and (especially) [Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA)] office hours are incredible examples of initiatives students want and need.

I challenge Principal Rawson (as well as the deans and others) to have conversations in which they collaborate with students to consider what the ideal ‘Phillips Exeter’ looks like, what current institutional limits are and how they can work towards

building the school we know Exeter can be. I encourage them to very actively and openly include alumni in these communications. Lastly, I encourage everyone to consider what the role of social media is supposed to be during this time, how we (and individuals within Exeter) are meant to use it as well as what the @PhillipsExeter is supposed to look like.”

“I challenge Exeter also to be absolutely clear and transparent on what their goals are regarding the support of students of color and to provide periodic updates. We have things like the OMA newsletter and the Exeter catalog that help keep everyone up to date. Joining those and available to all students/faculty/alumni should be statements outlining long term goals for Phillips Exeter and their progress (the way Exeter did the selection of the new Director of Religious Life is a good example of how this process has the potential to look).

I think there is a large missing link here in terms of communication and remedying it is key to moving forward.”

“And to those reading, please know that I highly doubt many of the suggestions I bring up here are not new, nor is the call for visible action on the

part of the school. My voice is one in a chorus of many who have asked before me. I implore Phillips Exeter to understand that it is not enough to say that you hear us. You must let us know (and prove) that you understand.”

Nkemjika Emenike ‘19: “The current situation has shown me who truly cares about me and my peers and our Blackness, and who was just hoping to ignore the problems of race and injustice in this country as long as possible until it was inconvenient for them. My friends and I are suffering mentally and emotionally. It’s also very interesting to see so many people post about an issue that has literally been thrown in their face so many times at Exeter, and so many students being unable to comprehend or understand issues of racism when their Black peers have been speaking on it for years. I have seen many people say they are trying to learn more, which is commendable and I am glad they are now putting in the effort, but why didn’t couldn’t they listen when their Black classmates were telling them the exact same thing?”

“The administration continually misses the mark on handling issues of injustice. From

sexual assault to racism, the administration could literally not be any worse at handling these situations. For a school with so much money, so much resources, with such educated faculty, with so many students quite literally screaming in their faces that they want better and they need better from the school, Exeter is so inadequate in every imaginable way. The administration continually fails to acknowledge and support not only its Black students, but also its teachers of color, particularly Black and Latinx faculty.

Look at the high turnover rate for Black and Latinx faculty.

Look at the amount of deans we have had for the Office of Multicultural Affairs in the past year alone. Look at how many Black teachers have quit this school year. For the administration to not acknowledge an issue that many of its own students and alumni have been protesting and fighting for until its students call out its complacency and silence is incredibly disturbing. The administration loves to advertise its diversity but never puts any real effort to support such a diverse population of students and faculty. It’s an embarrassment. an embarrassment.”

“When I was a student at

Exeter, and alumni would come back for alumni weekend, I was always fond of my conversations with Black alumni. They would always ask ‘So what’s ALES doing? How do you feel about race relations on campus?

Has ‘it’ gotten any better?’ And every black student knows what ‘it’ is, and quite frankly, no, ‘it’ hasn’t gotten better. I remember my lower year explaining to an alumni from the 1990s what was going on with ALES at the time, how a member of ALES made a video displaying the grievances and instances of racial bias that ALES members had faced in the past and how the administration just ignored them. She said, ‘Sounds like the exact same thing that happened in my day.’ Exeter handles racism by sweeping it under the rug as much as possible, coddling their white students, then issuing a statement once enough students are getting mad that it catches the attention of the Board of Trustees, making the administration look bad so they have to clean up the mess with a vague public statement.”

Dean of Multicultural Affairs Sami Atif, who will depart the Academy at the end of the year, was reached for comment.

Atif said only, “F[**]k the police.”

Statements from Black and Non-White Employees Some faculty and staff of color do not feel as though it is safe to raise their individual voices in this space. Instead, we give you our collective voice through our feelings, perspectives and stories. This is not representative of all faculty and staff of color. We do not give permission to pick or edit which voices will be shared. We only give permission for our collective voice to be printed in full.

Of course I am angry about the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade and so many others. It both terrifies me and it fills me with rage that their lives were ended so needlessly and so tragically. But I am also heartbroken. I am heartbroken because of the silence of the people and the institutions that claim to love me and to love my people.”

“It is heartbreaking to see just how unequipped PEA is to properly care for its black students. It is also unable/unwilling to treat its black faculty with dignity and respect. Is this school capable of self-analysis, in terms of how it perpetuates white supremacy and the inequality that serves as the foundation for racial terrorism? These issues lead PEA to miseducate all of its students.The school needs to exercise its power, to truly care about equity and justice. Not words but actions, or this will soon be a school with even fewer black faculty and other faculty of color. PEA is a microcosm and not a bubble, detached from the broader world.”

“I have experienced more blatant, hostile racism and ignorance in my time at Exeter than in the rest of my life combined. We are in a moment of national crisis and this school is reacting in only the most lackluster ways. Not once has the disproportionate impact on Black students and faculty been mentioned.

NOT ONCE. Shame on Exeter for this ineptitude and for creating such a hostile work environment for faculty of color that folks are leaving in droves. We will not get real, meaningful change until the leadership of this school gives up their power to give more diverse voices a seat at the table. People in leadership are constantly toting selflessness, but relinquishing power to make room for real change makers would be a true non sibi move.”

“The silence is so loud. It is deafening.

Can you hear it? Why can’t you hear it?”

“I am tired of the administration calling on faculty of color to cover up their LACK OF COMPETENCE when it comes to handling these situations. Time and time again, they show that they are NOT EQUIPPED to do this work. I refuse to continue to be used as a Band-Aid to cover up their mistakes. Hire folks of color who are equipped to do this work.

Folks who can respond in a sensitive and timely manner and who are not afraid to say BLACK LIVES MATTER!”

“It feels like I am begging my colleagues to care about my life.”

“If you ‘don’t know what to say’ or you ‘don’t have the words’ to be a helpful ally in this work go get the words and go learn what to say, what to do and how to be an active participant in helping to support, honor and effect change in the lives of our BIPOC adults and students lives. The systems have to be changed.

We have waited for the culture to change for far too long. Action is needed urgently.”

“I am having a hard time feeling supported by Exeter. Leadership in the Academy asks so much from me in my various roles here, yet they cannot extend the basic need to even NAME the racial issues plaguing POC in these hallowed halls. There is no love there.”

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“Yesterday I was in a meeting and someone asked if everyone was getting the same news that they were getting? I actually thought for a moment that maybe it was just the people of color who were getting bombarded with lynchings.

Turns out, white people are getting this news too. So, why aren’t they talking about it? Why do I always have to be the one to bring up the conversation?”

“The inability of the administration to respond appropriately to any situation involving race has been a problem for years now. The faces in power changed but the inadequate responses didn’t, despite the work done by countless faculty of color to educate on this issue. If you are ‘at a loss for words’ then you are also at a loss for action, and that is unacceptable. I am tired of witnessing this institution’s inability to say ‘Black Lives Matter.’ It sends the message to our Black students and colleagues that aren’t worthy of existing without fear, and that is unforgivable. I love being with students around the Harkness Table and in the dorm, but if the school can’t take substantive anti-racist action, I will have to join the droves of faculty of color who got tired of shouting into the wind and move on.”

“‘No justice, no peace!’ Many protesters around the country are demanding justice for George Floyd, including the arrest, indictment, trial and conviction for the officers who killed him or contributed to his killing. What else is necessary for justice, not just in this case, nor for the many other black and brown people killed in a similar way, with reckless disregard? And beyond the end of policing that is not policing but the abuse of power, what else is necessary for justice?

What ‘peace’ are we yearning for? Just the end of riots? The status quo ante has given us an appalling, long list of victims. More will be added if we don’t do more than ‘get back to normal.’”

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JUNE 7, 2020 JUNE 7, 2020

A Letter to the Faculty The following statement, unedited by The Exonian, was sent to faculty on June 6, 2020 by the 53rd ALES Board.

By THE 53RD AFRO-LATINX EXONIAN SOCIETY BOARD In times where Black students need guidance and support from the administration the most, we reflect on the enthusiasm that adults on campus brought to events like MLK Day. We wonder where this enthusiasm for racial justice was during the protests in Grill this fall.

We wonder where this enthusiasm was when students of color asked for more representation in the faculty. We wonder where this enthusiasm is now.

It is easy to sit in a gymnasium while speakers advocate for people of color, but do the leaders of this institution truly listen to what they had to say? It was easy to post pictures on Instagram of the unapologetic advocates for racial justice and equality that joined us in January, but have you acted on their words? To this institution, at times, activism seems to be little more than posting black squares to Instagram. Months ago, our principal welcomed Dr. Ibram X. Kendi onto our campus, yet three days ago he failed to address the Black students who are most impacted by police brutality and the current racial violence. It was only after immense effort and outrage from students that we received substantive messaging. You may have heard our speakers, but did you listen?

We will repeat.

To echo the words of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, “The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it.”

“The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it.”

“The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it.”

“The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it.”

Are you listening? The adults who we trust to guide and protect us fail to adequately identify the racism, police brutality and current atmosphere which threaten the Black students on our own campus. We, as a school, have not begun to take the action necessary to dismantle it. We are ashamed. We are afraid. Our hearts break over and over for our BIPOC students and faculty, but we as students understand that it is not enough to care about the fact that there is a problem–we must act to solve it. Empathy for others is the bare minimum human decency; the action that follows makes the difference. We ask, have you reached out to your students? Have you acknowledged the plight that Black students are facing? Have you offered up your classroom space for acknowledgement and discussion of racial violence? Have you advocated on our behalf? It is not too late to listen. It is not too late to act.

Retention of Faculty of Color and OMA Expansion We would like to remind the Exeter community of the enormous burden that faculty of color have taken on in events regarding racial justice. Students of color have repeatedly taken note of the lack of effort on the administration’s part to retain faculty of color. We asked our administration to begin addressing this issue in 2016, and we have yet to see a plan

Imagine PEA Without Protest This op-ed was originally published in The Exonian on November 14, 2019 in response to La Alianza Latina’s protest against Latinx alienation at the Academy.

The image above depicts of the Afro-Latinx Exonian Society’s 2017 sit-in at then-Principal Lisa MacFarlane’s office. Some of the content of ALES’ proposal then are quoted in the letter above.

By SAMI ATIF Exeter observed MLK Day only after a faculty member went on hunger strike. Coeducation in 1970 was thanks to Title IX and the Civil Rights movement. Financial aid became a possibility after massive fundraising and organizing.

Now, let’s imagine PEA without protest. In all seriousness, what would be left? I’ll spare the reminders about what youth from every quarter meant in the 18th century and simply say most of us wouldn’t be here unless someone actively opposed the status quo.

Our very own learning appara-

tus was, in fact, a protest—a “classroom revolution” gifted with the intent of reform. Furthermore, by definition, when Student Council brings a policy before the faculty, that is a student-led demonstration, also known as a protest. I say this to normalize what has become taboo and to discuss power.

The proper term for what we witnessed on Friday, Nov. 2, at the entrance to Grill is demonstration. Protest can come in many forms; somehow, we only consider marches, sit-ins, walkouts, die-ins, human chains and other active demonstrations as protest.

These all carry sentiments of public inconvenience, and perhaps this explains why words like protest, activist, and social justice have become disfavorable labels for some.

The shortsightedness here is epic.

An amateur read of world history reveals the modern-day importance of all these past forms of protest. Imagine this country without protest.

We can also learn a great lesson about power and privilege.

of action. We ask again today, four years later. We ask that the administration present a plan to support and retain faculty of color, as well as make valiant efforts to lift the burden of education off of their shoulders.

Additionally, we acknowledge that the challenging task of bringing the goals set forth in the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion vision statement to fruition cannot be accomplished if the Office of Multicultural Affairs does not have the staff or resources available to carry out this work. Our Interim Chief Financial Officer cited the following when denying the request for donations from the Academy, “Exeter is a school which has its mission [to] ‘unite goodness and knowledge and inspire youth from every quarter to lead purposeful lives.’ The Academy’s resources have been entrusted to us for the purpose of advancing that mission, and we devote those resources to financial aid for our students, the salaries, benefits and professional development of our adults, and the safety and preservation of our facilities.” The Academy cannot advance this mission without adequately supporting the work of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. If the Academy is unable to donate to third party organizations, an expansion of the resources available to OMA is the least that can be done.

Following are sections of previous proposals made by the Afro-Latinx Exonian Society demanding action from the administration in this area:

“additional opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to engage in civil dialogue,” “[diversifying] the curriculum by insisting upon multicultural curricula in all classes,” and “[continuing] and [strengthening] attempts to hire teachers, staff, and administrators of color.” Furthermore, in 2015, the Council of Equity and Social Justice crafted and delivered a similar proposal to the administration of Principal Hassan and the incoming administration of Principal MacFarlane. The group of students were promised that the propositions would be prioritized in the following year. After five years and two proposals, the experiences of Black and/or Latinx students remain largely unchanged.”

“Moreover, the Academy’s inability to retain Black and/or Latinx faculty contributes to a faculty hierarchy in which Black and/or Latinx faculty are permanently in an inferior position because they lack seniority in the PEA community. This leads to a collective feeling of disempowerment among Black and/or Latinx Exonians, adults and students alike.”

“Prioritize the hiring and retention of Black and/or Latinx faculty.

“Due to the concerns raised by the students’ responses, the Academy received several recommendations to improve the racial climate of the school, including providing

Black and/or Latinx faculty provide an important perspective from which everyone learns, and are a resource to Black and/or Latinx students, who might feel isolated or out of place in a predominantly white community. They help to create a more balanced community from which everyone benefits. To that end, the institution should: Have an aggressive and well-funded recruitment and retention program.

Create hiring committees that are balanced and represent the different constituencies oncampus: students, faculty, staff, and administrators.

Suffice to say, if you have never felt inclined to, or participated in a protest, therein lies a privilege.

One can choose to be apolitical, but it is a privilege if that choice comes with no perceived or viable consequence.

Proximity to power/decision-making is a privilege, and the powerful often protest in the shadows. There is a palpable class element here that feels paternalistic. Our motives for self-interest are uniform and human. The ends and means of self-interest are socialized and conditioned. If I could endow diversity, equity and inclusion, would I still need it? If I could vote-in prosperity, why would I march? If state-sanctioned violence wasn’t my reality, why would I die-in? If the border wall wasn’t dehumanizing, why would one erect a human symbol of it?

What does non sibi say about inconvenience? In the aftermath of the demonstration at Grill, I’ve been thinking a lot more about conveniences. In pursuit of convenience—hobo sandwiches, coffee, muffins, one’s routine, etc.—many broke character when they saw the demonstration. Some crossed the line, and others crossed a line. It didn’t take very much to produce the most disappointing of PEA moments.

Imagine if you will, the motivation of asylum-seekers at the US southern border in comparison with the actions taken by convenience-seekers at Grill. At no point in my time at Exeter was I more concerned about physical harm manifesting on campus. I spoke to several students in a fit of rage.

I witnessed adults storm off with displeasure. I tried to rationalize the unbelievable with demonstrators overtaken by shock. My phone rang as counselors and students inquired about the wellbeing of fellow demonstrators. I saw the brutal underbelly of PEA, the profane-laced encounters, the cheerful celebrations for breaking through and the inability to make sense of it all.

What then about free speech?

Free speech is the corollary of free protest. If one is fundamental to democracy, so is the other. If one is quintessential Exonian-like, why question the presence of the other?

Individuals that trumpet the ideals of free speech undeniably wave the banner for free protest. To divorce speech and protest is to be uninformed or unprincipled.

Many of us that question the motives and decisions of Grill demonstrators rush to upheld free speech or free political expression.

Let’s set aside the intent of the cos-

Carry out an institutional assessment to determine where the institution stands on the inclusivity continuum, and create a strategic plan for how to continue to move forward.”

“We request that you provide more support and staff for the Office of Multicultural Affairs. OMA attempts to validate and prioritize the needs of Exeter’s marginalized communities by advising, mentoring, offering financial and emotional support, and by creating programming and inclusive learning environments that foster greater understanding around topics of: race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, ability, religion, spirituality, and other aspects of identity” We would like to extend our thanks to the current faculty members of color who have shouldered the burden of representing and advocating for students of color, and we call others to action in supporting them. It should not be their endeavor alone. We repeat, “The only way to undo racism is to consistently identify and describe it—and then dismantle it.”

We call upon you to undo racism at the Academy by constantly identifying and describing it–and then taking action to dismantle it. We’re counting on you.

Best, The 53rd Board of the Afro-Latinx Exonian Society With the endorsement and support of Asian Voices, La Alianza Latina,Transitions, Chinese Student Organization, Korean Society, Woke, Feminist Union, Exeter Climate Lobby, Vietnamese Society, Exeter Jewish Community, Christian Fellowship, Thai Club, Japanese American Society, Unite! and the Student Council Executive Board for 2021.

tume. The irony in how many resist any infringements on speech while pursuing a checklist for rules, respectability, logic and convenience for protest is astounding. What am I to make of our reluctance to strike down hate-speech and hateful remarks while embracing only the cleanest, least-disturbing, always peaceful, quietest protest. What remains if you question the tactics of protest without questioning the reasons for protest. Is it silence you covet?

We’ve been here before.

What’s new and scary? Physicality and the presence of force. In my brief tenure at the Academy, we’ve witnessed several student-led demonstrations, none of which were met with force. Indifference, absolutely. Disapproval, sure. Contempt and disgust, perhaps. Yet somehow in a place so revered as the Academy, with gentlemen and ladies, Harkness tables, with teas and regalia, rules of order, conduct committees and all the like, we are no more than pushers and shovers.

That is us. As for the old, each moment of student-led demonstration has brought interrogation of the demonstrators’ motive. Quiet as it’s kept, it has also brought along positive change. I loathe the former, yet I await the latter.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Exonians Quarantine Around the World

By ANNE BRANDES and FELIX YEUNG As Exonians returned to their countries of residence to weather the coronavirus outbreak, many faced government-mandated quarantines, with various tracking and security measures. The following is a sample of some of their experiences.

Prep Clark Wu sat himself down in the corner of a bare hotel room on March 18. In addition to his chair, the room had a desk, a bathroom without soap and a wooden bed. Instead of sheets, a tarp with a hospital emblem covered the pillowless bed. Wu spent 15 hours in a local hotel as part of Shanghai’s mandatory quarantine process. He is just one of numerous Exonians who faced such procedures when returning to their home countries.

Wu initially planned to spend his Spring Break in the United States.

“I… stayed [in] New York [for] two weeks and worked near a hospital.

I’m pretty sure we were all aware of the coronavirus outbreak, yet not a single person wore a mask. I’m an American citizen, but I must say that the loose policies in the U.S. don’t work,” he said. “I decided to return to China because it’s home and it’s safer.”

In making the trip home, Wu knew he would be quarantined. “My grandparents, who stayed in Shanghai this whole time, were always under self-quarantine. My parents needed to self-quarantine when they returned to China as well,” he said.

“In Shanghai, there’s this whole process from when you arrive at the airport until you close your door at home. Thanks to the publicity, I was able to prepare for most of the trip.”

Still, the whirlwind procedures of quarantine struck Wu by surprise.

“Quarantining essentially began from the moment I arrived at the airport. Passengers were led off the plane based on the country of departure (not the country of transfer),” he said. “At customs, officials ran multiple tests to check for fevers and other coronavirus symptoms. Everyone also had to fill out health forms.

Then, we split into districts [of residence] and representatives led us to hotels for the nucleic acid test, which tests for coronavirus, and an overnight quarantine.” Wu had already spent over twenty hours on several connecting flights.

“The hotel room was quite miserable… Since I didn’t know if anything was clean, I decided to sleep inside of my suitcase, which I filled with clean laundry. Most of my night, however, I spent lying awake because I had not eaten for most of the day,” he recounted. “Thankfully, there were sufficient outlets for me to recharge all my electronics and stay in touch with my parents.”

Wu and his fellow travelers were released after their tests came up negative. “Everyone seemed quite miserable when we carried the suitcase down because nobody got enough sleep or food,” he said. Officials gave Wu a carton of milk and some crackers as he departed the hotel.

Though his stay in the facility was more than harrowing, Wu’s quarantine was not over when he left the hotel. He spent two more weeks in isolation at his apartment. In

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Shanghai, quarantines are enforced by household, rather than individually. Thus, Wu’s parents had to stay in another apartment in the city to avoid quarantine.

“There’s an electronic lock on my door that allows for four exits everyday. When I open the door for the fifth time, the police are notified.

There are also officials… who come and take my temperature,” Wu said.

“My family brings me food for every meal.”

Throughout quarantine, Wu kept his spirits high. “I don’t have much to do and the emptiness really creeps in on me sometimes. I’m honestly just glad to be able to rest for a while before school begins,” he said. “Uncertainty still lurks, but at the very least I’m at home and my family is near.”

Senior Matteo Calabresi endured a similar home quarantine upon his return to Italy on March 13. “A couple of days before I traveled back home, the Italian government announced that the entire country was going to be locked down,” he said.

“What that means is that nobody is allowed to leave home except for [limited] reasons.” These valid essential activities are work, grocery shopping and seeking medical attention.

Even the former two essential tasks are severely curtailed. “There is a small number of factories and shops that remain open, although there are several restrictions for them, such as making a reservation to enter a shop and entering these places one by one,” Calabresi said. “Grocery stores are open, but only a limited number of customers is allowed inside, and only one person per family can go grocery shopping… For all of the above cases, one needs to fill out a sheet that you can find online, explaining why you are leaving your household.”

Enforcement of shelter-in-place has been stringent in Italy, the European epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. “There are police checks in every other street, and if you do not have [a] sheet with you with a valid reason to get out of your household, you risk a very heavy fine or even worse consequences,” he said.

To protect his family members, Calabresi chose to self-isolate at his grandparents’ house. “In these difficult times, the most important thing for my family is to protect [each other]. Having traveled (though airports and train stations were completely empty), I am my family’s most exposed member to the risk of COVID-19,” he said. “Nobody actually believes that I could be infected, but it’s better to be safe than to be sorry.”

“I do not get out of the guest room unless it is strictly necessary, and if I do, I wear a face mask and gloves.

I eat in a separate room everyday.

It feels a little lonely, but everyone needs to make sacrifices in this difficult period,” he said.

Calabresi recalled returning to an unfamiliar Italy—his home since birth. “When I arrived in Rome, I got on a train to go up to Prato (near Florence), which is where I live. I had a chance to take a look at the very saddening scenario of our streets, emptied of any human being except police officers,” he said.

This sense of emptiness had followed Calabresi throughout

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online, I don’t really have any place to stay in the U.S,” he said. “The situation in the U.S. is also getting worse and worse, and I think it’ll be safer to go back to [Shenzhen,] China, where I live.” Xiao left the United States on March 15, preparing to stay in China for the foreseeable future.

Still, this decision came with uncertainty over how he would be treated upon landing. “I discovered I would have to be quarantined a few days before I left the U.S.,” he said.

“I wasn’t sure at the time [about the details], because the Chinese policies on quarantines were changing on a daily basis.”

Like Wu, Xiao stayed in a hotel serving as a government quarantine center. However, his experience was markedly more positive. “I was quarantined in a hotel near my house for the first two days, and then at my house for the rest of the two weeks,” he said. “The hotel was nice—the room was about as big as the one in Exeter Inn. They also provided free meals that were delivered to our rooms every day.”

Xiao noted that the first leg of his journey went smoothly. “I arrived at Hong Kong International Airport. I remember having my temperature checked a couple of times and filling out a health form. Everyone in the airport was wearing masks,” he recalled.

His trip to mainland China, however, was more tumultuous. “When I arrived at Shenzhen, I waited for a long time in customs. There were a

riving to Hong Kong on Thursday[, March 19], after 12:00 a.m. would have to be quarantined—I [arrived] at 6 a.m. that day,” she said.

Though Liao alone was quarantined, she was asked to stay away from family members and to wear a coded wristband at all times. The wristband was linked to a government app she had to download.

“During the quarantine period, the Government will monitor whether you are staying at the place of quarantine through this app by detecting and analyzing the environment electronic signals and their respective strengths, such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and geospatial signals in the neighborhood,” government guidelines given to Liao read. “If a change of such signals is detected, the app may issue an alert and request you to confirm your presence at the place of quarantine by scanning the… code on your wristband.”

The document stressed that the government’s app would receive only location information.

Upon arrival in Hong Kong, Liao was also given a document entitled “Home Quarantine Guideline for Home Confinee.” Among other restrictions, she was told to stay one meter away from all family members and in a well-ventilated single room.

Certainly, the experience of wearing a wristband was novel to Liao.

However, she made the most of the situation and used her two weeks of quarantine for self-improvement.

Officials check a traveler’s health declaration in Shanghai, China.

May Chen/The Exonian

his journey. “If it is any interesting, the plane ticket I got was the cheapest I have ever gotten to travel back home, even though I only took it one day before the departure,” he said.

“Obviously, after Trump’s speech, Americans decided not to travel to Italy, so the plane was almost completely empty. The only passengers were Italians going back home.”

During this journey, Calabresi noticed far more rigid measures to prevent coronavirus transmission in Italy than the United States. “[John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York] was completely empty, but there was no control for temperature or anything like that. When I arrived in Rome, the airport was also empty, but arriving passengers had to go through a temperature detector machine,” he said. “All the passengers in front of me had normal body temperature, but I would imagine that if one had a fever they would stop them for further testing.”

“At the train station, I had to go through police checks in which I had to explain my reason for traveling, give my [identification] and declare that I was healthy and never tested

positive for COVID-19. I saw that a few passengers were not allowed to exit the station,” he noted. “They probably didn’t have a valid enough reason for traveling, and I imagine they were fined.”

Calabresi found quarantine more challenging than he expected. “I have always hated doing nothing for more than 30 seconds, and so I constantly need to find something to do. I spend a good part of my day on the phone with my friends and family,” he said. “I sleep a lot, work out, watch some Netflix, try to read and learn more about COVID-19 and cook as much as I can to learn new recipes and improve my abilities.”

Nevertheless, he stressed that protecting his family was worth the cost. “It’s not that bad after all: I am happy that my family is safe and that I am back home,” he said. “Quarantine is difficult for everyone, but it is necessary for the well-being of the community, and I am happy to follow the rules.”

For upper Tony Xiao, the decision to go home came easily. “Now that spring term [has been] moved

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lot of people, and I stood for almost three hours in a line to get my temperature taken,” he said. “After that, I was taken to a bus that carried me to my hotel. It was quite disorganized.

At one point, we were ordered to get off the bus, and, after twenty minutes of waiting, we got on again.”

“The entire trip from the customs to the hotel took almost three hours, it’s a thirty minute ride at most,” he said. “I think they weren’t prepared for the flood of people coming back all at once. On my first night back, all the rooms in my hotel were already full.”

Though quarantine comes with spouts of boredom, Xiao is coping well. “After I got back to my house, I spent a lot of time with my family and read some books,” he said. “I really look forward to going for a run when [my] quarantine period ends.”

Returning to Hong Kong in midMarch, senior Jasmine Liao also experienced a mandatory home quarantine. “Three days before my flight, my mom told me that the government announced that all travelers ar-

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“I think this is the time to work on yourself, so I’ve been reading, cooking, cleaning and spending time with my pets,” she said. “And just having good food too.”

Upper May Chen encountered lengthy quarantine precautions when she landed in Shanghai. After arriving on an impeccably clean plane, Chen’s temperature was taken immediately after exiting the plane.

“Everyone cleaned aggressively as soon as we got on the plane,” Chen said. “Everyone has masks on.”

After Chen entered the airport, her temperature was checked twice and her wrists were scanned. Post this initial examination, she waited three hours for additional testing.

When the round of testing had concluded, the passengers were color coded.

The next round commenced after the passengers went through customs and Chen’s bags were sprayed down. After finding her district representative, she was sent to the hospital for additional testing.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Senior Spotlights

Suan Lee: Senior of the Year

BY AMY LUM At the age of four, The Exonian’s 141st Editor-in-Chief, senior Suan Lee, traveled to Vancouver, Canada, from Changwon, South Korea, for three months. “I didn’t speak a word of English. My mom tells me I’d get really frustrated with myself because I couldn’t understand anyone,” Lee said. “Apparently, I turned to her on the flight home and said I was going to “conquer” this incomprehensible language someday. I must’ve been quite the dramatic kid.”

Lee grew fluent quickly, allowing her to communicate with locals almost everywhere she went. Whisked from place to place during her childhood, her parents’ love of travel gave Lee a truly global upbringing.

While Lee’s globetrotting offered her new experiences and insights, she hoped to lay down some roots.

Going to schools in Sydney, Australia, multiple Korean public schools and a British international school, Lee’s longest stint at any elementary school lasted just over a year. After settling down for three years of middle school in Weston, Massachusetts, Lee applied to Exeter.

“I had had the chance to see much of the world, but I wanted to go to a place where the world was there for me,” Lee said. “That is Exeter. A vast diversity of people, experiences and stories all congregated in one place.”

Due to her language background, Lee discovered a passion for telling stories. “I have grown up with two languages: Korean and English. My parents don’t speak English, so I do a lot of translating between home and school. When I switch, it’s difficult to capture—and reconcile—the two different cultures I carry with me,” she said. “How do you translate a Korean story into American words, or vice versa? It’s impossible. Struggling with that taught me words are powerful, but that I always need to remember there might be more to someone’s story than what I’m able to understand.”

Through The Exonian, Lee found a way to tell those stories, giving voice to those who may not necessarily be able to raise their own. “The Exonian combines the two things I care about most: the idea of non sibi and storytelling,” Lee said. “It’s connected me intimately with so many different people at Exeter… It really matured me as a person and taught me both to listen and be a voice.”

Senior and 141st Board News Editor Angele Yang admired Lee’s dedication to the paper. “One of the things that I’m so amazed by is that if she’s really passionate about something, she will go the extra mile, sometimes coming in the form of working into the night,” Yang said. “Sometimes, she would text me saying that she drank like three cups of her Korean coffee and didn’t get any sleep working on a history paper or incorporating 20 interviews into an article the night before. And the next day, I was always amazed at how she still managed to be one of the most eloquent people in our class and seemed more prepared than most of us.”

Lee took The Exonian to new heights when she became Editor-in-Chief. “When we got to the paper, there was a lot that each member of the board wanted to improve.

Throughout our tenure, Suan made every single person on the board feel heard,” senior and 141st Board News Editor Sam Weil said. “But while she implemented everyone’s feedback, she never compromised her vision. She would make concessions and she would discuss, but she knew where she wanted the paper to go. And that was always the right direction.”

Never shying away from controversy, Lee’s tenure marked the publication of numerous investigative pieces, including one on equity in assignment of college counselors.

“Suan has always been willing to ask the tough questions. As a News Editor, I looked up to her bravery and curiosity, especially after the [College Counseling Office] article,” senior and former News Editor Ben Cai said.

“She realized The Exonian can be something that forces our institution to do better, but that it can also recognize the great things that we do,” former Life Editor and senior Ginny Little added.

Exonian adviser and English Instructor Erica Lazure had only praise

for Lee’s tenure as Editor-in-Chief.

“The 141st Board was a very ambitious group, and it was exciting to see Suan leading her team each week with compassion and dedication, and producing the best paper possible,” Lazure said.

Lee led by example, inspiring those around her to do better. “She genuinely put her whole heart into it,” Yang recalled. “She would be in the newsroom every evening to be available to any new writers who needed guidance on an article.”

Ever selfless, Lee also had a major role in fostering a positive club dynamic. “[Suan] helped make the newsroom a place you want to be where you can not only work but really have fun, joke around and really get to know the people you spend so much time with,” Cai said. “On late nights sometimes where, sometimes editors, including myself, had a lot of other homework to do or we’d be in the newsroom for a while, Suan would just tell us to take a break, or even go home early.”

Initially, Lee struggled with the

want to talk to for advice,’” Eom said. “Without even having truly met her, I had a special initial trust settled in her.”

When Eom faced difficult circumstances, she knew she could turn to Lee. And Lee would always say, “Here, do you want a charcoal wet tissue?”

Lee provided comfort for many others, including lower Anika Tsai.

“Because we’re neighbors, through my window, I can see her window.

She keeps her blinds closed, but I can see the light that shines past the blinds. Whenever I go to sleep, I always look to her [window] to see if the lights are on or not,” Tsai said. “I remember in fall term the lights were always on… It was really late, but Suan was still working. It made me feel like someone’s still awake with me.”

Beyond her passion for journalism, Lee has found a keen interest in history at Exeter. “History used to just be a class I looked forward to in middle school, but Exeter history took it to a completely new level for

workload. “I spent 20-plus hours on The Exonian every week, and it definitely took a toll on some of my academics—a reality I struggled to accept,” she said. “Sometimes, I identified more strongly with being an editor than being a student, and when push came to shove, I chose my duties for the former over the latter. I was frustrated at myself that I couldn’t be good at both jobs all the time.”

Still, her passion for The Exonian kept her going. “It’s ironic—in a beautiful, funny way—that even thoughThe Exonian was what made my upper year so difficult, it was also the biggest thing that kept me going. On some nights, I’d cry because of the paper, then start smiling like a crazy person mid-sob because I felt so lucky to have something that meant that much to me,” she said.

“I can’t imagine my Exeter without The Exonian.”

“Many of the previous Editors-in-Chief told me, ‘At some point, the work will catch up with you—by the time you turn over, you’ll be itching to leave the newsroom,’” Lee said. “That moment never came for me.”

Lee also plays a major role in her dorm, Dunbar Hall, serving as a Student Listener. The idea of student stories drew her towards the position. “Student Listening is an intimate way of interacting with somebody’s story,” Lee said. “Everybody at Exeter has their own baggage and burdens.”

Lower and Dunbar resident Jeannie Eom recalled the first time she spoke with Lee. “I remember her being so compassionate, approachable and extremely nurturing at our first interaction. I thought to myself, ‘When I’m homesick or struggling through tough moments here at Exeter, Suan is the first person I would

me. The research opportunities I’ve been given here are unparalleled at most high schools, I’d imagine,” Lee said.

The following year, the Academy opened up its U.S. History course for lowers, and Lee took the opportunity. “I had doubts and did worry I’d regret it. But I knew that research was something I wanted to do lots more of, and there were so many cool senior history courses that I literally could not wait to take,” she recalled. “I applied, got in and took U.S. History as one of four lowers.”

Senior Mia Kuromaru recalled seeing Lee in the library late at night, when Lee was working on her History 430 paper (the “333”) on the 1912 textile strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. “The library has a microfilm machine that magnifies documents and periodicals that are stored on miniscule film or paper. Whenever I would go to the basement to do homework, Suan would be there, carefully bent over and reading through the films.” Kuromaru said.

“The 333, although rewarding, can be a very tiring or stressful process for some,” Kuromaru added.

“However, even as she wrote her 333, Suan would always be smiling.

She would talk endlessly about her topic over her dinner—which was, of course, timed, Suan-style.”

After receiving a Negley Award for her work on the paper (becoming the only lower to ever receive this honor), Lee applied for the Exeter Fellowship at the New-York Historical Society. “It was really exciting.

I got to live in New York for three months, do a lot of museum hopping and hone my historical research and writing skills in a professional setting,” Lee said.

Exeter also allowed Lee to further her interest in the Classics. Though she stumbled into the subject in

sixth grade (the modern language courses were already full when she tried to enroll), Lee quickly found a love for the ancient language. “For most students at Exeter, I assume that taking a language is just another class. But because Exeter Classics is such a small department, it’s a really tight-knit community,” Lee said.

“The Department also funds a lot of incredible trips abroad. The summer after my prep year, I visited an archeological dig in France for three weeks—for free! That’s also where I bonded with Ginny [Little] and Grace [Ferguson], my closest friends to this day.”

“We would sit out on the balcony overlooking one of the amphitheaters in rural France, and we were just talking about prep year and where we had been before Exeter,” Little said.

Classics Instructor Sally Morris, who taught Lee in Latin and Greek, noted Lee’s prowess in the classroom. “You would never guess the number of activities that she does or in which she plays a major leadership role because she is 100% with the class and material at hand,” Morris said. “Suan is the epitome of what mindfulness should look like in a classroom setting.”

Yang, who has shared a Latin class with Lee since upper winter, also admired Lee’s eloquence and intellect. “When interpreting texts that we have just translated, she is able to extrapolate its significance and see the implications on a bigger

picture,” Yang said. “It’s a valuable talent that she brings to our class.”

English Instructor Todd Hearon also praised Lee for her skill at the Harkness table. “She consistently elevated the quality of the discussion with her generous and smart contributions and held it to a high bar,” he said. “Many mornings, it was she who initiated discussion and kept it fueled throughout with her fine insights and questions.”

Outside of Exeter, Lee leads Amigas Por Siempre, a nonprofit that organizes restorative and educational spaces for child abuse survivors at a transitional home in Limón, Costa Rica. “We work with children—some, mothers at my age— who have gone through more than what most people could ever imagine,” Lee said. “I’ve known some of the girls there for about three years now—Nayeli, Alexandra and Marcela. I hear from them during the school year, usually with updates about their lives or funny selfies with wacky filters. But there have been a few times when I’ve woken up in my dorm to missed calls and devastating news.”

“Trying to process the loss of a child I had known just months before, all the while sitting with a math notebook open in a quiet room on this pristine campus… the feeling is indescribable. I care so much about my work with Amigas Por Siempre and I’m grateful for the privilege to do it, but the truth is I still feel helpless most of the time. When Bryan Stevenson gave an assembly on ‘getting proximate’ a few months later and said ‘we cannot change the world by staying on campuses like Exeter,’ I felt the weight of his words. I fully intend to act on them someday.”

In these difficult moments, Lee has reached out to her adviser, Pan-

ama Geer. “I would call her and she would come running to my room.

When it comes to Ms. Geer, there are so many things I am incredibly grateful for and so many debts I can’t repay. I genuinely think of her as my second mother,” Lee said. “Ms. Geer really has been my biggest rock on campus. She’s applauded me through my biggest triumphs and picked me up at my lowest points.”

In all her roles on campus and beyond, Lee has become a leader and role model. “All the [experiences] that stick out to me are actually the ones that just happen every day.

I’m in Greek class with her and it’s been interesting because she’s such a conscientious worker,” Little said.

“She’s the one that really makes you feel loved and appreciated. And of course working with her on The Exonian, [Suan] our fearless leader.”

Weil reflected on Lee’s supportive nature, highlighting a moment when Lee gave Weil feedback on her meditation. “I was like, please give me many critiques. And she didn’t give me any reviews. Instead, she said to me, ‘Sam, it feels like you’re insecure in your own words. Exeter is about non sibi. It would be sibi of you not to perform this beautiful piece with the amount of confidence that you have.’ That was the most empowering edit that she could have given me,” Weil said. “To me, that represents all that Suan is.”

One of Lee’s strengths is her humility, offering a chance for others to shine. “A perfect example of this was when people were applying for proctorships, and she didn’t apply. Lots of people were surprised by that, because she just seemed like a shoo-in for proctor,” Geer recalled. “I asked her later why and she said, ‘I felt like I was going to do lots of things for the dorm anyway... I felt like it would be more meaningful for other people to be able to have that.’”

Lee has also shown her peers the power of hard work. “[Suan] works so incredibly hard, and I think for such good reasons too. She loves her family. She loves her friends.

She truly loves to learn. It’s always amazed me that when everyone else is dropping down, tired, she keeps going,” Little said.

Former Humor Editor and senior Nick Schwarz also noted Lee’s humor and her ability to have a good time. “She has tremendous vision as a leader, but also she’s a fantastic friend. She’s always very warm, no matter how stressful a situation was or the deadline,” Schwarz said.

“Suan reminded me what it’s like to work with Exonians. Not only how much you could get done, but also how much joy, how much of a pleasure that can be.”

Lee’s good humor shines through in one of her nicknames. “Her name is Suan, which I thought sounded like swan,” Little described. “A baby swan is cygnus in Latin. So my phrase that I always say is cygnus cygnus ignis ignis, which is swan swan fire fire, because it rhymes but also because I thought it was funny because she is very afraid of birds.”

Cai also appreciated Lee’s qualities as a best friend. “She’s one of the people outside of the dorm I can genuinely connect with,” he said. “Suan is one of those people I feel like I can just express my thoughts and my feelings… Even with COVID-19 sending us all home, I’ve stayed in touch with Suan, and she’s been incredibly supportive and sympathetic through these tough times.”

Lee has utmost gratitude for Exeter and the opportunities it has given her. “Every day, when I think about the people I’ve met at Exeter— through the paper, through Classics, or whatever else—my gratitude for this place grows another inch. It reminds me how lucky we all are to be in the company of so many brilliant, passionate, kind people who do so much good.”

Weil noted Lee’s tremendous impact on the Exeter community.

“Suan is one of those people who does things to help people and to help the world. Not for college or any ulterior motive, but because she has a beautiful moral conscience and truly strives to better the world,” Weil said. “She knows that she has something to give to every person and she works tirelessly to do that.

She tries to bring change and good in every way she can.”

As Lee departs the Academy for the next chapter of her life, she leaves a legacy of embodying knowledge with goodness. “I always thought that there are some people who are nice and that some people are just nicer than others,” senior Serene De Sisso, Lee’s prep year roommate, said. “Suan taught me that everyone can be kind; she taught me that kindness isn’t something that’s like a gift only to some people: kindness is a choice, a choice that Suan makes over and over again.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Ayush Noori: Senior of the Year

By JEANNIE EOM “Goodness is a measure of your merit,” a budding neuroscientist once said.

This neuroscientist is a self-proclaimed “strange day student,” someone who can be found on campus more often than boarders. He is our Student Council President, one of The Asian’s Editors-in-Chief, an Ewald Hall proctor and, most prominently of all, a beloved senior whom Exonians will miss dearly.

Ayush Noori’s many improvements to the Exeter community have put his philosophy of goodness on full display. RedBikes, Student Council’s most prominent achievement under his tenure, has allowed a large cohort of Exonians to travel in an environmentally conscious, equitable fashion.

Yet, his goodness transcends his efforts to better Exeter, pervading his relationships with those he loves. “He’s always willing to drop everything to be there for you,” senior Nikita Thummala said. “He’s always giving hugs and honestly, I like hugs. I love hugs.” Thummala

and Noori connected through their shared Indian heritage.

With exuberance, Noori brightens the days of those around him.

“Ayush conducts himself with compassion and empathy at the heart of his exchanges,” Pamela Appleton, Noori’s college counselor and adviser, said. “He has one of the most infectious hellos.”

Noori crafts positive experiences with his friends, no matter where he is. Last summer, Thummala and Noori met near University Avenue at Stanford, arriving at a train station past 10p.m. “There were a lot of very questionable people there,” she said. “For some reason, random fireworks were going off and we were both slightly traumatized, but we ended up getting boba and that was a lot of fun.”

Senior Billy Menken noted Noori’s motto of being “high on life.” “He’s high on recognizing brilliance and everyone who he sees on the path around campus, he’s high on the things that he does, on what he can do to care for others because he’s high on life, and he loves the feeling of being alive, best

carrying out that feeling through doing his work and through helping others,” Menken said said. “He embodies this figure of hard work, kindness and compassion towards other people. An inspiration.”

Noori is also characterized by his towering intellect, coupled with humility. “He [shared] a nerdy podcast [in] class… And it sounded so boring,” English Instructor Christina Breen said. “And I was like, ‘That’s horrible. That sounds terrible.’ Why did I want to do that? [But] I just feel like people are so comfortable with him… He doesn’t take himself too seriously, even with his extreme intellectual wisdom.”

Academically, Noori pushes boundaries. Having studied neuroscience since he was in seventh grade, Noori researches Alzheimers, Parkinson’s, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

His grandmother, who grappled with a debilitating neurogenetic disorder, inspired this accumulation of knowledge. “It’s challenging.

I’ve faced countless obstacles, but I do it in my grandmother’s memo-

ry, serving as a reminder that, even though I couldn’t save my grandmother, there are countless other families in which I hope to spare them from this pain,” he said.

Noori has worked a paid job at the Massachusetts General Hospital for the past two years. His current endeavor involves studying genetic data from thousands of patients with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and ALS at the Institute for Neurodegeneration at the hospital.

“Ayush thrives at the highest level of achievement,” Appleton said. “He pushes the boundaries of the curriculum, always with the hope of gaining as much insight and knowledge as he possibly can.”

Appleton noted Noori is ever-eager to share his complex research with others. “Last year, he led our advisee group to [Biology Instructor Townley] Chisholm’s classroom, where he had built a wormbot,” she recalled. “He was extremely patient in outlining his research project and accepted every question with a sense of importance.”

Noori’s remarkable work demonstrates his vast potential. “I taught Ayush for all three terms of Advanced Biology last year,” Biology Instructor Townley Chisholm said.. “He is both endlessly curious (and I do mean endlessly) and remarkably generous both with me and his peers.”

As Noori’s wormbot project mentor, Chisholm applauded his ability to work through obstacles.

“He worked with enormous independence and got a great deal of good research done, as his success in the Regeneron competition attests,” Chisholm said. “He set his goals, worked at them, and in time, he somehow manufactured and achieved them in the most impressive way.”

At every turn, Noori has made use of Exeter’s resources to synthesize knowledge and goodness.

Completing a Spanish 999 course with Modern Languages Instructor Jackie Flores, he explored medical research in a second language. In completing this course,

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Noori hoped to empower himself to help low income families in his research. As part of this work, he studied communities close to Boston where families lack medical insurance and care.

“He cares about the world,” Flores said. “When there was the Halloween costume incident a couple months ago, I saw him a day or two later as he came to sit and have dinner with me… He was so upset that it had happened. He’s humble.

He’s humanitarian. He thinks about others. We are lucky.”

Despite his brilliance, Noori is characterized by humility. “He won’t ever say anything bad about anyone,” senior Tina Fernandez said. “He taught me how to have confidence in my own ideas… He’s such a visionary, and he always— even if the idea seems kind of ‘too out-there’—presents his ideas in such a confident manner that people respond positively to them.”

“He takes it over the top—only because of his humility,” Flores added. “It’s what makes him special. He is intelligent and impressive, but it is also his innate virtue and goodness that makes him so special.”

Senior Lucy Gilchrist noted Noori’s devotion to his work “He just does everything 150% of what other people do,” she said. “The first thing I remember about him is his Prep Rep campaign, where he probably killed around 25 trees. So extra.”

Over the past four years, Noori created a lasting impression that both students and faculty will cherish. Though his journey has come full circle, this will not be the last we hear from this budding neuroscientist. Noori will enroll in the Computational Neuroscience program at Harvard University next fall, with plans to pursue neuroscience as his profession.

As he prepares to take the next step, Noori has a piece of advice for his peers at Exeter. “Never let your academic accomplishments or failure diminish your self worth,” he said. “The focus on where we need to go seems futile… Instead, make the choice to accept the goodness that Exeter has to offer.”

“Take the time to look at the beautiful people, and look at the beautiful school.”

Pepper Pieroni: Senior of the Year ByCLARK WU At 4:30a.m., senior Pepper Pieroni wakes up. In the midst of essential oil and soft classical music, his chai tea steams in a pot. With muted slipper-clad footsteps, Pepper saunters to his desk and flips open the awaiting pages of Kafka. As the brim of the paper falls, the page gives in a little to the passing air and crackles but stays rigid.

“That’s it, you know? I guess I found a place for myself in the mornings,” Pieroni remarked, smiling.

Pieroni—the prep who sang songs to his fall biology class about cell walls, who blasted “I’m in love with the shape of you” at the back of the Coachella tour bus for six hours straight, who cried after every math test, who drank five Arizona halfand-halfs and frappuccinos on one day—has blossomed into a blissful sparrow, singing sweet, mystifying tunes.

“I think I came into Exeter pessimistic, but I can confidently say that I am leaving optimistic,” Pieroni said. Idiosyncracies and all, Pieroni has connected with all around him and built countless friendships on campus.

Senior Orion Bloomfield recounted his initial fear and admiration of Pieroni. “Pepper definitely takes the cake as the most creative, talented musician. As I prep, I went up to him multiple times after health class and I’d be like ‘Hey, I’m into music too. I just want to tell you that you’re a very cool and inspiring person.’” Bloomfield said. “I was lowkey intimidated by him.”

Only later did Bloomfield realize that Pieroni’s humility and gratitude eclipse his artistic talents.

When Pieroni released his sixth album, Abundance, he invited many of his friends to Powell Hall in the Music Building for a release party.

“There must’ve been thirty to forty people there. It was really wholesome: I think it brought people together,” upper Charlie Preston said.

In some ways, the launch epitomized Pieroni’s nature: he is always one to unite those of different backgrounds and interests.

The album itself represents Pieroni. “Abundance is about everything he has in life. Pepper was driven by a sense of real comple-

tion, wholeness, togetherness. He felt everything was put together and that drove him to write everything,” Preston added. “I know that he recorded a lot of the songs during the summer without a booth in his closet. In one of his earliest recordings you can even hear his cat meowing in the back.”

Pieroni’s artistic expressions bring immense joy to his friends.

Upper Maggie Wainwright reminisced about their work in DRAMAT.“ Whenever we see each other, we always put on those impromptu speeches like, ‘Is it you? I can’t believe you left me, not after our children,’ Wainwright said. “It is just really wonderful and spontaneous and fun.”

Pieroni additionally excels as a classicist and philosophy scholar.

To him, ancient literature reveals fascinating truths that withstand the history. “There’s something so eerie and beautiful about how much we haven’t changed,” he said. “You read from these poets and you see yourself. Catullus wrote about how his lover didn’t like him back. When I read literature like that, it gives me a whole new sense of empathy. We still deal with the same feelings today. I’m like, ‘Catullus, I feel you.’”

Religion Instructor Peter Vorkink witnessed Pieroni’s passion at the Harkness table. “Pepper represents the best of what we want in our Harkness students, a student who comes to class well-prepared, energized, listens carefully to other students and responds thoughtfully to their concerns,” he said. “In many cases, I wish I could clone Pepper so that there’d be more of them.”

Indeed, engagement, empathy and people remain central to Pieroni’s time at Exeter. Even as a self-admitted prep year Harkness Warrior, whose “little dot on the table ripped through the paper,” Pieroni sought to connect with his classmates. “In math class, I’d ask questions for my classmates when they felt too nervous or shy. I realized that I could use my enthusiasm as a tool to help others,” he said.

“Eventually, I learned to become much more of an active listener.

That’s what started this loop of empathy for me.”

To his friends, Pieroni is a preservationist of inside jokes and memories. “Pepper keeps up an Instagram account that features a lot of strange,

funny videos or random quotes from friends. He has a way of taking conversations and interactions with people and making fun of it and keeping the joke going,” Preston said. “I remember a time where I was pretending to be a spy, dashing around in the dark and swirling on the ground, and [Pepper] just couldn’t stop laughing.”

According to his friends, Pieroni’s laugh is unforgettable. “He has this really contagious, squeaking laughter,” senior Thomas Matheos said as he squeaked in imitation, raising exaggerated eyebrows: “‘EEEEE!’ Just really, really great.”

To his friends, Pieroni is a random playmate. “Sometimes, the time is better spent with friends talking about whether or not we have meaning, rather than doing two math problems for the next day when I can do them the next morning,” Pieroni said. “One Friday, Maggie Wainwright, JaQ Lai and I went to Gerry’s and bought an onion, peeled it and carried it around like a pet. What I love about my friends is that we can be absurd with each other.

“What makes Exeter have Exeter-ness,” Pieroni added, “is the exact opposite of what I thought Exeter would be: I thought it would be about keeping my head down in working, when in fact, it’s looking up and saying, ‘Oh my god. I need to be here, right now.’”

To his friends, Pieroni is a warm embrace. “Pepper is the most emotionally immediate person I know.

The moment you start talking to him, he’s willing to be vulnerable, to be completely open,” Wainwright said. “He takes me out of my head and my own self doubt and insecurities and anxieties and just lets me be myself very fully.”

Pieroni referred to a poem as his inspiration for sharing. “There’s this Walt Whitman quote,” Pieroni said, “‘I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.’ I want to make sure that I don’t waste a single moment saying anything that isn’t core to myself––I sound my yawp each day by getting to know my peers on a larger scale. We have to search for ourselves through other people––we have to be vulnerable and ask each other the tough questions. I love that.”

To his friends, Pieroni is nonsense. “Sometimes we’ll start spit-

ting nonsense words at each other,” senior Lucy Gilchrist recounted.

“There was this one time at Grill, where we just started chanting ‘bingo bango ha ta ta” increasing in volume. The people were looking at us in such a confused way.”

To his friends, Pieroni is utterly fascinating. “He told me that he sees people as symbols. I still don’t really know what that means, but I’m really excited that he sees the world in such a wacky way,” Bloomfield said. “Pepper would be the most likely to change the world, out of all of us. The world is so different through his eyes.”

To his friends, Pieroni is the Bard, the minstrel on the side of the road, singing of epic gods and heroes. He aspires to return to Exeter, one day as a teacher, and continue to find his own place on the Harkness table. “There’s something magical about trusting me, trusting students, with materials and saying, ‘This

is yours, this is yours to explore,’” he said. “When those discussions work, I leave the class literally on a high. I’m shaking. I’m looking around to see if my classmates feel the same way. I’m jumping around.

It’s exhilarating. It’s the most exciting thing I do.”

“Seeing the magic of that and how it impacts other people––you have to be a part of it for as long as you can. I hope to do that as a teacher at the Academy; I’m so certain of that because of how all of my teachers have affected me,” he said.

“Mr. Vorkink says the Academy has a high recidivism rate––I’m hoping that I can continue that tradition.”

Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing she hath wings.

– Victor Hugo

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Janalie Cobb: Senior of the Year

By LINA HUANG It is not an odd sight to find senior Janalie Cobb Merrill Hall, accidentally lying on a bottle of milk in the common room. Nor is it odd to see her on the swings in front of Main Street. Despite these snapshots, however, Cobb has been at the forefront of promoting change at Exeter in her four years at the Academy, whether it be in Debate, Mock Trial, the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) or Exonians Against Sexual Assault (EASA).

Cobb’s introduction to Exeter came as a stroke of chance. Taking the SAT and ACT in middle school, she received a letter from Exeter, inviting her to apply. The rest is history. “I think, at my core, I’m the same person, but the way in which I act is very different. I’m naturally a very shy person, and I came in prep year with that shyness, but also with just so much cockiness and confidence,” she said. “Over the four years, I’ve become less shy and less cocky but more confident.”

At club night, Cobb decided to join Debate, following in her brother’s footsteps. Mock Trial followed. Cobb’s aptitude for law is often on full display in Mock Trial, where she is a force to be reckoned with. Senior Celine Jeun recalled being a new member and watching Cobb’s performance in trial. “I was in awe of the presence she held in the club and around campus—she was fierce, confident and powerful,” Jeun said. Cobb’s teams have won two State Championships in the past four years.

Former Mock Trial co-head Abby Zhang ‘19 commended Cobb’s adeptness at Mock Trial.“She’s one of the most brilliant, most talented people I’ve ever met. She is such a persuasive speaker. She says things in a way that whoever’s listening to her is able to connect with her and really understand her. And she’s just an amazing public speaker and an amazing performer,” she said.

“She’s also a great leader. She cares so much about the people she’s leading, the underclassmen on the team, even before she had official leadership roles, she would reach out to the younger kids on their team, she would look over their material, give them feedback on their performance.”

Under her leadership, Mock Trial achieved an unprecedented sweep this year, with its three teams earning first, second and third place in the state.

Though Mock Trial helped Cobb discover her passion for law, she continued to look for a more specific area of interest within the field. “Mock Trial showed me that I do really love law, but I was always interested in social justice,” Cobb said. “That’s how I’ve been involved in OMA and EASA, and I was involved in [the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day] Committee.”

In her lower fall, Cobb participated in the Equal Justice Initiative trip in Montgomery, Alabama, where she connected social justice work and love of law. The trip, which focuses on prison reform, illuminated the depth of this issue to Cobb. “Let’s just start with basic numbers. Things like a black man has a one in three chance of going to jail in his life, whereas a white man has 1 in 17.

We are first in the world for incarcerated individuals. We have the largest prison system in the world, despite not having nearly the largest population in the world. California has more prisoners than many countries,” she said. “Our prison system is extremely discriminatory against people of color. It’s extremely overpowered as well, with private prison systems that want to imprison people so that they can make more money.

We have cash bail systems that are inherently discriminatory

against lower class people just by nature of the bail system.”

“That is a very deeply ingrained and extremely damaging issue in our society if we see the criminal justice system overall as being something to save us. Yet, it’s an institution that is inherently racist and sexist and classist,” she added. “Just so many of the problems that we see in today’s society are built into the criminal justice system. Something’s wrong with how we’re trying to save ourselves and save our country, and that needs to be fixed.”

Cobb hopes to take part in that change. “At the moment, my goal is to go to criminal justice reform, civil rights litigation. [The] Bryan Stevenson area of law. I currently have an internship at Northwestern Law School in the Roger and

tice before she’s even out of high school. She sets an example and I think shows people that that’s her character,” he said. “If I imagine Janalie, I imagine someone who’s going to do what’s right. I think that’s if we’re going to talk about the future, then I think that’s the most important thing.”

Zhang noted Cobb’s ability to translate her convictions into action. Last summer, Cobb participated in efforts to reform the Academy’s sexual misconduct policies, resulting in the elimination of Principal’s Discretion and the introduction of a Misconduct Review Board. “I think one of the most powerful examples of that has been her work as an OMA Proctor and in EASA this past year. It’s been really incredible to see she’s leading this huge change

said, ‘Oh my god, I thought she was a senior,’” Smith recalled.

“It’s one of those things where I think [it is] because of the way she conducted herself at the class.”

Cobb’s synthesis of goodness and critical thinking inspires English Instructor Genny Moriarty, her adviser. “Janalie embodies the idea of non sibi and greatness with knowledge because she is so incredibly intelligent and was so thirsty for learning but she’s so determined to leave whatever community she’s in a better place,” she said. “She works so hard to create positive change, and she absolutely exemplifies those qualities in terms of her involvement with activities here.”

Cobb’s kindness and care shine through in both the classroom and beyond. “One time, in

Solange MacArthur Justice Center, which does a lot of that work.

And that’s what I want to do when I’m older; that’s what I want to do with my life,” she said.

Science Instructor Townley Chisholm, who first met Cobb in his introductory biology class and chaperoned her term abroad in Stratford, England, noted his regard for her work ethic, her critical thinking and her poise. “She wants to do legal work fighting racism… With her dedication, clear thinking, lightning-quick wit and terrific verbal skills, she is going to be very effective at whatever she chooses to do,” he said.

Upper JaQ Lai, a former member of Mock Trial, admired Cobb’s sense of justice. “Above anything else, I think Janalie cares a lot about what’s right. She already is pursuing criminal jus-

that’s taking place at Exeter right now,” Zhang said. “I think there’s some people at Exeter who you just look at, you’re like, ‘Wow, they’re going to change the world in some way.’ And I think Janalie is without a doubt one as well.”

“There are kids who come through here who really shape the school and say, ‘I’m going to get as much out of this place as I can.’ And she definitely strikes me as one of those kids,” English Instructor Lundy Smith added.

While Cobb’s moral fortitude puts her in high esteem, her fierce intellect has also earned her commendation. “When she was a sophomore, we had a visitor from one of the British school system and, after class, he said something about how impressive she had been. And I said, ‘She’s really something for a lower.’ And he

the middle of a discussion, a girl started to say something and another boy started talking over the top of her. Janalie turned to the boy and said, ‘Wait, stop. She was talking. Wait your turn,’ and it was just kind of this really adult moment but done with such grace and goodwill and good spirit that the boy didn’t take offense at it and apologized,” Smith said. “I was thinking, ‘Here’s a kid who’s really engaged with the class and making sure that everybody’s voice is being heard.’”

“There’s this kind of worldly thoughtfulness about her so that, when she speaks or when she’s listening to other people, you always get the sense that she’s completely engaged with the other people around her. Nothing ever seems like she’s being casual,” Smith continued. “She’s always laser fo-

cused on the people around her.”

Jeun also appreciated Cobb’s openness. “I can talk to her about anything. She’s the youngest child in her family, but you can’t tell— she gives the best advice, whether that’s on FaceTime at one in the morning or at D2 [Java], where we sometimes go to do homework. I’m grateful to call Janalie one of my closest friends,” she said.

Cobb is also prominent in the dorm, where she offers underclassmen essay or narrative editing and general life advice.

“Merrill now… is a lot more sentimental. But that’s in part because I’m graduating. It hits me all the time that I won’t be able to bother Grace and Bona in their rooms at night, that I won’t be able to drop my stuff in the common room and lay down and listen to Mia laugh at me for collapsing on the floor,” she said. “Merrill for me now is a lot of memories.”

Numerous Merrillites noted Cobb’s profound impact on their time in the dorm. “There’s just so many moments where I would knock on Janalie’s door, and I’d be crying about some issue like I was stressed about school or some personal issues, and then she would just hold me and would talk me through it,” lower Grace Ding said. “Janalie was the person that I went to for help because, in my mind, she is all-knowing; she’ll always be able to fix a problem.”

Ding also valued Cobb’s active reachout in times of stress. “Janalie was one of the first upperclassmen who would come up to me if she saw me and say hi to me. It let me know that she cared about me and that she wanted to be there for me,” she said. “I remember last year, when I was going through some personal stuff and I wasn’t telling anybody, Janalie was one of the only people who would see me, and she’d be like, ‘Hey, are you okay? You seem really down.’”

To those who need her, Cobb is always present to lend a hand.

Though senior Mai Hoang was intimidated by Cobb as a prep, the two grew close when Cobb extended an invitation for Hoang to stay with her family in Chicago.

“She was such a wonderful host, and I could tell she was really excited about having someone in her city,” Hoang said. “Her family took us around to get good food, and throughout it all, she was very conscious about issues of justice in the neighborhood that she lives [in] and Chicago as a whole.”

Cobb often helps others, even at the expense of her own work.

“She always puts her own issues to the side when it comes to taking care of other people. She is the most non sibi person I know,” Ding said. “She will go through hell to make sure that you are happy and that you are safe and make sure that you are at the best position that you could possibly be.”

In that way, Cobb exemplifies Exeter’s values. “The way Janalie has really exhibited non sibi is because she just genuinely cares so much about the people around her: whether it be underclassmen in her clubs, underclassmen in her dorm, she just connects to people and she makes them feel welcome,” Zhang said. “She makes them feel listened to, and she’s always there for you.” “[Janalie’s] passion and great conscience are an inspiration, and she leaves a positive impact on everyone and everything she deals with. I always leave conversations with her knowing more and understanding the world a little better,” senior and fellow Mock Trial co-head Sam Farnsworth added. “Janalie is an incredible leader and an incredible friend. I look forward to the day when I can be proud to say that I knew her when she was in high school.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Thomas David Wang: Artist of the Year

By ARHON STRAUSS On his first day of classes, senior Thomas Wang recalled leaving his dorm wearing khakis, a button down and a tie. Four years later, Wang walked out of his dorm dressed in sweats, with his trusty camera in hand.

In addition to these changes in style, Wang noted that his personality has changed a lot over the course of his Exeter career. When he arrived at Exeter, he was a STEM-focused student who participated in mathematics competitions at a national level. However, he found new hobbies at Exeter, including Debate, Model United Nations (MUN) and Mock Trial.

Beyond these clubs, a pivotal element of Wang’s life is his passion for photography. His photography and editing skills have earned him YoungArts awards two years in a row. “YoungArts was an amazing experience, I got to go to New York to work with and learn from some of the most prolific artists of this age,” Wang said. On campus, Wang shares his talents with both PEAN and The Exonian.

Wang stressed that methodology defines photography. “The world is a lego set,” Wang said, sets he can construct piece by piece in his mind. “My pictures are just me trying to make the real world fit into that frame of the world that I have in my imagination.”

Beyond photography, however, Wang aspires for self-improvement, striving for rationality. “Even before arriving at Exeter, I always wanted to make logical decisions, and now to a greater extent I want to have complete control over myself and my actions,” he explained. “It has definitely been hard trying to stay rational in every situation. There have been many times where emotion has taken over and my decision making has been clouded. Yet, in spite of these setbacks, I still try. Even if being perfectly rational is impossible, I still want to improve.”

Additionally, Wang hoped to be someone “who can lead and care for those close to him.” Most recently, he worked towards these

Justin Li: Artist of the Year

By CINDY SU Identified by his clean Air Force 1 sneakers and boldly patterned shirts, Justin Li, a three-year senior from Vancouver, Canada, epitomizes the work Exonians can do both on- and off-campus. With his queer student-run clothing brand, Love to All, Li has worked to empower LGBTQ+ youth, all while making use of his affinity for art.

In all his endeavors, Li hopes to tell stories. “I’m really inspired by

my friends,” Li said. “I think the stories around me are really important to me and, through my art, I hope to document that, [as well as] my own experiences and struggles, especially as a queer person of color.”

His exhibition at the Lamont Art Gallery, “Your Blood + Mine: A Meditation on Identity,” put this mission on full display. The showcase, featuring works by Li, included a powerful piece depicting a screaming man in red paint on a white canvas. “I studied the HIV/

AIDS crisis for my 333,” Li said “That issue is really important to me because, even today, HIV/AIDS is still an epidemic among a queer youth, and those of color are disproportionately affected.”

In addition to the pieces dedicated to the HIV/AIDS crisis, Li displayed “The Triptych of the Asian Woman,” featuring four portraits offset by the glow of neon pink lights behind the art. The piece serves as a tribute to the many Asian women who have shaped Li. “I hope

to empower Asian women because Western media stereotypes Asian women as weak and submissive,” Li said. “Through those pieces, I hope to shine a light on how they’re so dynamic and all really powerful people.”

Fellow artists noted Li’s intellectual and artistic curiosity. “He’s not afraid to try new things, and that has led to a lot of success in both academics and his own pursuits…

It’s something that I learned from him,” senior Lucy Sun said. “You can definitely see what his style is just by looking at some of his art…

I don’t think a lot of artists are able to say that.”

Beyond his art, Li hopes to empower those around him. Li makes peers feel welcomed, whether he’s striking up a lively conversation as a co-head of the Chinese Student Organization or working as a representative of the Gender Sexuality Alliance.

His ability to do so comes from his authenticity as a friend. “He cares a lot about other people and is such a reliable person,” lower Kitty Coats, a close friend of Li’s, noted.

“I feel like I can tell him anything, and he’s to keep it a secret if I ask him to.”

“He’s really grounded,” lower Emma Lyle added. “It doesn’t matter if you’re younger than him, older than him, he treats you with the utmost respect.”

Li’s impact reaches far beyond Exeter. His work has been exhibited in Shanghai, China, at the Ming Contemporary Art Museum and in Vancouver, Canada, at the VanDusen Botanical Gardens.

The Love to All Project has also extended Li’s reach. Li founded Love to All after a pre-college program at the Rhode Island School of Design. “I was really inspired to use my art to make change, just because I saw how a lot of the [teacher’s assistants] and graduate students were able to transform their art and into tools of change,” Li said. “I want to

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goals as the leader of Exeter’s Mock Trial C Team and a co-head of Mock Trial. While Wang participated in A Team for the past two years, he relinquished his position for the good of the team.

Under his leadership, C Team achieved a historic performance.

“Thomas led me, and the rest of C Team, through a lot of tough times, and eventually to the [State Finals],” prep David Chen said.

Wang spent hours with them, hoping to push each member of C Team to their fullest potential.

He continued this dedication to Mock Trial, even through the college application process.

Devotion to those he is close with is among his defining traits.

“Thomas is a loyal friend, someone that will be there for you, someone that you want to keep around for your whole life,” Abby Zhang ‘19 said.

Senior Sam Chang, who worked with Wang on the MUN Board, agreed. “Thomas is someone who knows a lot, so naturally he is stubborn and argumentative occasionally, but at the same time he is someone who will look out for you like a brother,” Chang said.

Wang has strived to keep a positive mindset when approaching this overarching goal. He offers a motto, which has guided him: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

As Wang departs the Academy, he feels confident in his reciprocal relationship with Exeter.

“Exeter has shaped me into the person I am today. Now, I would like to think that person is someone who is caring, intelligent, logical and driven, but I suppose that is for others to decide,” he said. “Yet, I also think that I have shaped Exeter in some way—not only through my leadership in clubs like M.U.N. and Mock Trial, but also through the connections I have made. So even if I did not always succeed, I think that I was able to bring the best out in myself while I was here.”

Having left his mark on Exeter, Wang now looks to the world. “I want to be remembered,” he said.

“I want to make an impact so that people will remember the name Thomas David Wang.”

do [that] with my own work, since I’ve always been passionate about fashion, about youth empowerment, so I combined all three things into a business” The project has proven successful, raising over $10,000 for charity organizations through donations and sales from Love to All’s clothing lines. Love to All continues donating to shelters and funding workshops across America.

During their most recent project, Proud Summer, Love to All sent queer youths to pride festivals in Canada and all over the U.S. “Justin is the backbone of LTA,” senior and LTA Director of Communications Maureena (Ree) Murphy said. “As our [Chief Executive Officer], he leads us in terms of creative direction.. .He is a businessman, yes, but before that, he is an incredibly talented artist who sees the power in beauty and creation.”

Li’s knack for networking has allowed LTA to spread awareness of LGBTQ+ issues through interviews with famous figures from the community. Garrard Conley, author of Boy Erased, and Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David are among those who have been interviewed. “We’re even working on interviewing Pete Buttigeig right now,” Li said.

He has also continued his messaging by speaking with faculty at such respected institutions as the University of Conneticut and Columbia University, specifically sharing how they can support youth activism and queer youth.

“Before Exeter, I was a very silenced person, but I learned to be outspoken and how to talk about the things that mattered to me,” Li reflected. “I’m really grateful to Exeter because I think that sentiment will last with me forever.” This won’t be the last we hear from Li or Love to All. Perhaps, Exonians will hear him speaking at an LGBTQ+ rally or sitting front row at New York Fashion Week. Either way, Li will continue raising his voice and helping others find their own, fostering the next generation of changemakers around the country and the world.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Mai Hoang: Scholar of the Year

By ANYA TANG Each Exonian knows senior Mai Hoang in a different context. To some, she is the former Managing Editor of The Exonian. To others, she is a cochair of the Academy’s Student Council Committee of Community Equity and Diversity, an acclaimed poet or international journalism organization Climate Tracker’s High School Engagement Coordinator. In all these capacities, however, Mai Hoang is an Exonian committed to bettering her community.

Hoang’s first impression of the Academy was its vast library. “I remember being in the library, and that was a very surreal experience: honestly, the library at [Exeter] was probably bigger than the m ​ ain public library in m ​ y hometown, Ho Chi Minh City” Hoang said. “Back home, there wasn’t a culture of people going to the library and reading books. I almost felt like a weirdo for enjoying books.”

In particular, Hoang was drawn to Exeter’s Harkness method, despite her initial doubts about being admitted.

“I always wanted to have more debates and conversations in class,” Hoang said. “Honestly, Exeter was my dream school, but I didn’t think I could get in.

Back then, I thought Hotchkiss was my best possibility.”

Within her first few terms at Exeter, Hoang proved herself to be an active participant in classroom discussions. “Mai was a very enthusiastic and fearless member of the Harkness table,” senior Suan Lee, one of Mai’s classmates prep winter, said.

“She always had this can-do attitude and was always jumping in with questions and points.”

Now a senior, Hoang continues to bring her unique insights and contributions to the Harkness table. “Sometimes, our

teachers will throw out questions that will send the class into silence because we’re all reading and finding ways to answer it, and then Mai will jump on those opportunities and guide the class,” senior Blane Zhu, one of Mai’s current classmates, said. “She’s definitely very aware of things that are missing from the discussion.”

Hoang’s teachers also noted her development as a connective force in the classroom. “She grew as a centripetal and cohesive voice at the table and built upon the contribution of others, and I think that that is an admirable step that we can all aspire to have,” English Instructor Todd Hearon said. “It’s easy for us to bring our own arguments to the table, but then to try to stitch something together as a group, to me, that is a secondary tier of leadership.”

For Hoang, her swift adaptation to Harkness came as a personal surprise and a welcome opportunity. “I don’t know why Harkness came so naturally to me because there w ​ as little in my educational background that would prepare me for this type of self-expression and learning,” Hoang said. “But I guess because [Harkness] was something that was never present in my life, but something I always felt I wanted, when I actually had the opportunity to do it, I was very excited and just dove into Harkness.”

Outside of the classroom, however, Hoang faced challenges in acclimating to Exeter. “My prep year in general was challenging, because I became involved in a lot of activities and I got to know a lot of people, but I didn’t feel like I could relate with anyone, and I didn’t feel comfortable opening up myself to them,” Hoang said. “At times, it felt very, very lonely because I also didn’t get to go home [to Vietnam] tremendously often.

However, staying with my host family here helped a lot.”

As time went on, Hoang continued to grow and overcome adversity, thanks in part to her work ethic. “She has a lot on her plate, but she is unfailing in her dedication to getting it done,” History Instructor Betty Luther-Hillman, Hoang’s advisor, said. “She really prioritizes the commitments that she’s made, and she understands how to do that in a way that she always manages to get it all done.

I think it’s because she knows her limits, and she knows how to prioritize.”

Now, Hoang pursues a wide variety of interests, making sure to dedicate her full time to each of them. “At the core, [she] is genuinely passionate about helping people and making sure people have equal opportunities,” upper Renee Bertrand, fellow Community Equity and Diversity Committee co-head, said.

Outside of Exeter, Hoang has pursued independent research, such as her participation in Summer Science Program (SSP), a selective biology research program run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in her lower summer.

SSP is a residential research program in which individuals from across the globe come together to spend over five weeks collaborating in handson science research. The program primarily accepts rising 12th-graders, but Hoang was one of the few 10th-graders accepted by the program, where she researched fungal inhibitor design.

For Hoang, SSP was a unique experience in combining research with collaboration.

“SSP really made it so that you can’t work alone,” Hoang said.

“There was no shame in not understanding something as quickly as someone else. You have to

struggle through things together.”

As with the classroom, Hoang connected her peers in the lab, bringing together strangers with her warmth and kindness.

“We’re not afraid to support each other, and I think Mai was a huge component of creating a welcoming atmosphere and helping us realize that everything’s going to be alright,” SSP labmate Kevin Tan said. “Mai brings joy and humor to this kind of high-stress, high-intensity environment, and I don’t think anyone else would have done the same.”

In the lab, Hoang was a collaborative force while maintaining her personal creativity.

“When we were working in the lab, Mai was an independent thinker while also working together with other people,” SSP participant Chelsea Chen recalled.

Even as her team faced adversity from various mishaps, Hoang kept their motivation up. “No matter what challenges were thrown at us, whether it was bad data results or something that went wrong in our lab, Mai always helped us get through it together,” Chen said.

“She was really supportive and she didn’t let anything get her down or make her want to give up.”

In just over five weeks, Hoang made her mark on her labmates with her passion and positive presence. “Every conversation that I have with Mai has just opened my perspective on the world even more,” Tan said. “Mai has pursued so many different passion projects such as Climate Tracker, and that inspires me to refocus my energies toward fields I’m genuinely interested in because life is too short to be bogged down with other commitments.”

Having built her skills freelancing in Vietnam and through

The Exonian, Hoang found an intersection for her passions as the High School Engagement Coordinator for Climate Tracker, an international climate journalism organization.

As the youngest-ever Climate Tracker fellow at the United Nations 2018 Climate Change Conference, Hoang illustrated her prowess as a dedicated climate journalist, taking time to empower fellow youths.

Students who worked with Hoang recalled her poise and experience. “We were interviewing a green ticket delegate for the UN climate summit, and I remember watching her talk to the guy and she looked so comfortable in that environment,” fellow journalist Vivian Li said.

“She made me a lot less nervous during those interviews that we went to together. She just seems like so much of an adult to me, and she made me feel more secure and encouraged me to be more outgoing.”

In particular, Hoang has a penchant for pursuing her passions independently. “She is a very clear example of not being tied down to the things that high school has to offer,” Li said. “I think that’s impacted me because I kind of see things that way too.”

For her senior year at Exeter, Hoang undertook a senior project in translating Vietnamese poetry with Hearon. After presenting her translations in the Phillips Church in the fall, Hoang pitched her translations to various magazines and is working to publish them.

Hoang and Hearon collaborated to meticulously translate each piece to the best of Hoang’s ability, focusing on individual choices in translation before producing the final portfolio at the end of fall term. “I was mostly in a position of asking questions about why she had made that particular decision and what effects she was going for. Week by week, we were just looking at formal choices that she was making,” Hearon said.

“It was very much a conversation. She was diligent about producing a considerable amount of work weekly and then came out with that outstanding portfolio of work at the end of the term.”

For Hearon, Hoang has grown to be more than a student at the Academy. “I think that the job of the teacher is to make oneself obsolete. I think that the teacher has succeeded when the student has surpassed the teacher,” Hearon said. “That’s been my experience with Mai over the three years that I’ve had her as a student. I now see her as a colleague in art and intellect.”

In all things, Hoang devotes her empathy, mind and spirit, upper Anne Brandes explained.

“Mai has been nothing short of my inspiration over these last three years,” Brandes said. “She is incredibly generous with her time and has deep care for those around her. She calls out injustice when she sees it. Most unique to Mai, though, is her unbelievable intelligence—I’ve never met her equal in that department.”

“Mai will tell you that she has been very lucky in her life— to be at Exeter, to work with Climate Tracker and in other programs, to have a funded gap year and to attend a wonderful college in 2021—but there is a reason why she keeps on getting so ‘lucky.’ Mai has unwavering values and incredible courage in her convictions. Accompanied by her one-of-a-kind logic, passion and love of learning, Mai will keep on getting ‘lucky’ her entire life,” Brandes said.

As Hoang moves on from her four years at the Academy, students on campus will remember her for her dedication to her work and her passion for supporting others around her. As she prepares for her gap year, Hoang hopes to continue her involvement with the Academy by publishing a newsletter detailing her travels.

Above all, Hoang would like to leave a legacy that has impacts both on-campus and beyond the Academy. “Exeter is amazing in terms of the resources we have here, but the world​ out there is so much bigger. You should never forget that.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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Audrey Vanderslice: Scholar of the Year

By LINA HUANG Audrey Vanderslice walks from Arabic 999: Government in Media to her senior project on Chinese internment camps. The Senior Class President, Mock Trial co-head, Concert Choir singer and conservatory pianist treats all her activities with passion, dedication and genuine curiosity.

Vanderslice grew up in New York, attending a French international school, where she balanced speaking French at school and English at home.“[Coming to Exeter,] I was looking for something new, and the Harkness method, among other things, stood out to me,” she said. “Since coming here, it’s really changed the way that I learn and the way that I interact with my peers, both inside and outside of the classroom.”

Upon her arrival, Vanderslice formed immediate connections with teachers, learning from their knowledge and experiences. “I love the teachers I’ve had at Exeter. I don’t think there’s a single one that I’ve disliked. I’ve learned so much from each of them,” she said. “And what I love most is how excited they are about what they’re teaching and just the opportunity to talk to them is so special… I genuinely believe that they care about each and every one of their students, and they’re so committed to just sharing their passion for the material.”

Vanderslice, for her part, has left a similarly positive image in the minds of her instructors. “She had this wonderful way of kind of seeking to understand right before she decided whether or not she agreed to somebody. She gently gets people to push their thinking but in a way that is also very just very open minded,” English Instructor Genny Moriarity said.

“I’m actually now realizing that I want her to become a writer.

But she’s so brilliant and she has so many talents, and I don’t know that that’s where she’s headed.

Which doesn’t surprise me because she has so many interests and so she’s like a sponge,” Moriarty added. “She’s just a superstar.”

Moriarty highlighted Vanderslice’s warmth and generosity, rare traits for those with an intellect

like Vanderslice’s. “She has the sort of joyfulness about her that’s kind of striking, and she’s so insatiably curious. She was always really kind of diving deep into what we were reading, and the more I learned about her many talents, the more I grew to admire her,” she said.

English Instructor Ellen Wolff, Vanderslice’s adviser, admired Vanderslice’s thoughtfulness around campus. “She demonstrated even then what I have seen again and again throughout these four years: an earnest curiosity in others’ opinions, a genuine desire to listen to understand, an ability to disagree with grace, force, and tact, a tenacious integrity,” Wolff said.

Other adults in Vanderslice’s life noted her grace and humility. “Audrey to me is a diamond in the rough. She’s just such a phenomenal person,” Mock Trial adviser Lori DuBois said. “She doesn’t share how smart she is.

She doesn’t share that she’s a phenomenal pianist. She doesn’t share that she travels the world and she speaks several languages.

No matter what, she’s always so focused and everything that she does, she excels at.”

Vanderslice joined Mock Trial without much of an idea about the club, but she became fascinated with the level of speaking competence members of the club exhibited. “I remember going to the very first meeting for everyone, and a member was delivering one of her closing statements from last year. I was just so blown away, and I wanted to be able to do that,” she said.

DuBois, who became the Mock Trial adviser two years ago, witnessed Vanderslice’s growth in confidence and skill. “One of the things that Audrey has always struggled with while she’s on the prosecution team or as an attorney is being able to finish her statement before the time runs out,” DuBois said. “As a senior, she has mastered that, and she’s able to compete and complete her crosses within the timeframe that you need to, which is a huge feat because it’s critical for the team to not lose points in the tournament if you run overtime.”

Even as a lower, however, Vanderslice exhibited a dedica-

tion to her work that fueled the team. “When we went to Nationals two years ago, our team was so different from the rest of the teams. When they would have student function events, instead of the kids going and having fun, our students would go back to the rooms and they were studying, they were rewriting their scripts, all these things right up to the second they had to perform,” Dubois said. “Audrey helped drive that, and those are the qualities that will carry her into the future. No matter what she does in her life, she’s going to succeed.”

As with Mock Trial, Vanderslice puts in the hours when it comes to learning new languages.

Vanderslice’s interest in modern languages began with her experience at an international school, continuing as she discovered Chinese, Arabic and Spanish.

“I’ve just loved cultures and understanding them and becoming a part of them for so long, and I think that’s definitely something I’ll carry with me always,” she said. “There’s something so exhilarating about being in a totally different environment with customs and traditions that are just totally different from my own.”

“I’ve grown so much from places that I’ve visited and the languages that I’ve learned. I really shouldn’t say ‘visited,’ because I feel like it’s more than that. I hope I always continue to discover places and cultures and languages that go along with them,” Vanderslice added.

Vanderslice carries traditions from the places she has lived with her. “My host grandmother [in China] always gave me tea, and I always would complain because it wasn’t really sweet. She started mixing in condensed milk so that I would drink it, because she told me that if I drank tea every day that I wouldn’t get sick,” Vanderslice recalled. “Whenever I got sick, she told me, ‘It’s because you didn’t drink your tea,’ but after she started putting in condensed milk, she instead said it was because there was sugar inside.”

Senior Isabella Ahmad recalled Vanderslice’s love of condensed milk fondly. “I always have tea, and she always has a stash of condensed milk, so we

drink a lot of tea with her condensed milk,” Ahmad said. “The best part of our friendship is that we can do silly things like watch Keeping Up With The Kardashians over flavored tea.”

This dedication also translates to Vanderslice’s piano playing.

Vanderslice began playing the piano at age five, when her father signed her up for piano lessons, growing more involved as she realized her potential. “I’d always really been committed to piano since I started, but the New England Conservatory was really challenging,” she said. “I got there, and I’m not afraid to admit that I was totally blown out of water because the teachers hold you to such a high standard and the kids there are just absolute prodigies, and learning alongside them was such a privilege and is such a privilege.”

Ever scrupulous, Vanderslice puts in the hours to hone her craft.

“I’ve really come to appreciate the process of learning a piece,” she said. “It just requires a lot of attention to detail and stuff that I didn’t even really realize was a part of learning a piece before, but being held to that higher standard pushes me to really examine pieces in greater detail: not just the notes on the page, but also the historical context of the pieces in the composer’s life.”

Lower and fellow Wheelwright Hall resident Kiesse Nanor bonded with Vanderslice over their weekly trips to Boston for piano lessons. “I’ve heard her perform a late Beethoven Sonata, and those are really difficult.

Especially as a young person, to be able to play in a way that accurately reflects the emotion that Beethoven was likely feeling at that time,” she said. “Her interpretation was really nuanced, and technically, it was pretty much perfect.”

To her surprise, however, Concert Choir has also become a major part of Vanderslice’s time at Exeter. “Before I came here, I did choir partially as a requirement, but I never really thought that I could get into it. When I started Exeter Choral Union with [Music Instructor Kristofer] Johnson, he convinced me to join the Concert Choir,” she said. “I was terrified, but I did it, and it was so much

fun, and I never looked back. I made some of my closest friends there.”

Vanderslice will be remembered at Exeter for her genuine nature. “Vanderslice’s kindness and warmth also stood out to Ahmad. “Audrey is genuinely one of the best people I know. She’s extremely kind, extremely hard working, she has [an] incredible work ethic,” Ahmad said. “She is the kind of friend who will put down whatever she’s doing no matter how important it is to her to be a friend to you first, and I think that’s the best type of person to have around.” Among Ahmad’s favorite Exeter memories is communicating with Vanderslice through their shared wall in Morse code.

To all those around her, Vanderslice’s warmth consistently shines through. “No matter when I see her, she always puts a big bright smile on her face and she comes up to me and she gives me a big hug. And it’s always so genuine. There’s nothing fake about Audrey. She wears her heart on her sleeve,” DuBois said. “For me, she’s almost like a daughter that I never had, and she’s just such a wonderful, beautiful person inside and out.”

Nannor will miss seeing Vanderslice on her weekly bus rides to Boston. “It’s nice to have someone in the dorm that we can walk to the bus together and have those early Saturday morning conversations,” Nanor said. “Audrey’s definitely someone that I admire; she’s done really well with her age and the repertoire that she’s playing.”

Though her campus-wide impacts number many, Vanderslice has shaped the Exeter experience those closest to her. “It is hard to be supremely talented and immensely well-liked. But that’s Audrey Vanderslice. She challenges me, she makes me laugh, she is the hardest working person I know. There is nobody whom I enjoy being around more,” senior and Mock Trial co-head Sam Farnsworth said. “She is the person I can always count on to go to Las Olas, to build a snowman, to watch a movie.”

“Every day I am with her is a good one, and I cannot wait to see what worlds she conquers next.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Lucy Gilchrist: Scholar of the Year

By AUDREY ASLANI-FAR “Exeter taught me how to be really curious,” says Senior Lucy Gilchrist. Over her four years here, she has discovered a love for everything from poetry to chemistry and has been a unique and driving force in the community.

Growing up in Portsmouth, NH, Gilchrist developed her passion for humanities early on. “I was involved in a history museum outside of school called Strawbery Banke and I did a lot of extracurricular activities through there,” Gilchrist

said. “That definitely shaped how I interacted with history and primary sources and I read a lot as a kid.”

At Exeter, she continued to explore her love for history, beginning with the Chinese history course she took her prep spring. Yet she really unlocked her passion for the subject her upper year while taking the US History sequence. She spent late nights pouring over primary sources, and discovered her love for historical research.“I could be in a library for hours just looking at stuff or reading people’s diaries. I like that insight. The foundation of that

was at Strawbery Banke,” Gilchrist explained.

Fellow senior Orion Bloomfield commented on Gilschrist’s careful and empathetic approach to the subject. “Her view of history is fascinating because she sees the struggle and she feels it too,” he added.

Gilchrist has also enjoyed the English curriculum throughout her time at Exeter. She considers herself to be a writer and has honed her skills through English classes here.

“At Exeter, through the wonderful English teachers I’ve had, I’ve been able to develop a stronger narrative voice,” she said.

This past winter, Gilchrist delivered her senior meditation in the church. Bloomfield praised Gilchrist’s thoughtful writing and the deep insight she is able to extract from both her voice and others’.

“She thinks about reading and writing on a level that not many others do,” he said.

Over the past few years, Gilchrist has also moved beyond prose and discovered her interest in poetry.

The summer between her upper and senior years, she completed an internship at the Academy of American Poets in New York. Gilchrist considers poetry to be a link between writing and another one of her passions, music. “In poetry and songwriting, I get to try my hand at writing songs and putting lyrics to music,” she explained.

Though she has loved music since she was a child, Gilchrist has had the opportunity to nurture her passion for it at Exeter. She also participates in many extracurricular music groups on campus, including Concert Choir and A Capella.

Gilchrist also praised Exeter’s unique religion curriculum. “My favorite class at Exeter overall was prep fall Hebrew Bible with Mr.

Nosa Lawani: Scholar of the Year

By ATHENA WANG At the 2018 National Latin Convention in Ohio, seniors Nosa Lawani and Kevin Xu sat down for academic tests that spurred them to challenge faulty questions. They did their own research, found their own references and wrote a petition to the convention’s organizers to change the answers. They stayed up until two or three in the morning “over insomnia, cookies and milk,” as Xu put it, writing challenges to those questions they found objectionable.

Whether in Kirtland Society, Debate or Republican Club, senior Nosa Lawani is not afraid to challenge people. “Nosa just wants to make everyone write better and to speak in an eloquent way,” senior Mai Hoang sasid. “He’s a very quirky and interesting dude.”

Though many of his current

passions began fortuitously at Exeter, Lawani stressed that “when you put the most of yourself into something, even if it’s something by chance, you’ll still get good things out of it.”

Despite his relatively short careers in both areas, Lawani has developed an impressive proficiency in the Classics, as well as skill in classical music as a double bass player.

During his lower year, Lawani kindled a passion for Classics. “I discovered the breadth of the world and the ability to make a personal connection with the ancient text—and to do that with something so far removed from you as a person in time, space, and culture, but yet you’re still able to relate… it’s just made me an all-around more humane person,” he said.

After this discovery, Lawani set many academic records, memorizing more than 4,000 Latin words for a summer Junior

Classical League contest, in which he won several awards.

Other classicists noted Lawani’s academic prowess.

“Nosa knows more vocabulary than just about any student I’ve had in 35 years. I would say he’s fluent in Latin. The way he went after the Greek program— which is a very intense, accelerated program—was in a really systematic, organized way,” Classics Instructor Sally Morris said. “And then he turned around and shared his method of thinking with the other students in class, not just keeping it to himself… Nosa is 100 percent organized and just tenacious about learning everything that there is to know.”

Lawani also holds a natural aptitude for other academic fields. “[Nosa is] always willing to probe a little bit more deeply into characters or elements of style or form,” English Instructor Chelsea Woodard said. “He

Weatherspoon,” she said. “It was my first introduction to Harkness and a little bit jarring, but also super, super engaging at the same time. I think that in that class, I started listening to a text instead of just voraciously devouring books beforehand. I started slowing down and thinking about how I was processing the text and able to parse it with others.”

Friends and classmates praise her thoughtful and engaged demeanor at the table. “Lucy is always the most passionate contributor to the class,” Bloomfield said. “If you’ve ever had Lucy in class, you’ll immediately understand who she is through that class.”

Yet despite her love for the humanities, Gilchrist has discovered her passion for science, particularly chemistry, during her time at Exeter. This year, she is taking the Chem 500 sequence and doubled in the subject in order to take Organic Chemistry during winter term.

Gilchrist loves the engaging and collaborative atmosphere of the lab.“I really love puzzles,” she explained. And a lot of chemistry is problem solving or puzzle solving.”

Instead of choosing between science or the humanities, Gilchrist has instead found a unique way to merge her passions. She credits this attitude with the Epistemology class she took her senior fall. She said the course is “the most difficult I’ve taken at Exeter because of the different ways it forced me to engage with knowledge and knowing.” But in the class, she learned that her approaches to the subjects were actually quite similar.

“The way I engage with science is actually similar to the way that I engage with humanities in terms of the building blocks of seeking patterns and trying to find meaning in patterns or repetition or problem

solving,” Gilchrist explained. “The same can be analogously said for understanding a narrator’s voice or how the pieces of a story come together or how the pieces of history come together.”

During her upper winter and spring, Gilchrist’s interest in science influenced her term research papers in US history. “I was able to combine my interest in science with history,” she explained. “I wrote about Mary Baker Eddy and the Church of Christ Scientist winter term. In spring, I researched John Humphrey Noyes and his utopian community that experimented with eugenics.”

Friend and fellow senior Paula Perez-Glassner praised Gilchrist’s willingness to explore her passions and not confine herself to any one field. “It’s impressive that Lucy is so well-rounded in so many aspects.

She’s good at both, she loves both,” Perez-Glassner said.

Outside of the classroom, Gilchrist is also a student listener and day student proctor in Hoyt.

But one of her proudest accomplishments on campus is helping confound the Mental Health Committee. She describes the group as a “liaison between student groups and faculty” and is grateful to have helped “put a name to the problem.”

Gilchrist has certainly left her mark on Exeter, both in and out of the classroom. After graduation, she wants to continue studying both chemistry and humanities in college. Yet her time at Exeter has not only changed her, but her fellow classmates and the whole community. “There are few people in a classroom at the Harkness table who can change the impact of the class for all the people at the table, and that’s a special kind of person,” senior Ayush Noori said. “Lucy is one of those people.”

generates a lot of discussion. I would say Nosa definitely took a leadership role at the table. He encouraged other students to invest seriously in the text.”

Students also noted Lawani’s leadership in the classroom.

“We were both very passionate and would sometimes disagree about interpretations of an [English] text, but it was definitely very fun,” Hoang said. “He gave me a lot of constructive feedback, and I think he’s one of the very few friends I made solely because of being in class with them.”

In both Latin and English, Lawani recognized “that some of the people in his class aren’t that motivated. And instead of holding that in any way against them, he grew to be almost like a teacher,” Morris recalled.

“Nosa was someone who pushed others to think more critically. He can be a divisive intellectual sometimes, and he’s definitely not afraid to play a devil’s advocate,” Hoang added. “I think at first people might think that he’s a bit abrasive, but as someone who was in class with him, I really appreciated his intellectual vigor and stimulation.”

Lawani does not settle for his own excellence, caring deeply about those surrounding him and their respective successes. “I think we share a lot of common academic drive, so we really motivate each other …

Nosa is an authentic person who doesn’t really hold back any comments,” senior Brian Liu, neighbors with Lawani in Main Street Dorm, said. “He really does genuinely care about those activities and how people are progressing, especially the new novices and the new intermediates, and getting them up to the advanced level along the same path that he traveled himself.”

Outside of the classroom, Lawani is a humorous and compassionate mentor. “Nosa is a very energetic, witty, intelligent kind of person. I feel like over the past three years he’s been a mentor for me, both personally and in the Classics,” upper and Kirtland Society co-head Charlie Preston said. “He took me under his wing out here, and I feel like he has pushed me forward to be a better student and a better person.”

Even when he does not serve as a direct mentor, Lawani inspires by example. “When I came as a new lower, I was mildly interested in Latin and

Classics. But when I joined Kirtland society and got to know him, I really saw how passionate someone could be and how involved you can get within the text and the obscure language,” Xu said. “And I think that his excitement about it definitely rubbed off a bit on me.”

At Exeter, Lawani has fostered free, protected speech.

“In Republican Club, what I’ve always tried to foster is that we keep discussions there open,” he said. “We’re not exactly just the polar opposite of Democratic Club, we just want the free flow of ideas. And that’s one thing that I do feel strongly about…

Generally, I want to see a world where nothing is considered unhearable.”

Even with his convictions, Lawani is more than open to discourse.“I know The Exonian gave him most Republican in one of their superlatives, but I don’t like to think of him as a contrarian or a conservative for the sake of supporting something on which most of the campus disagrees with,” Liu said.

“I think something that distinguishes him is his opinions are unique from other peoples, but not in a combative way as we usually see on campus. I think it’s really refreshing to have someone who possesses very different beliefs, yet at the same time is intelligent in expressing those and articulate.”

Lawani will not only be remembered for being a diligent scholar, but also as a warm and lively person. “It’s just been an absolute joy to have him as part of my teaching life here at the Academy. I’m going to miss Nosa’s sense of humor, his warmth, his laugh and his personal touches a lot. He’s a real jewel,” Morris recalled.

“Once you get to know him and share one or two moments with him where he’s genuinely excited or giggling and cackling about some obscure facts that he found, you really get to see what keeps him going,” Xu added.

Lawani will take his passion and leadership skills with him to his college career. “In college, I’m thinking of majoring in comparative literature because I want to use all of this—an almost excess amount of knowledge that I’ve accumulated to learn some romance languages while it’s fresh,” he said. “I want to do a little bit of everything.” Certainly, his time at Exeter has prepared him to take on this goal.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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Dacha Thurber: Musician of the Year

By HANSI ZHU A bright, lingering melody emerged from the professor’s violin, rippling into the hallway where three-year-old Dacha Thurber peered through the door frame and watched in silent enchantment. Professor Nikola Aleksić from the University of Novi Sad was staying in the Thurber house while in town to perform at Phillips Church, and every day of his sojourn, he lifted his glossy, auburn instrument and played.

“I want one, too,” little Thurber declared to his father.

His first violin was a cardboard cutout; his second was the 1/16 size miniature that Thurber soon brought to his first lesson. The aspiring musician quickly succumbed, however, to the discouragement of grueling practice hours and minimal progress. Then, by the spring of his fourth grade year, he noticed his practice paying off; spurred by this realization, he auditioned for Boston Youth Symphony Orchestras’s Junior Repertory Orchestra, a Boston-based training and performance program for K-12 musicians. This was the event that initiated Thurber’s eightyear participation in the youth ensemble that provided him the space to collaborate with peers, advance his skills and steadily cultivate a fervent love for music making.

Thurber has not missed a chance to immerse himself in music at Exeter. As the concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra, he serves as the liaison between the conductor and the rest of the orchestra, leading the entire ensemble in practice and in concert. Cues fly off his fingers, bowing instructions

from his lips. Walk into the Bowld on a Monday or Thursday night before rehearsal and he is always at his stand, five minutes early, tuning his instrument and welcoming all of the students that are bustling in.

In addition to Symphony Orchestra, Thurber takes private violin lessons, participates regularly in the Chamber Music program and eagerly composes string arrangements to accompany his friends’ EPs. To Dacha Thurber, music is less of a hobby and more a philosophy. In his devotion to his artistry, he spends upwards of four hours every night honing his skills, experimenting with his score and perfecting his presentation, all in one massive effort to express his insatiable love for his craft.

Thurber’s dedication to practice is one of his defining qualities as a musician. Lower Brian Son, who experiences Thurber’s day-to-day leadership as a fellow first violin section player, emphasized his willingness to take charge, regardless of the chaos unfolding outside. “It’s sometimes really hard to sit and focus on a Monday evening, but Dacha’s presence, leadership, and focus really motivate us and help us come together musically,” he said.

“When we play together, his enthusiasm is contagious,” upper Nathan Sun said, who played the piano alongside Thurber and cellist Max Tan in a trio throughout the fall and winter terms.

While the toll of winter term often causes a wane in practice time for the majority of orchestra members, Thurber maintained his commitment to be a grounding force in the ensemble. “Having him there reminds

us of why we do orchestra and encourages us to keep going,” senior and fellow first violinist Anjali Gupta said.

Senior and stand partner Meili Gupta added, “He inspires me to practice better, to work harder, to become a better musician.”

One of Thurber’s most admirable traits is, as Chamber Music Coach Peter Schultz puts it, Thurber’s one-of-a-kind musicality. Thurber was the winner of the esteemed 2019 PEA Concerto Competition, hosted annually by PEA music faculty, in which he performed a demanding, rhapsodic piece called Tzigane by Ravel. Schultz was especially impressed by his solid technique, precise intonation, smooth sound, and rich vibrato. “He’s a beautiful player,” Schultz said. “He gets around the instrument and can play really advanced repertoire wonderfully.”

Thurber’s ability to take contextual clues in sheet music and figure out the best way to execute them is one of his most notable musical talents. His greatest joy, he said, lies in the freedom of control that he has when interpreting a piece.

M. Gupta felt lucky to be his Symphony Orchestra stand partner because in close proximity, she could observe his playing most clearly. “I can hear the story that he’s bringing into the music that we’re playing together,” she said. “I definitely admire him as a violinist.” In their Spring Senior Recital Class, each musician demonstrated their progress in a weekly workshop.

Thurber was a kind and competent provider of feedback, oftentimes observing his peers’ sheet music, marking down the exact measure numbers he

wished to discuss, and offering his advice with pinpoint specificity. “Just having a conversation with him, you know that he doesn’t make decisions only off of what he wants or what is most appealing,” brother and lower Sava Thurber said. “He’s good at taking a very central view on topics until he is well informed enough to make an educated decision. And he’s always up for criticism. He loves feedback.”

Schultz’s most memorable experience with Dacha Thurber occurred when the senior recital tour to Italy required one member of the wind and strings octet to play the viola, a larger and mellower-sounding version of Thurber’s beloved violin. “He volunteered without hesitation,” Schultz said.

“He played the viola on almost everything that we did, and he did a terrific job.” Not only was Thurber’s willingness to learn and master the viola parts proof of his multifaceted musical talent, it was also a quintessential example of the Academy motto, non sibi.

Son recalled his visit as an incoming prep during one of PEA’s spring revisit programs, in which he talked briefly with Thurber about music and life on campus. He had left with a glowing impression of the quality of the students. “It’s people like him that make you feel so much at ease, that make Exeter the place it is, that make it so welcoming and warm,” he said.

“Sometimes, famous musicians have reputations for not being the nicest people in the world,” Schultz said. “I always like to say that being a musician doesn’t excuse you from being a good quality human being. In Dacha’s case, he’s both.

He’s an excellent musician, but

he’s also a really good quality human being.”

“There are some people that you have to be on your best behavior around, but he’s not one of them. He’s just so open to everything, and he’s so willing to help out other people, even if they don’t ask for it. He’s just there,” S. Thurber added.

For Thurber, the joy in music-making permeates his everyday existence. “People love working together here; they love making music, and they’re good at working hard. So it’s incredibly rewarding,” he said.

He also contends that the music community is larger than just among those who play instruments. “Everyone knows how to hum a song, and everyone knows how to understand it,” he said. “That’s music; that’s the way music interacts with us. There aren’t that many things that are that universal and powerful.”

“People often talk about how music is a dangerous business to go into because it’s not the most lucrative,” he chuckled.

“If that’s what you’re focusing on, then don’t go into music.

But very few people who warn about going into music take into account how fun it can be.

And there’s no greater joy or privilege than to be something as a job that you love to do.”

With violin in hand, Dacha Thurber subsists on the thrill of musical perfectionism, relishing in the process of blending tradition with his own interpretations and giving way for music to be a constant source of joy in his life. His cardboard-wielding, three-year-old self would certainly approve of the incredible musician and upstanding person he has become.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Samuel Chang: Musician of the Year

By AMY LUM “Sam is a savage,” senior and fellow Exeteras co-head Orion Bloomfield said. “He is the man, the myth, the legend.”

Before Exeter, senior Samuel Chang attended the American Boychoir School starting from fifth grade, which led to his rich background in choral singing and music. “We would have two, three hour rehearsals every day,” Chang said.

Once he arrived at Exeter, Chang was immediately drawn to the Academy’s music groups on campus. “The upperclassmen that went to the Boychoir school with me— they were actually co-heads of Exeteras and PEADs. I was dragged to both of those groups, auditioned to both, got in, and it’s been history ever since.” As of now, Chang is a co-head of both Exeteras and PEADs. Bloomfield is grateful for the year they’ve shared as co-heads of Exeteras. “For awhile during Exeter, we didn’t really share an extracurricular space where we were both passionate about making music to get together,” he said. “So it was kind of fun just being back with him, snobbing over music theory and getting all the boys back together.”

Fellow senior and Exeteras, Concert Choir and PEADs member Kevin Xu appreciated Sam’s contributions to the musical community, especially a capella.

“Sam is someone who enjoys joking around, but is always dependable when you need him. It’s a great balance to have that energy in an a cappella group because it means we can have light-hearted rehearsals while making good progress on the pieces we’re practicing,” he said.

Senior Leah Cohen believes one of the reasons why Chang is a great co-head and musician is because of his kindness and inclusivity. “One of his best qualities is that he tries to never leave anybody out,” she said. “He’s always thinking of other people…he tries to talk to everybody and get to know everybody on a personal level and I think that’s really admirable.”

According to Bloomfield, Chang and Bloomfield’s shared experience in music was tremendously helpful in forwarding Exeteras’s efforts. “We both have had a very similar experience in learning how to not only how to do well in choir, but the very specific things that you need to work on to get better,” he said. “We both focus a lot on the little nudges you have to make being the ‘choir director’ in some ways, to get everyone singing well and to maximize their potential as choir singers.”

Tommy Kim ’19 met Chang through Exeteras and PEADS. “As a bass, he supported both a cappella groups with his vocal ability and musical knowledge…

[Especially] with the Exeteras during his upper year…he contin-

ually pushed the club in a positive direction by helping find music to sing and helping lead rehearsals,” he said.

Senior Michael Singer appreciated Chang’s passion for music.

“He’s dedicated hours on end to singing. After an exhausting track workout, he’d always be enthusiastic about heading over to the Music Building to be in company with his singing groups,” Singer said. “He’s also looked out for the younger kids in choir and acapella in his upperclassmen years.

Having been through it all since Prep year, he’s able to empathize with the younger ones.”

Singer also spoke to Chang’s comfortable nature on stage. “I strongly recall visiting his concerts and watching Sam always bring a playful vibe to his performances,” he said. “While the other kids seemed extremely serious and nervous, Sam wasn’t afraid to look around the audience and give a grin to his friends. It was clear that he really enjoyed performing.”

One of Bloomfield’s favorite memories with Chang was during Exeteras practice. “Mr. Johnson goes into one of the supply closet rooms in Powell hall and he opens up this speaker that connects to the whole entire room. It’s a sick speaker system. He does it to show us new music or show us how some other choirs or singing other stuff,” Bloomfield said.

“Since a lot of the members of Exeteras are in concert choir, we’ve been watering over the idea of opening up the supplies closet ourselves. But it was locked. Sam Chang was the one this year to find out that the password on the padlock was one, two, three, four, five, six…Mr. Johnson did find out though and he changed the lock,” Bloomfield concluded.

Chang joined Concert Choir his prep year. During his time at Exeter, Chang’s favorite memories from choir were traveling to Coachella Valley and London.

“The touring experience brought me the closest to a lot of these people that I see in rehearsal,” he said. “In rehearsal there’s not much time to socialize, so just being able to sit in long bus rides and spend late nights together in hotels was the fastest way for everyone to get to know each other well.”

Chang spoke to the emotional side of the two trips. “For Coachella Valley, we traveled to a bunch of schools and showed them the power of music…we perform at a lot of these schools to encourage them to pursue the arts,” Chang said. “For London, it was more of a cultural exchange. We got to meet with a couple of schools and learned what their lives were across the pond.”

Senior and fellow traveler Meili Gupta recalled a specific memory from the trip where Chang showed his kindness.

“There was one night when we were playing soccer with some local kids, whose parents were immigrant workers who worked

in agriculture jobs or they were from a local school,” she said.

“And I remember he [Sam] just spent a lot of time playing with the kids.”

Chang also plays a big part in Gli Scalatori, a chamber music group that focuses on Italian madrigals. English Instructor Genny Moriarty recalled the performance Chang put on with his group near the end of winter term.

“I have particularly fond memories of the way he and his fellow members of Gli Scalatori channeled their disappointment about a canceled trip to Italy (due to concerns about COVID-19) into the gorgeous and inspiring “Italy: Lost in Transit” performance in the Bowld at the end of the term,” she said.

Bloomfield reflected on all the fun times they shared in the group. “The bass parts of all these songs are not as difficult as the other parts, so we’re just chilling during most of these rehearsals.

We give each other massages.

We’ll ask each other how our days have been. It’s a really sweet time,” Bloomfield said. “It’s really funny cause sometimes everyone else in the group gets really concerned why we’re giving each other piggyback rides in the middle of rehearsal.”

Not only did Chang enter Exeter with his singing skills, Chang also has a background in piano playing. Chang started playing the piano when he was five, but stopped once he got to Exeter. In total, ten years of piano. “Sam is actually savage at piano, but he never tells anyone. He’s at the point of playing piano where I look at the score and it’s just hell on a sheet,” Bloomfield said.

Chang is disappointed he won’t be able to come back to Exeter this spring. “These are the most transformative years of our lives. We’re not saying goodbye to it forever, but physically not being able to be there is a big step. I loved my time at Exeter.

And it sucks that it has to end early,” he said.

Over his years at Exeter, Chang has learned how to focus on one thing: his music. “Exeter definitely made me hunker down and perfect my craft,” Chang said. “Music for me was something that taught me how to grow in a certain field.”

For Chang, music was also an outlet that allowed him to escape the tough academic world at Exeter. “At Exeter, it’s all get down, put your head down and grind.

But through music, I was able to take a breath of fresh air and really get to just enjoy my time.”

But one thing Chang struggled with in the beginning was time management. “With joining these many groups, we’re looking at six, seven hours of rehearsals a week,” Chang said. “I got pretty close to wanting to drop out of one or two groups.”

However, one thing that kept Chang going was his friends.

“Performances would eat into my Sunday afternoons, my Friday

and Saturday nights, but I got a lot of support from my friends because they ended up coming to the concerts so I wasn’t missing out on too much,” he said.

Bloomfield, a close friend of Chang, has known Chang for almost eight years now. Along with upper Kei Sakano, Bloomfield and Chang attended the American Boychoir School together starting in fifth grade. “Ever since day one, he was always on the wilder side.

I cannot stress enough how funny he is,” Bloomfield said. “But on top of being quote unquote wild, I will say that he definitely has an equal and opposite side of him.

That is very compassionate, very thoughtful, and very loving.”

Because Chang and Bloomfield both lived near the school, they bonded over the fact that they were day students. “Every time our concerts would run late we would always be in the same room together. And that was a wild time from fifth grade to eighth grade being Sam’s roommate,” Bloomfield said. “Of the grade, Sam was definitely the jokester. I don’t remember if he was the one to make all the jokes, but he always made all the jokes funny. He has a very specific way of just saying stuff or doing things that’s absolutely hilarious.”

Sakano and senior David Kim agreed. “[Sam] always finds a way to make people laugh even when you wouldn’t expect it,” Sakano said. D. Kim added on, “Sam is honestly one of the funniest guys to be around. Every time I get to talk to him, I’m always smiling.”

D. Kim described his friendship with Chang. “We started off prep year hating each other but got super close around upper year,” he said. “We became close from mainly doing track but I think we have similar interests and goals…while we have fun, we also want to work hard and achieve our goals later in life.”

Bloomfield added on appreciation for Chang. “We have so many inside jokes at this point that spending any time with them musically or non-musically is a joy. I really appreciate the time I’ve had with them and I hope I can have some more,” he said.

Gupta also appreciates the two sides to Chang’s personality.

“Sam is such a warm person to be around. He’ll notice if you’re feeling sad and give you a nice big hug,” Gupta said. “[But] he also likes to joke around with other people, and that both is his annoying suit and one of the reasons why I like him so much.”

The two got to know each other during spring term of their prep year, during the trip to Coachella Valley. “We were there for four or five days…but I think our whole group of preps that went got very close. When you spend that many days at someone, and you’re making music together and doing this charity service and work together, it’s a really bonding experience,” Gupta said.

Gupta recalled some fun mem-

ories from the chamber orchestra and choir trip to London upper spring. “One of the really touching nights was when we all went out to dinner at a restaurant, the whole group. And as our payment, of course we paid, but other payment for the restaurant, all the singers stood up and sang, and it went quiet as everybody listened to this beautiful, beautiful music,” she said.

John Martel ‘19 spoke to his appreciation for Chang’s presence. “Sam has contributed to the musical community through his time and effort spent rehearsing and performing with ECU, Concert Choir, and the chamber and a cappella groups that he has been a part of. His talent is undeniable and his positive attitude is infectious, which can help you get through a long rehearsal and make you want to perform up to his level,” he said.

Martel also fondly remembered the London trip. “Sam and I had a good time chatting up some of the kids at those schools (in addition to sharing some of our music with them, and hearing them perform),” he said. “I think that the music helped us connect with those kids in the limited amount of time that we spent with them, and I’m glad I was able to share that experience with Sam.” Cohen shared her favorite memory. “During hell weeks, the a capella groups come and they sing and they serenade you. So last year I was really excited for that. Like super excited because Sam was going to serenade me.

But I had to go home because one of my friends passed away from cancer,” Cohen said. “Sam actually FaceTimed me and sang in like the Amen common room.

That made my night.”

Moriarty spoke to Chang as a student. “Sam is not only intelligent, he’s generous and collaborative too. He holds himself and his classmates to high expectations with gentle reminders to look for evidence and consider multiple perspectives. At the same time, he listens closely, tests his own assumptions and interpretations, and never fails to give credit for others’ ideas,” Moriarty said. “Hardworking, gracious and kind, Sam is a quiet leader who doesn’t need to shout to be heard.”

After being asked what he will miss most after leaving Exeter, Chang responded: “It’s having so many people that are so caring, loving, sympathetic and compassionate around you...that feeling of knowing that you have these people around you as a family,” Chang said. “Oftentimes there is a perception of Exeter’s sink or swim mentality, but that’s not the case when you got here and everyone wants to see everyone succeed. Whether it’s in music, academics, extracurriculars [or] sports, everyone’s just trying to help everyone out.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Paula Perez-Glassner: Musician of the Year

By SHEALA IACOBUCCI Senior Paula Perez-Glassner has been singing for as long as she can remember. Ever since she was a five or six-month-old, coos and melodies have escaped Perez-Glassner’s lips, her mother, Modern Languages Instructor Ellen Glassner, said.

“She’d be in a car seat, and she’d cry and cry. She was so tired and needed to take a nap, and I’d be driving. And all of a sudden I’d hear her start to hum,” Glassner said. “She would sing herself to sleep… It was something that comforted her.” Perez-Glassner

has not lost her ability to seek comfort in music. Throughout her four years at Exeter, she has immersed herself in all of the vocal opportunities available: competitions, a cappella groups, mainstage productions and choirs.

Perez-Glassner fostered her talents in early childhood, in the basement of Ewald Hall, where she lived with her parents, Spanish Instructors Fermin Perez-Andreu and Glassner. “She would make up songs, or she would use my video camera to record herself and her friends singing,” Perez-Andreu said.

Later in elementary school, Perez-Glassner began performing

at the Seacoast Repertory Theatre in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

There, she developed a love for musical theater.

This love carried on into middle school, where musical theater was “her sport,” Glassner said. Glassner recalled concern over incurring damage to her daughter’s voice as Perez-Glassner “tried to build a belt, like [a] Broadway star.” As a result, Perez-Glassner entered vocal study with Music Department Chair Kristofer Johnson in the summer before her eighth grade year.

“I immediately heard that she had this incredible potential as a singer,” Johnson said, recalling the first time he heard Perez-Glassner sing. “It’s just fundamentally a great voice.”

With Johnson, Perez-Glassner worked on improving her technique and fell in love with a new type of music: classical. “I found that I really loved classical music and that [it] was something I wanted to pursue,” Perez-Glassner said. “I like exploring new music and finding new things that I liked to listen to that I never would have heard before.”

Perez-Glassner’s talent in this form of music asserted itself quickly. “She got her voice.

It was so beautiful, and I didn’t even know that she [could sing] so high!” Glassner said. Throughout the five years she and Johnson have worked together, her voice has evolved into the “very controlled, trained, beautiful operatic” one it is today, Glassner added.

“Her high notes are angelic, fluttery, and above all, delivered with an ease,” senior Orion Bloomfield, Perez-Glassner’s long-time friend, said.

Perez-Glassner’s hard work and dedication to improve has transformed her into a superb musician. “Her focus on learning the

pieces so that she sings the best she can to do a very solid performance [is a strong aspect of her musicianship],” Perez-Andreu said.

Johnson also noted Perez-Glassner’s aptitude in learning voice technique. “It’s not easy to hear [what to change] about this thing that’s entirely inside, [but] ... she’s really fast at doing that,” he said.

This dedication to her music is not lost upon her peers. As the soprano section leader in Concert Choir, a member of the DRAMAT board and co-head of the a cappella group PEADS, Perez-Glassner is constantly being looked to as a leader. “She was always such an amazing teacher,” senior Emily Keheller, a friend and former member of Exeter Choral Union, said. “She’s so humble when it comes to music, even though she works harder than anyone I know.”

Perez-Glassner gladly fills her numerous leadership capacities, whether official or unofficial.

“Collaboration is such a big part of [music], and I’ve learned how to collaborate while still leading and making sure that people are feeling aware of what’s going on,” she said.

Her positions of leadership are not a surprise to the adults in her life. “She was always very reliable and perceptive,” Perez-Andreu said.

“Very strong but reserved,” Glassner said, noting the “power manifested through a mature and gentle spirit” her daughter has possessed since she was a little kid.

“She’s kind, she’s engaging.”

Johnson added. “People hear her and they’re like, ‘Oh, she knows what she’s doing.’ And so they trust her to know how to help them.”

In addition to growing as a musician, Perez-Glassner has made strides as a performer. “She found love,” Glassner said. “She feels so comfortable performing.”

Johnson noted the many improvements Perez-Glassner has made. “She’s grown in confidence.” he remarked. “[Her] musical point of view has gotten more and more mature. The assurance with which she makes music in different languages and

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the way in which she thinks about what is beautiful or what is effective, what is expressive… has grown like crazy.”

Perez-Glassner has been given many opportunities to showcase her growth and talents over the course of her time at Exeter.

“Paula was the first female singer to sing at the Goel Theater in a performance with an audience,” Perez-Andreu said, referring to his daughter’s upper spring, where she played the Fairy Princess and Hippolyta in A Midsummer’s Night Dream.

Bloomfield recalled the night vividly. “ I first realized the magnitude of how great a singer she will become,” he said. “I almost cried then, just listening to her solos.”

Perez-Glassner’s favorite experiences performing are in ensembles like Concert Coir and a capella. “A lot of it is obviously working out pitches and rhythms, but it’s also making sure everyone is unified together,” Perez-Glassner said. “It’s grown my appreciation for those small things.”

When performing, there is something “intangible” in Perez-Glassner voice that never fails to astound audiences, according to Johnson. “There is a special quality that can move me as an audience member,” he said. “[It] can make the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up or [it can move me] to tears… Not everybody who’s interested in singing can produce that. So it is very special.”

While showcasing her brilliance, Perez-Glassner still retains a sense of humility. “She’s very self-aware,” Glassner said, “[She’s] very aware of not trying to shine when it’s not her moment. That’s the reserve. It’s really natural to her.”

Ultimately, Perez-Glassner inspires others through her talent, quiet power and desire to bring people together. “I hope that other people can feel inspired to also do music,” she said. “It’s something that so many of us share…

Although not everyone sings or wants to sing, I think that anyone can hum a tune.”

“Seeing other people was what inspired me to [pursue music], so I think that’s something I could pass on.”

Rachel Won: Dancer of the Year

By GIANLUCA AUDIA As she graduates, four-year senior Rachel Won noted that she will leave not as she arrived.

“Coming to Exeter changed me in so many ways, and I’ll always be thankful for my four years here.

I’m a lot more outgoing now, I love meeting and talking to new people, and I love trying new hobbies.”

Growing up in Maryland, Korea and New Jersey, Won frequently moved across the Pacific. “I don’t really have a place I call ‘home’ because I’ve moved around so much”, she said. “Now Exeter is really the closest thing I have to home.”

While she has blossomed into a well-respected dancer, Won did not start out this way. “Before I came to Exeter, I was just a little interested in dance, and my brother, who actually went here too, had danced here,” Won said. “He was a breakdancer. When I heard that he was a dancer, he encouraged me to try it out at Exeter.”

Arriving at Exeter gave Won a chance to discover her passions. “Many of the things that I love today and consider a big part of my identity like hip-hop, journalism and lacrosse are all things that I’ve picked up while at Exeter. There are also things I tried and didn’t like; for example, a bunch of public speaking clubs or being a tour guide. But these were all part of my journey, and I’m really happy that I got to try so many things out.” Won said, “Going forward, I’ll never be scared to try something new.”

Following her brother, Won first joined InMotion, a hip-hop dance club, and later, in her lower year, she tried out Imani, another more competitive hip-hop dance group. “Being accepted to Imani opened up so many doors for me in regards to my dance career,” she said. “It gave me the extra

boost of confidence and validation that I needed to continue pursuing dance and devoting more time to it.”

The environment at Imani forced Won to hone her craft.

“That pushed me to work harder,” she recalled. “I really owe everything to Imani—the dancers, the former captains, my current co-captain Kathy [Lee]—for shaping me into the performer I am today.”

Now an Imani co-captain, Won provides the same opportunity and experience for younger dancers. “She is an incredible person to work with—Rachel is always open to new ideas and is willing to collaborate with other dancers,” Lee said. “Rachel is definitely one of the most hardworking people I’ve met at Exeter. She is super passionate about things like dance, lacrosse, and The Exonian, which inspires those around her.”

As a co-captain, Won choreographs dances for the Dance Assembly, pep rallies and hip-hop showcasing, selecting the music and teaching the choreography with Lee. Generally, their music choice “draws from the popular hip-hop songs that a lot of people on campus listen to today and that makes our audiences hype and very excited for our performances because they can sing along. That makes people really excited to see our performances,” Won said. This distinct aspect of Imani interested Won in trying out.

As well as dancing in Imani, Won created the first Dance 999 curriculum at Exeter with Dance Instructor Allison Duke. “Rachel conceived the idea for a Dance 999, with a focus on independent study on hip-hop choreography.

Rachel actually went to Boston about seven times over the fall term to take class with hip hop teachers and leaders in Boston,” Duke said. “Rachel is very ded-

icated… She would spend many hours in the studio practicing choreography she learned in Boston and also her own choreography. ” Duke highlighted Won’s initiative, as well as her openness to challenges. “Rachel is sort of a big fish in a little pond in terms of her leadership roles among the Exeter hip hop community,” she said. “By seeking out this other instruction, she became a small fish in a huge pond! By the end of the term, she was comfortable with not always being right, and she was comfortable being herself.”

However, Won stressed that this was not always the case, even at Exeter. “Prep and lower [year], when I wasn’t really sure what my place was at this school, I think dance really helped me find my place... I found a really supportive group of people,” Won said.

“I think it has helped me gain confidence in myself,” she continued. “Obviously, when you step onto Assembly Hall, and the whole student body is watching you, that is pretty frightening, but then listening to everyone’s reactions and when people are yelling your name, I think that is pretty affirming.”

In addition to dancing, Won also organizes Hip-Hop Showcase, the largest hip-hop dance event at Exeter. “A lot of seniors get really excited for it because it’s their last opportunity to perform at Exeter and because of that I am intentional about the way that I design the posters,” she said. “For example, last year, I designed the poster based off of Coachella posters… because we are a super tight-knit community and you want to show up and support your friends, and showing everyone’s name facilitated that.”

On top of her busy Exeter academic life, dance and lacrosse, Won also manages to find time

for one of her longtime hobbies: graphic design. “I started [graphic design] when I was quite young, in elementary school,” she said.

“I think graphic design is super important today because a lot of people in the world don’t know how to communicate well, whether it’s social media, communication or advertising.”

Since then, she also has designed Tmrwland, a clothing brand aimed at depicting a new tomorrow without sexual assault, as well as being the Layout Editor for Pendulum, an arts and literary magazine that showcases the work of her peers. As Director of Writing for The Exonian, Won played a crucial role in the visual appearance of the paper.

As a four-year senior, Won has come to value the importance of dedication and hard work.

When asked about some advice she would give to younger students, Won responded, “I would tell younger students to set clear goals in life and work hard toward those goals. There is nothing more powerful than someone who knows exactly what they want and will put in the maximum effort to get it.”

As she nears the end of her Exeter career, Won has nothing but gratitude for the institution. Still, she knows that getting something out of it requires some effort: “Milk all of Exeter’s resources.

This school is incredibly rich and well-endowed. Finesse the system as much as you can, and be selfish—not at the expense of other students, but at the expense of the school’s resources. If you deserve something, then demand it.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Mia Kuromaru: Dancer of the Year

By OTTO DO “In my opinion, Mia is the single most influential person in Exeter’s dance community. Her passion and care for the art of dance and the people in the dance community is unmatched,” senior Lenny Chen said.

Serving as In Motion co-head, Hula Club co-head, Beat of Asia co-head, Japan-America Society co-head, Asian Advisory Board member and Asian Voices co-head, senior Mia Kuromaru has taken on everything that comes her way. Although she had only known hula before coming to Exeter, Kuromaru has branched out to explore many different types of dance.

“Mia has changed the way dance clubs are entirely. Under her leadership, rehearsal feels less like class and more like time with family,” lower and fellow dancer Siona Jain said. “I’m sure anyone who’s seen Dance Assembly, Pep Rally, or Dance Company can attest to Mia’s insane facial expressions and amazing hip hop skills, all of which she has somehow managed to translate to anyone who learns from her. Learning choreography from her is probably the easiest thing you can do at Exeter. She makes learning difficult choreography so simple and fun.”

For Kuromaru, her love for hip-hop is a rather new discovery. “I know she did hula since she was four, and she started hip hop when she came to Exeter her lower year,” upper Isa Matsubayashi commented. “When I first heard that she had never danced hip hop before, I was shocked!”

Kuromaru, through her own dance journey, inspires others to keep improving. “I have always looked up to Mia throughout my dance career, and although she has always been waaay way better than me, I see that she has improved so much, both as a dancer and a co-head, since her lower year,” she said.

“Her passion and care for the art of dance and the people in the dance community is unmatched,” senior and fellow Dancer of the Year Lenny Chen said. “She coheads two of the most active dance clubs on campus, In-Motion and Beat of Asia, and is a dance inspiration for myself and many others.

She goes above and beyond as a co-head, and genuinely cares about each member’s development as a dancer. To encourage people to work harder and to inspire others’

love for dance, she often puts less experienced members in the center when others might prioritize themselves.”

Jain agreed and, as an example, offered a personal experience.

“I remember not making it to an InMo meeting for Raindrops—a dance we were to perform last winter term. I didn’t think I could still join, but Mia took the time out of her Saturday night to teach me all of it. She’s always willing to help anybody, whether it be some random prep or lower, or an entire group of people through her club work. In that way, Mia is selfless, kind, and someone anybody can rely on,” Jain said.

In addition to helping dancers outside of normal hours, Kuromaru goes above and beyond to make other dancers feel comfortable.

“Mia is the reason I am comfortable freestyling,” Chen said. “She helped me to feel confident in my movements and my body and pushed me to put myself out there.

The first time I freestyled with Mia, she turned all the lights off so I could feel comfortable dancing in the space, and provided me with companionship the whole way. By the end of the session, I had much more confidence in my own movements, and I owe it all to Mia.” What makes Kuromaru’s work stand out from others, according to Jain, is the care and effort she puts into “honoring inclusivity and heritage.” “I wanted to dedicate the piece to my parents and family, so I chose my brother’s favorite song as the soundtrack,” Kuromaru said. “When I began choreographing, I realized that it’s really a song about gratitude. For myself, it would be gratitude for my parents and brothers for supporting me. Over time, the dance began to project a sense of home, and the theme of the whole dance showcase actually ended up being ‘Home’.”

As Kuromaru became a more sophisticated choreographer, she began weaving more nuanced themes into her dances. “I started incorporating memories that I had with my friends. It started exploring hand movements, which stems from my training as a hula dancer.

A large part of storytelling in hula is through our hand motions. In my own choreography, I’ve done my best to incorporate these kinds of elements,” Kuromaru explained.

Dance Instructor Allison Duke described how Kuromaru’s self-choreographed Spring Dance Company performance shined.

“My favorite memory of Mia is from the ending of her Spring ‘19 piece, where all dancers sit in a circle at the end, with their heads resting on each other’s shoulders.

With the last chord of the music, a spotlight closed in on the dancers’ circle, illuminating their bond with each other and expressing the feeling of home,” Duke said.

Additionally, Jain noted that Kuromaru highlights her heritage across all of her endeavors, especially with AAB and AV. Asian Student coordinator Ms. Woo agreed, adding that “Mia cares deeply about fostering the Asian-Pacific Islander Community on campus, which shines through in her steadfast leadership in both AAB and AV.” Club advisor of AAB and AV Ms. Woo shared her experience with Mia as student leader. “I think that Mia is extremely caring, thoughtful, and responsible.

She is also very meticulous and organized. She cares deeply about fostering the Asian-Pacific Islander Community on campus, and this shines through in her steadfast leadership in both AAB and AV. Mia embodies non sibi,” Woo said.

Kuromaru explained the reason behind her minority narrative-inclusive agenda. “There’s definitely a scarcity of narratives shared not just on this campus but in the world. When a new narrative comes out, it ends up, for better or for worse, representing its entire respective community. I want to help people to share their stories as much as I can,” Kuromaru said.

Kuromaru truly goes above and beyond when it comes to her friends. Woo shared a particularly memorable gesture from Kuromaru—“I think one of the sweetest things Mia did was that last year, out of her own volition, she bought a book for each of the departing AV co-heads, and gathered a book of thank you notes from the members for them, as a token of all our appreciation.”

“When I graduated last year, Mia gave me a bag of sweets from Hawaii and a leis to congratulate me,” Adrian Venzon ’19 said. “I think that this act summarizes her consistent thoughtfulness, kindness and sweetness. From my four years knowing her, I am confident in describing her as a strong leader who will always make sure we reach our goals in a timely fashion. She is truly one of the most passionate people I’ve ever met.”

Previous roommate and se-

nior Lucy Garberg shared an ongoing tradition between the two that strengthened their friendship.

“Lower year, we began writing sweet and cute notes or letters to each other. I can recall the first note she gave me. It was the CUTEST note wishing me luck before my cross country meet,” Garberg said.

Additionally, having been Kuromaru’s roommate, Garberg has shared many memories with Kuromaru. “I’d have to say my favorite memory of Mia was when I saw her cry when she received Muji pens during lower year secret santa—I love her so much,” she said.

For lower and close friend Daniel Han, Kuromaru offered emotional relief in a difficult time. “Before I left for med leave, I had to stay in the health center for a few days before my parents could come and pick me up,” he recalled. “That was 100%, without a doubt, the darkest chapter in my life. For those few days, she would visit me whenever she could and I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to express how grateful I am for that. In the time we spent in that cramped health center room, she showed more love for me than I had ever given to myself.”

In addition to her work as a dancer and AAPI leader, Kuromaru demonstrated strong dedication as a student. “I’ll never forget when she was a lower, and we were discussing Paul Yoon’s novel Snow Hunters,” English Instructor Ralph Sneeden said. “Paul (PEA ’98) visited class one day after we’d finished reading the book, and Mia hung out afterward to talk with him one-on-one. He was really moved by that conversation but Mia was moved, too, I think.

I had sensed she was passionate about literature, that she read a lot, but I appreciated it more at that moment, viscerally. She cared about the novel and was not going to let the opportunity to engage its author slip away while her peers scampered off, terrified (or just hungry!).”

“The three of us ended up talking about our favorite books, and she left with a list (and an armload, if I remember correctly),” Sneeden continued. “Since then, I’ve been a big fan, whether giving editorial advice on her cool, transcendental Meditation on Hawaii, feeling validated when she agreed that W.G. Sebald was a force of nature, or sitting back and appreciating her thoughtful

and insightful participation in the Ishiguro elective.”

Where Kuromaru finds all these extra hours to do work outside of student requirements stumps Jain.

“I legitimately think time works differently for Mia, and somehow she has more hours in the day because I still don’t know how she manages to get everything she gets done and to the extent she completes it,” she said. “She takes on everything you put her way, and I am still astounded by her devotion to several AAB events.”

Lower Grace Ding attributes it to Kuromaru’s “wack sleep schedule.” According to Ding, “She has a pretty reliable internal alarm, so she rarely will miss a class in the morning, but her body is crazy in terms of bedtimes. She will sometimes go to sleep at 7 pm and wake up at 3 am and do her homework.

Insanity.”

Despite taking on so much, Kuromaru has never sacrificed the quality of her work. “Mia is one of those incredible, rare people who excel at anything they may try,” senior Isabella Ahmad said.

“What’s crazy is that she is also very humble. As a senior, I feel as though most of us put ourselves in the spotlight as soon as it comes within our power to do so. Instead, Mia uses her positions to help everyone around her shine. She’s the most passionate, selfless person I know and anyone who’s ever had the opportunity to be around her would agree.”

Kuromaru seems to have found her voice, though she noted that this wasn’t always the case. “Before coming to Exeter, my seventh grade teacher would have to turn the AC off to hear me speak,” she said. “At my time at Exeter, Harkness has helped me voice my ideas. I loved how the Harkness method was less student versus teacher and more collaborative.”

By all means, Kuromaru’s presence has since become known, deeply felt and desired.

It’s obvious that the Exeter community has shown a great love for Kuromaru, but no one better articulates their appreciation for Kuromaru than long-time instructor Sneeden. “The people I admire and respect most, however, are those who give it all to the arts, especially in the unpretentious, fierce—yet gentle—way that Mia does,” she said. “She’s a unique and humble intellect, a creative spirit whose friendship I’ve come to value and look forward to continuing over the years.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

17

Lenny Chen: Dancer of the Year

By DAVID CHEN and KRISH PATEL Lenny Chen is easily one of the most recognizable and influential dancers on Exeter’s campus. Ranging from Beat of Asia (BoA) to InMotion, he engages in dance forms such as K-pop, Hip-hop and urban dance—a passion he developed at the Academy.

In his upper winter, when he was still relatively new to dance, Chen watched senior Mia Kuromaru perform a solo piece. “That performance struck something inside of me and allowed me to release a flood of emotions I had been bottling up for a long time,” Chen said.

From then on, dance became a fundamental part of his Exeter experience. “I look forward to every single BoA and InMo practice because they help me to unwind and release negative emotions,” Chen said.

“His dedication to dance and improvement within it is crazy. He couldn’t even body roll in the beginning and now he learns and teaches choreography like it’s nothing,” senior Mia Kuromaru, one of his closest friends and dance partner, said.

“He puts his emotions into every movement, which can be difficult for a lot of dancers. He reminds me why I love dance.”

As a male dancer, Chen recognizes the stigma around dance. At home in Edina, Minnesota, many of his friends don’t know that he dances because he doesn’t want prejudice and judgment. “I’ve definitely received a few sideways glances especially after performing more feminine dances,” Chen said. “I’m aware that there are some people on campus that dislike the idea of a guy dancing, especially femininely, but throughout my time at Exeter, I’ve tuned those people out.”

Chen also acknowledges the burden that comes with being one of the few male dancers on campus. “I can’t help but put additional pressure on myself to perform well, because I know that there are extra eyes on me purely because of the

fact that I am male,” Chen said.

Through Chen’s years at Exeter, he has developed into a kind and supportive individual. “Over his time at Exeter... he’s become a lot kinder to himself and consequently more accepting of others,” Kuromaru said. “He is still dedicated, strongwilled, and organized. He will get anything done if it needs to be.”

Many expressed that in Chen’s short tenure he had grown into not just a friend but a mentor too. Besides being an avid dancer, coheading BoA, and proctoring in Soule Hall, Chen enjoys participating in STEM-based clubs.

With his friends, Chen has proven to be supportive, loyal, and caring.

His friendship is valuable to many, including Kuromaru. “After one of our practices, I saw Chen in Elm sitting alone,” she said. “I pulled Piper along so we could sit across from him. We had a conversation there, hung out a bit, and before I knew it the three of us were a trio— we did homework together every night in the library. Although… He told me later on that for him at that time, we were the last people he had wanted to be friends with… I’m offended but glad he chose to stick with us.”

Other memories are just a testament to Chen’s caring nature. “I vent to him a lot about everything, sometimes more than he can handle, but every time he never fails to be there when I need him and cheer me up when I am feeling down,” Dan said. “It is never boring to hang out with Chen, and I can always count on him to give me a good laugh and brighten my day.”

When asked if they could say one last thing to Chen, many of his friends reflected their gratitude for knowing and being friends with him. “You mean a lot to me and I’m so thankful to have spent time with you over these last two years.

Stay in touch man!” senior Jack Liu, Chen’s distance running teammate and close friend, said.

In his dorm, Soule Hall, Chen serves as a proctor, mentor and con-

fidant. “I was going through a really rough patch and he was there to keep me from falling apart for most of that term during this past fall term, I was honestly going through a whole lot and I ended up going on med leave, which I’m still on, but throughout the whole time, he was there to laugh with me, encourage me, and hold my hand through more than I could have asked for,” Dan Han, Chen’s roommate, said. “[Soule’s] had kind of a tough year, and he provided stability,” upper and Soule resident Phil Horrigan said. “He’s one of the kids whose room you always go to when you need a laugh or a place to hang out while not doing your homework.”

Many agree that Chen makes whatever activity they are doing better, no matter if it is in the dorm, in the dance studio or on the track.

“Cross country and Soule are two of the best communities to be a part of on campus, and Chen made both of

Nick Schwarz: Performer of the Year

By TINA HUANG “Action is eloquence.”

- William Shakespeare (Coriolanus) If you’re looking to find someone with a creative-and-energetic persona and talent for enthusiastic Shakespearian acting, four-year senior and day student Nick Schwartz is probably the first Exonian that comes to mind.

Throughout his time at Exeter, Schwarz has been deeply involved with the Academy’s theater department and performance arts. He has played Nick Bottom in the Academy’s production of Midsummer Night’s Dream, led his own screenplay production of Rosemary’s Baby in DRAMAT and won at the Merrill Speaking Prize assembly during his Upper year. He also participated in the Academy’s term abroad program in Stratford, England, Shakespeare’s birthplace and home to the Royal Shakespeare Company

(RSC), where he and other seniors engaged in scene-by-scene acting workshops. He was able to further pursue his work with acting in a summer course at England’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Aside from his renowned onstage presence, Schwarz has participated in the school’s varsity sports since prep year, worked as one of The Exonian’s humor editors, DJ’ed and quipped in WPEA’s radio station, and never hesitated to read through an underclassman’s English papers.

Upper Felix Yeung described one of his early encounters with Schwarz, which was a request to look over Yeung’s writing. “He offered me some of the best feedback I’ve ever received; he actually took the time to read the thing. He is one of the kindest, most authentic souls at Exeter,” Yeung said.

Schwarz’s approachable, carefree personality is cherished by his classmates. “He always has your

back when you’re in trouble, has something witty to say that will cheer you up. It makes me respect him all the more when he shows he’s not just passionate, but kind, humble, and honest,” upper and fellow DRAMAT-ian Paul Rogers commented.

Senior Rianna Parla agrees on Schwarz’s outgoing disposition, but jokingly labels him as the “school’s villain” as well. “Don’t get me wrong, he is nice as can be, but he definitely has a troublemaker side as well. He’s that guy at the Harkness table who purposefully picks the controversial points, but that keeps things interesting,” Parla explained.

Schwarz has always loved the make-believe. He considers his style to be fearless and energetic, and willingly uses full body movements to experiment with several interpretations. This likely paved the way for his theatrical talent and ability to embody different characters.“I developed my sense of imagination, the key to any kind of performance or writing, early on through hours of day-dreaming in my backyard. This usually involved pacing around my backyard waving a stick,” Schwarz explained.

Before rising to Exeter stardom as a dedicated actor and performer, Schwarz always had an aptitude in the art of literary expression. He enjoys reading plays, especially Shakespeare, and often dynamicizes stories through both his acting and writing. “… I actually think he deserves more credit as a writer. In our Upper spring English class, I got to read some of his personal essay writing. He is a truly gifted storyteller,” senior Lucy Gilchrist noted.

In a sense, Schwartz’s devotion to writing has become a foundational asset to crafting masterful narratives. “I would also describe myself as very text-driven. I focus on the word choice and syntax, even punctuation, in a character’s speech to understand that character,” Schwarz explained.

The ability to close-read guided Schwartz as an observant reader, and eventually as a director for his large-scale DRAMAT project: a play production of Rosemary’s Baby, originally a horror film by Roman Polanski from the 1960’s.

them better,” Horrigan said.

Chen is also involved in distance running, doing cross country for both of his years at Exeter and distance winter and spring track his upper year.

The instant he showed up at tryouts the first day, he was a force to be reckoned with. “I think he was wearing his Edina Track & Field shirt [on his first day]—the one with the golden track on it. Everybody on the team knew from that very first day and from his first impressions that he was going to be the real deal.

He won the new-people heat of the mile time trial with a great time, and the rest is history,” Liu said.

Chen means a lot to the people on the cross country team, and really helped push everyone to become a better runner, Liu reflected. “He is one of my closest teammates,” he said. “We were around a similar skill level and we did all of our workouts together. Chen, EJ, and I comprised

the self-named ‘Asian Training Group,’ and we went hard. His strength and perseverance absolutely pushed me to be a better runner.”

“Seeing him always push forward relentlessly in our workouts was so inspiring and it helped me improve. I know there were times when Chen was going through rough patches with the sport, but he always persevered, and that type of resilience is inspiring to vme and is something that the team is absolutely thankful for,” Liu concluded.

After his Exeter days come to a close, Chen will leave behind a tremendous legacy as a dancer. “Chen is leaving at Exeter… his contribution to the dance scene,” Liu said.

“From what I remember, I don’t think he had ever danced before Exeter, but in just two short years he’s grown massively, has accomplished so much, and has inspired so many people with his work with the dance clubs here, it’s amazing.”

He found much interest in the movie’s plot and characters, and spent two full terms working with his own student cast for the performance. “I liked the way [the movie] blended the supernatural into what’s what seemed to be a mundane world. And the way everything sort of the story just unraveled as time went on,” Schwarz said.

For the production, Nick created a screenplay and wrote 80 full pages of dialogue for the actors, which they then analyzed and revised with round-table discussions. During the many days he worked with the cast, he used his creative decision-making to bring out the core aspects of every character and build a compelling story. Schwarz ultimately gained great appreciation for drama and further developed his dreams in theater.

Senior Blane Zhu, one of the cast members of Schwarz’s production, commended Schwarz’s determination. “He’s really dedicated… He doesn’t seem to be the type of person to, like, fuss over details, but he knows how to grasp the dynamic of a scene. He has a pretty keen eye for character traits,” Zhu said.

Schwarz successfully tackled challenges regarding the production from a writer’s perspective.

His extensive work in literature and short-but-hilarious comedic sketches definitely gave a helping hand for a more natural and balanced dialogue flow. “There’s definitely a symbiotic relationship between writing those scripts and writing for the humor page,” Schwarz reflected.

In his first starring role in an Exeter mainstage production, Schwarz joined the cast of Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream as one of the lead characters, Nick Bottom.

Yeung, an actor in the play, noted his admiration for Schwarz’s masterful performance: “If there is an ‘it’ to be had, Nick has it. His talent and comedic timing are irresistible,” he said.

Midsummer was a major leap in Schwarz’s direct involvement with the acting department, and since then he was able to rekindle his Shakespearian role as Nick Bottom in other circumstances, such as during acting workshops. Many of his friends and classmates marvelled at his performance. “You have to be very confident in yourself in order to express yourself through these characters… I think I definitely see that [confidence] in him,” Zhu said.

Senior Alexander Kish, a fellow day student, met Schwarz while performing together in the Exeter Choral Union and Roaring Lions, and he admires Schwarz for his love for theater. “There are things you don’t get by looking at someone, but Nick’s passion for performing is

something that shines through when he steps onstage,” Kish explained.

Schwarz’s blossoming legacy in theater has also taken him to other areas. During Nick’s upper year, he got the chance to take part in the Merrill’s Speaking Prize assembly with Felix Yeung in front of a full assembly hall audience packed with students and faculty. They acted out one of the scenes from Angels in America by Tony Kushner: Schwarz played Roy Kohn and they were performing the scene of Kohn receiving his HIV diagnosis from the doctor. The duo performed wonderfully. “He captured his energy so beautifully, I could tell how much work he had put into it,” Rogers commented.

Schwarz’s ability to put smiles on other people’s faces pervades even his acting. “Nick and I were trying to play serious, but—for some reasons—everyone in the Assembly Hall burst into laughter.

It was a rather surreal experience,” Yeung said.

One of Nick’s most impactful experiences during his Exeter journey was the Stratford trip during senior fall, which he and several other seniors classmates went on to further their studies in Shakespeare and acting. Schwarz greatly enjoyed the acting workshops and was always one of the first to start off on the essays or theater assignments.

His hardworking attitude was evident, especially as he balanced the program’s material with Greek and other regular courses from back at school.

Throughout his time at Exeter, Schwarz has found many ways to connect with others, whether it be through screenplay productions and Shakespearian prose, or through his fiery Harkness spirit in class. “One of my favorite things he’s ever said is that he came to Exeter to be disagreed with. He welcomes challenges in that way and will say what he really thinks about something while still allowing for contradiction from others, which I respect,” Fahey said.

Schwarz’s voice developed during his four years at Exeter in the form of his writing, comedic shorts, projects, acting programs, and even the most fleeting of social interactions or times spent with friends at D-hall. “He’s a perfect example of someone whose interests have evolved over time, and who has deftly followed his passions. I think he’s a great role model for lowerclassmen, especially day students,” Senior Evan Chandran said.

“He’s kind of a diamond in the rough,” Teddy Keller reflected.

“He’s someone you don’t come across all the time in your daily life, but he’s one of the most honest people I know.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Ella Fishman: Performer of the Year

By TINA HUANG “Theater allows me to fit the parts of myself that don’t always feel like they fit at Exeter,” senior Ella Fishman said. “[Exeter] is not really an artsy school, and I think that there’s a lot of people there who would benefit from there being more emphasis on the arts.”

When Fishman came to the Academy as a new lower, she already knew she wanted to pursue theater. “I’d always been interested in [theater], and I’ve done it as an extracurricular my whole life,” Fishman said. Growing up with a musician father, Fishman’s upbringing had been surrounded by the humanities.

Fishman had limited knowledge of boarding schools during her Exeter application. “I literally Google-searched boarding schools in the U.S. and Exeter came up as

number one,” Fishman said. “[Exeter] was the only place I applied to with any seriousness. I applied to another school just as a safety, but when I got into Exeter, I was sold.”

Although Fishman wanted to attend the Academy, she also noted her thought process at the time.

“It was more about getting out of my current situation than getting to Exeter,” she said. “I think in a lot of ways, I really didn’t know what I was signing up for— like, at all.”

When it came to Harkness, Fishman remembered she couldn’t find her voice at the table. “I don’t think I said more than two words my lower fall because I was in a class with a lot of returning lowers,” Fishman said. “I have anxiety in general, it’s just something that I live with, but it’s definitely exacerbated when you’re sitting around a table with twelve of the most eloquent young peers you have ever

encountered.”

But now, any Exonian who has been down to Goel knows Fishman’s voice: sometimes soft, sometimes strong and always drawing the enamored ears of hundreds of audience members.

While participating in Exeter’s theater department, Fishman praised the intersection of Harkness and drama.“Everyone is so academic and intellectual that you end up Harkness-ing the play, and that gives you an understanding of the art you’re trying to convey,” she said. “You end up with a really, really deep understanding of the person you want to be communicating.

That’s unique to Exeter because everyone just wants to understand so badly all the time.”

As a performer, Fishman has been involved in various mainstage productions, such as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in 2018 and “Circle, Mirror, Transformation” in 2019. This term, she is working remotely with the Senior Acting Ensemble on “Translations.”

Theater and Dance faculty Sarah Ream praised Fishman’s enthusiasm for acting and ability to understand character. “She keeps digging for layers within layers in her characters,” Ream said. “Months after ‘Midsummer’ was over, she spoke to me about a realization she had about Hermia, her character, that made her want to go back and have another go at it.”

“Ella is the kind of student who reminds me why I ever wanted to be a teacher in the first place,” Ream continued. “Working remotely has not been easy for any of us, teachers of students, this term [...] but when you have the chance to work with someone as dedicated to the craft and discipline of theater as Ella is, it makes the job easier. I am very grateful for that. I wish I could clone her.”

A “Midsummer Night’s Dream” was the first mainstage show in the newly opened Goel Center for Theater and Dance. Fishman, playing the main role of Hermia, shared her thoughts on the memorable performance. “There was a moment in that show, sort of towards the end, where the whole cast is on

stage,” she said. “There was a song that we were singing, and we were all holding candles. [It was like] a christening of the new building. It’s one of my favorite moments of my life, not only of my time at Exeter, because it was beautiful in every possible way.”

Outside of performing onstage, Fishman became involved in various activities throughout her time on campus. Starting in her lower year, she began attending the Salvation Army Club. “What people say about Exeter being a bubble is true a lot of the time,” she said. “It was really important for me to get out and go do something in service of other people who were outside of the Exeter community and to do actual work that’s not academic work.”

Fishman described Salvation Army’s as a refreshing change from her academic life. “It’s work through your hands and you’re [helping] people,” she said. “I do that at home through my work at my parents’ store, but I don’t think there is a lot of emphasis on that at Exeter [...] We could do with some more of that.”

As a boarder, Fishman appreciated the close community of Moulton House. “It’s very much like coming home at the end of the day, in the sense that you’re coming home to a select group of people who you really know well and you really love,” she said. “[Moulton] allowed me to make connections that are really deep and lasting and to feel like you have a place - like a really familiar, safe place.”

Moulton House boarder and senior Julia Vilela Caetano compared Fishman to “people in movies who are charming and really complex at the same time.” As Fishman’s roommate her upper year, Vilela grew to know Fishman well. “She speaks eloquently but also swears like a sailor. She is extremely kind and likes kids but also advocates fiercely for what she believes in,” Vilela said.

“You can make friends in a heartbeat but also takes her time with getting to know a person. Her dad jokes are iconic, but she can also hold any conversation - from the life of Ella Fitzgerald to bacterial infections. Not that being charming and complex and all of those things are polar opposites, but once you know Ella, you get what I mean. It’s impossible to not have her as a friend,” Vilela continued.

Fellow Moulton member and senior Jasmine Liao shared the impact Fishman had on her personal growth. “Ella has really taught me to not take things too seriously,”

Liao said. “Throughout my Exeter career, when I was stressed out over a grade or procrastinating writing an essay, she would tell me to not stress about any of that and just do it. She’s also helped me realize that at the end of the day, I shouldn’t care what others think and just do the things that make me happy.”

Despite the challenges of the Academy, Fishman believed it provided her with life long skills.

“I took Queer Lit as one of my English electives [my senior winter],” she said. “It’s the kind of class that I never would have gotten the opportunity to take in my old high school, and it’s the kind of class that might not be appreciated where I’m from at home. [It has] given me the vocabulary and the confidence to talk about things that are difficult to talk about in my community.”

Fishman plans to attend Emerson College in Boston for writing.

Coming from a small town, she looks forward to spending her college years in the city. “I’ve traveled a lot throughout my life because of my dad’s work,” Fishman said.

“We’ve been to a lot of cities, and I’ve always loved Boston. It’s a little less intense than New York— I definitely see myself wanting to live in Manhattan— but for college, Boston seemed like the right fit.”

From her first encounter at the Harkness table to now, Fishman has grown especially fond of her PEA experience. “You’re at Exeter because you’re an overachiever,” she said. “It’s just funny because we’re a bunch of stressed young adults playing at life and I have nothing but love for [Exeter] at this point. I definitely have had moments of thinking it’s cliquey or competitive, and it is sometimes, but I think that’s true for anything.

The stress levels make us age a little faster mentally. I’ve had conversations with peers that are really different than the conversations with my peers at home. Neither of them are necessarily good or bad, but it’s definitely a difference, and I’ve got no bad feelings about it at all.”

When Fishman departs for college, she hopes to remain connected with the Exeter community.

“They are some of the most incredible people I ever met in my whole life, probably that I will ever meet,” she said. “The faculty and students that I have met are heroes in my book. It’s like the saying ‘you don’t meet your heroes’— they became my heroes after I met them. I have so much love for so many people, it’s ridiculous.”

music department videography and editing, Lamont Gallery Proctor and AV event proctor.

Kostina was also a teaching assistant for Exeter’s film class. “I was most heavily involved last winter when I met Mr. Andelman and wrote the syllabus. Though I am still technically on their payroll, I’ve stepped back to accommodate my 999 and Senior Project,” they said.

Kostina has also acted in many theater productions, in and out of Exeter. They were Joel Seigal and Sally Jenkins in Let Me Down Easy, Puck in Exeter’s main-stage production A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Peter Pan in Peter Pan, and Willy Wonka in Willy Wonka Jr. Off-campus, Kostina continues to be immersed in work and projects. Over school breaks, they work at a café in a bookstore in Okemos, Michigan.

They have been involved in multiple internships. They worked in the MIT List Gallery over spring break in 2019, Identity Media Inc. at NYC, and as a Production Assistant on a JCPenney commercial shoot.

Kostina’s short film, Known

Unknown, has been screened at the Canted Angle Film Festival in Arkansas, McGuffin Youth Film Festival in Moscow, and the Gud Bro Film Festival in Boston. They have collaborated with senior Alisha Simmons on several music videos, one of which (“Introspection”) was chosen to be featured in Lift-Off Global Network’s “First Time Filmmaker” Session.

While Kostina is primarily known for their passion for films, theater and photography, they are also very interested in architecture. “I want to major in architecture in college and then do film as a side gig,” they expressed.

“I can’t wait to see what they do with their life because they could take it in a dozen different directions,” Ream said.

Ream continued to encapsulate one of Kostina’s best qualities—“There’s a line from Shakespeare in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as applied to Hermia […] ‘Though she be but little, she be fierce.’ And I think that applies to [E.K.] They don’t let anybody or anything intimidate them. And I admire that.”

Elizabeth Kostina: Performer of the Year

By SAFIRA SCHIOWITZ Elizabeth Kostina has been passionate about the arts—particularly performing and writing—since they were able to watch Disney movies on their family’s VCR tapes, or read books from crammed shelves.

Kostina has acted, directed, filmed and photographed several projects throughout since they arrived at Exeter lower year, as well as organized events at Exeter such as TEDx and origami exhibits. They are the co-head of several clubs, including the filmmaking club Reel Life Productions, the Origami Club, Democracy of Sound (Exeter), Rock Climbing, Russian Club, and Making of Exeter, and involved in the Love to all Project.

Kostina not only produces impactful art, but never fails to impress with their consistently fantastic work ethic. No matter how packed their schedule, Kostina faces every challenge with a contagious laugh and a smile.

In 1992, Kostina’s parents immigrated from Moscow, Russia to Texas, where Kostina was born and raised briefly before moving to Illinois (where their younger brother was born) and then Michigan, where they currently live.

Kostina’s father is a physicist, and he would often bring them to work, where they would listen to him speak to colleagues from many different countries in various languages. “I just kind of grew into accepting how to listen to other people. And then through writing I discovered the ability to tell those stories,” they said. “And because I’d watched a bunch of movies as a kid I al-

ways knew I wanted to make films.”

Their mother, a psychologist, also influenced their love of storytelling. “She left her textbooks all around the house and I read so much as a kid. I read the psychology textbooks and all these kids’ books that we bought,” they said.

Growing up in an international community fostered Kostina’s passion for conveying different experiences through art. There were, and still are, people of many backgrounds and walks of life in their neighborhood.

Kostina was exposed to various cultures and anecdotes because of this.

Working hard to achieve success was instilled in Kostina from a young age. “I grew up with that pressure of [having] to do really well in school,” they said. “And it didn’t really bother me. I kind of just got used to it and I was like, ‘Okay, cool. I guess I have to do it, so I’m going to do it.’”

This mentality has earned Kostina the reputation of being an extraordinarily self-motivated individual who is not frightened by difficulties and obstacles.

“I think they’re fearless when they’re interested in something,” Theater Instructor Sarah Ream said.

Ream was Kostina’s senior project co-advisor as well as director of the play A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which they participated in last school year.

“They’re undaunted and they’re really interested in pushing boundaries, not for their own sake, but because they think that they need pushing,” she continued. “I think the world needs more people who want to marry—feel a need to marry—a so-

cial conscience through artistic expression. And I think that is a very natural place for E.K.” Director and Curator of the Lamont Gallery Lauren O’Neal, another co-adviser for Kostina’s senior project, shared this view of them. “E.K. is inventive, curious, and creative. I also appreciate their ambitious vision, their professionalism, and their drive,” she said.

“It has been a pleasure to work with E.K. as a collaborator in some of the gallery’s public programs,” continued. “In one program we developed for OLLI (The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute), they joyfully fused academic content with experiential learning, which was tremendously successful with participants. It is that penchant for reveling in the multiplicity—of meanings, inspirations, and approaches— that I especially appreciate about E.K.” Kostina has been involved in countless projects and initiatives on and off Exeter’s campus.

They have not only organized TEDx (they are the primary license holder, organizer, and video editor), but they have also organized the 2017 and 2018 Slam Poetry events as part of the club ‘Word,’ which they co-headed last year, but is no longer a club.

“A highlight was inviting Denice Frohman to assembly,” they said.

Furthermore, Kostina directed the play Angels in America as their senior project, and created a photography exhibit on display in the Academy Building lobby called “Hairlines,” both of which expressed impactful messages to the Exeter community.

Some on-campus jobs they are involved in include manning the Library Circulation Desk,

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Caitlin Sibthorpe: Performer of the Year

By TUCKER GIBBS Senior Caitlin Sibthorpe has made her mark on the Exeter community, especially on the Theater department. Though this is only her second year at the Academy, Caitlin has utilized the resources of the PEA theater department by completing a set design based senior project, playing Marty in Circle Mirror Transformation and stage managing the winter musical, The Secret Garden.

Before Exeter, Caitlin was heavily involved in theater and acting at home in Montreal. “I used to do film and television workshops with acting. I was convinced that that’s what I was going to do with my life. I was going to be an actor,”

she said. “I ended up figuring out that that’s not so much what I was interested in, but was still super fun and a really great experience.”

In her upper year at PEA, she became involved with the theater department, first working as part of the tech crew designing and constructing costumes for The Wizard of Oz. In the spring term of that year, Sibthrope partook in a Directing course offered by the department, and ultimately presented a production of Electric Roses. “We learned a little bit of set design and costume design. As well as how to approach being a director, how to approach a show and how to get your vision across to the actors,” Sibthorpe said. “So at the end of

this term, we directed these 10 minute shows. And then we had a night where we all presented them.”

Upper and actor in Electric Roses Maggie Wainwright noted Sibthorpe’s professionalism and talent with directing. “I was really happy to be part of the production and [Sibthorpe] was an incredible director,” she said. “She has a real talent for helping her actors kind of find the answers on their own. So she knew exactly what questions to ask us to get us to kind of understand our characters better and bring the production in the direction that she wanted.”

In the fall of her senior year, Caitlin starred in a production of Circle Mirror Transformation, in which she played acting coach Marty. “In every circumstance, whether directing, acting, or stage managing Caitlin excels. She is multi-talented and super-organized (a combination of traits not always found in artists).

At the same time, she stays on an even keel, and handles whatever comes at her,” Theater Instructor and Circle Mirror Transformation Director Sarah Ream said. “We had a very happy directing class and equally happy “Circle, Mirror” cast, and she played a big part in making both ensembles work.”

Sibthorpe’s attitude had a major effect on the Circle Mirror Transformation cast, according to Stage Manager and upper Dillon Mims. “She was obviously very dedicated to acting, but she was also an amazing member of the cast,” he said. “She always brought so much energy and positivity to our rehearsals.”

In the winter of this year, Sibthorpe stage managed the musical The Secret Garden. “I can say without a doubt that the show wouldn’t have come together without her. She was able to command the cast and crew in a kind way.

[Sibthorpe] struck a perfect balance of getting the work done and enjoying the process,” upper and cast

member Oliver Hess said. “Also, the cast grew quite stressed as tech week started, and Caitlin reassured everyone of the show’s potential.

She had an amazing way of bolstering our confidence that I have never seen from a stage manager before.”

In addition to stage managing The Secret Garden in the winter term, Sibthorpe took on a Senior Project focused on set design. For the project, Sibthorpe chose to create a set design for a theoretical production of The Crucible by Arthur Miller and spent the term thoroughly researching and analyzing the play. At the end of the term, she presented it to faculty and friends.

Project advisor and Theater instructor Cary Wendell described the comprehensive process Sibthorpe completed for the set design. “[Sibthorpe] did a preliminary visual or other research to provide inspiration for the design process, evolving a set design concept that addressed the 4 settings of the play, choosing the type of theater to set the play in and drafting scale drawings of the ground plan(s), researching the visual elements that make up her design, drafting scale drawings of the walls and other scenery, making a 3 dimensional, full color [scale] model of the set and finally presenting all of this to an audience,” Wendell said.

Sibthorpe’s set design was focused around taking advantage of the audience’s sense of the play.

“The biggest thing I wanted was the metal bars. For the first three acts they are pushed up against the backdrop because there’s this sort of an impending sense of doom,” she said. “You don’t really know what’s gonna happen, and anybody can be accused at any point. So I wanted the bars there as a reminder that anything could happen, and no one was really ever safe.”

Wainwright noted the current and historical inspiration behind Sibthorpe’s set design. “She drew inspiration from a variety of time periods… spanning from Salem to McCarthy [Trials] to the present day, [detainment centers],” Wainwright said. “She was inspired in her last scene to bring bars to the front of the stage and cover her actors and the kind of metal-like material that they use for blankets in detainment centers. And so I thought that was really cool and super topical.”

Sibthorpe also served as an ESSO club HFCC Classroom

Angelina Zhang: Mathematician of the Year

By JEANNIE EOM Being at Exeter for the whole ride, Angelina Zhang never experienced high school outside of Exeter.

When Zhang was enrolled in public middle school, she found that she couldn’t challenge herself enough in her academic subjects, and realized that she would run out of available math classes by junior year of high school.

After entering the Academy, she has been intellectually challenged in her classes and has been trained to become a more independent, time-conscious individual, despite struggling to acclimate to the Harkness Method at first. Not only has she been academically involved on campus over the four years, but she has also left a lasting impression as a caring and loyal community member.

Over the years, Zhang has also become a big-name superstar for math and chemistry help in Amen Hall. “To be honest, I don’t even remember when I became close to Angelina,” said lower Michelle Park. One of the many Amenites who care deeply about Zhang, Park has frequented her room for not only math and chemistry, but for Zhang’s country music, the “only good Amen water from her water filter,” and the “Hershey’s kisses she has in her room, specially reserved for guests.”

“Angelina is hilarious, extremely intelligent, caring, gorgeous, and incredibly loving.” Park recalls the many days she had spent in Zhang’s room for no particular reason, simply enjoying her company while laughing at both everything and nothing. “Whenever I’m with Angelina, I always feel like such a funny person because she laughs extremely hard at all my jokes, no matter how bad they are,” Park said.

Senior Beez Dentzer—a friend from both middle school and the Academy—described Zhang. “Angelina was my first friend at Exeter. We met when we played for the same basketball team in middle school,” Dentzer said.

The two have spent two years as roommates, one year as proctors, and four years as best friends.

“They say your prep year friends aren’t your senior year friends but Angelina doesn’t follow those rules,” emphasized Dentzer. Zhang and Dentzer have created memories out of the world, like one they made this past winter: “Angelina is always willing to do something ridiculous on a whim and I love that about her. This winter, we used 20 feet of flexible PVC pipe to make a telephone from my 4th floor room to her 2nd floor room out the window.”

Dentzer is convinced: “She would never let life dim her spirit.”

In Zhang’s underclassman years, she always looked up to her senior proctors, who played an important role in her Exeter experience. “I am glad to be able to do that now as a senior,” she said. “The girls in Amen are the kindest and most supportive group of girls.”

Apart from her role in Amen, Zhang has served as a News Editor for the The Exonian’s 141st Board, having been part of the Exonian for most of her four year stay. “My favorite part about this club would be the opportunities you get to meet members of the community and learn about the community,” she said.

As co-head of Girls in STEM, ESSO Tutoring, and participating in Symphony Orchestra, competing on the Varsity Girls’ Basketball team, and serving as church proctor, Zhang has truly exhausted what it means to be a dedicated Exonian.

For Zhang however, this still left room for Math Club, where she strengthened her mathematical foundation.

Zhang led a Math club with two other seniors and helped teach younger Exonians. She highlighted her exceptional math abilities at Exeter in many ways over the years. “I have been fortunate enough to place at Math Prize for Girls, a math competition designed for female high school students,” she said.

As she remains passionate about the field of math, she will be study-

ing applied mathematics in college as well, continuing her remarkable work at Harvard University in the coming year. She has many notable life goals set ahead of her, letting herself venture out to wherever makes her the happiest. “After college, I want to take a year off and travel or work for Andrew Yang’s Venture for America. Following that, depending on what I want to do with my major, I anticipate either going back to school or getting a job,” she said.

Tatiana Waterman, Instructor in Science, knew Zhang from the fall term of 2018. She was impressed that Zhang was able to direct the Girls in STEM club with almost no help from her, and Zhang’s noteworthy impressions did not stop there.

“Quite a few times, I’d show her spectacular work to my physics colleagues, and we’d all marvel at the way her mind works,” Waterman said. “A physics colleague who had Angelina in class two consecutive terms told me that she exceeded his good-luck quota; there is a law of conservation of luck in the universe, and she was breaking that law!”

The level of leadership showcased by Zhang was also praised

by Reverend Heidi Heath, advisor to Zhang. “Angelina’s embodies a quiet, but strong sense of leadership that is respected around campus,” she explained. “When Angelina speaks, other students and adults listen. She does not speak simply to hear herself talk, but to make meaningful contributions.”

Zhang will be missed at the Academy, Heath reflected. “Ang has a wicked sense of humor and loves to laugh. She can always, always make me laugh. I will miss her tremendously, but cannot wait to see what she does next,” she said.

Zhang has also positively impacted many of her peers during her time at Exeter. “To me, Angelina represents the best of Exeter. She is incredibly hard-working and ridiculously smart, but never in a patronizing way. She is someone who brings everyone up with her,” senior Tatum Schutt noted.

Zhang and Schutt met during de-

bate in the fall of prep year. “I was drawn to her spirit-- she is hilarious, relentlessly empathetic, and always down for any kind of adventure,” Schutt said. “She moved into my dorm, Amen Hall, the next year. The rest is history.”

Zhang is a classical diploma student interested in Spanish. “Although a true Latin and Greek goddess, Angelina’s attempts at learning

Spanish through DuoLingo have been a source of laughter in the dorm,” laughed Schutt. “I will never forget the time she bounded into my room to declare with a grin -- “tu eres un manzana”-- you are an apple.

She thought it was hilarious. I could not stop laughing.”

Claiming that Zhang will move mountains with her brainpower is Morgan LeBrun, a fellow senior at Amen Hall. “She is one of my closest friends in the world and I love her with every cell in my being,” LeBrun said. “Angelina is the smartest and dumbest person I know of. She

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Helpers co-head“We’d go and hang out with the kids on our own during like a free period, and play with them and I’ll help locate the snack or read books or all that kind of stuff,” she said.

Director for Service Learning Elizabeth Reyes outlined the HFCC Classroom Helpers’ activities. “[The club] organizes students to support the work the teachers and children are doing in the preschool classrooms. They help with movement, art, games and anything else the teachers ask them to do. They are a fun addition to the classrooms for the children. The preschoolers look forward to the “big kids” coming into their classroom every week,” she said. “[Sibthorpe] not only participated in hands-on classroom activities but organized other Exonians to do the same. The Center and ESSO were glad to have [Sibthorpe] involved,” she continued.

As a proctor in Langdell, Sibthorpe is known to be a kind and caring dormmate. “I see Caitlin as the mother-figure in the proctor group. She not only comforts kids when they need help, but she’s always willing to help out kids when they need something,” English Instructor and adviser Lundy Smith said.

Smith recounted one of the times Sibthorpe exhibited her kindness.

“The opening week of school this year, I found Caitlin in a prep double helping the girls bunk their beds.

I think she’s at her happiest when she’s helping someone,” he said.

Many people have been affected by Sibthorpe’s attitude and positivity, both through theater and her other activities. “During winter term, Caitlin could be found constantly knitting, even during assembly. Our friend was joking around one day and said ‘if I get into my top school early, I will wear a tiny hat!’,” Hess said. “The friend did get into the school, so Caitlin knitted him a little tiny hat; it was barely the size of my palm, and it was a really funny and kind way to celebrate.”

Ream lauded Sibthorpe’s positive impact on the Academy community in all her activities.

“Nothing throws her and she exudes positive energy,” she said. “Caitlin is just an incredibly nice, hard-working person who is a talented all-rounder, when it comes to theater. She can do it all.”

is a warm face on a cold day.”

Leah Cohen echoed LeBrun’s assertion. “Our friend group always refers to her as the ‘dumbest smart person we know.’ For example, earlier this year Angelina said to me, “I forgot you have curly hair. I have such a bad memory!”

Cohen recalled more of Zhang’s twerks. “Angelina is OBSESSED with astrology,” she said. “She took the Astronomy course this year because she thought it was going to be Astrology. She checks and lives by her daily horoscope.”

Zhang and Cohen have been friends since their prep year, seeing each other everyday. “Angelina is by far the smartest person I have ever met. She is incredibly bright. I have been going to her for help with math since prep year and she would tell me that “she can’t remember

how to do my math” because she “did it too long ago”,”Cohen said.

“Cherish your time at Exeter; I am a four-year and all that time has flown by,” Zhang said. “It’s been said before but it bears repeating.

You will not remember a specific quiz or test, but you will remember the time you spent with friends, so it is okay to take a break.

Take advantage of everything that Exeter has to offer even though it might not be your main interest – that is how I joined the Exonian – and you may like it.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Anjali and Meili Gupta: Speakers of the Year

By OTTO DO and AMY LUM “The earliest memory I have of Anjali is of her studying a math problem on her phone as she unpacked her violin,” senior Celine Jeun said. “I don’t think she realized I was watching her…but she stared at that math problem until Mr. Smith told us to start tuning.

Almost three years later, Anjali is still the same multi-talented, motivated individual.”

Meili and Anjali Gupta reside in Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb about fifteen minutes away from Washington D.C. In sixth grade, they entered a magnet program that specialized in math, science and computer science, but the Guptas had higher aspirations.

“I got disengaged with the learning because I already had a lot of experience and proficiency in STEM subjects. I wasn’t enjoying my classes. My teachers didn’t seem to enjoy teaching either,” M. Gupta said.

The two found out about Exeter their ninth grade year through the sibling of one of their best friends. “The more I researched, and as the year went on, I realized how much more I wanted out of my education. Exeter’s Harkness method really appealed to me, because it fosters skills useful in many aspects of daily life,” A. Gupta said.

Coming into Exeter, the Guptas struggled with the meaning of Harkness and how to contribute constructively. “I thought that to get an A, you had to be the person that spoke the most in class,” A. Gupta said. “I learned pretty quickly...that what matters is what you’re saying. The fact that you’re contributing to the discussion in a non sibi way in the sense that what you’re saying is not to further your own grade… but to try and help the class reach a deeper level of understanding.”

Although the Gupta sisters were awarded for their proficiency in speaking, for M. Gupta, public speaking wasn’t always easy. “I had always been excited about Debate, but I had never given myself a chance before Exeter.

When I came to Exeter, I wanted to try something new,” M. Gupta said.

A. Gupta agreed. “We wanted to get a taste of all of Exeter’s big clubs. We ended up going to the first meetings of The Exonian, StuCo and debate. We were drawn to debate specifically because we thought it would be the most useful in our daily lives—especially in a Harkness discussion,” she said.

“Even though I fumbled through my very first speech absolutely terribly, it gave me confidence to know that I could make it through a speech. I can confidently say that joining debate has been the most rewarding experience,” M. Gupta said.

“Debate has helped me become more mature,” A. Gupta

said. “When I receive a resolution or I see a topic, I no longer think, what’s my immediate preconceived notion or opinion about this topic? Now, my brain goes to what I do or don’t know about this topic, and how I might find out what I don’t know about this topic. Once I have all the facts, I make my own opinion. In debate, you have to be able to understand an argument where both people are coming from, because both people think that they have a highly logical argument.”

For M. Gupta, debate gave her more than a new skill set—she gained a group of highly motivated and supportive friends. “One moment we’re near yelling at each other over a Harkness table over a topic, and then the next second we’re laughing and giving each other feedback.”

In addition to debate, the Gupta sisters joined MATTER Magazine as preps. At the time, not much was happening with the magazine. “I stuck with [MATTER] through my first two years at Exeter. But honestly, throughout the entire time, I was pretty disappointed with how MATTER was doing,” A. Gupta said. “In the two years that I was at Exeter, we only published one issue which had maybe ten articles.”

The Guptas took over MATTER the summer before their upper year and decided to “rebirth” the publication. “It took a lot of effort, and a lot more behind the scenes work than people realize.

They think, oh, just do the layout, but what they don’t realize is the 20 different iterations of the cover that we did, five different iterations of font size, and changing the background photo 10 different times trying to find the right thing,” A. Gupta said.

According to A. Gupta, recreating the magazine was also a struggle due to MATTER’s small team. “In the beginning it was really just me working with our layout editor to try to contact people individually,” she said.

Since then, the publication has expanded its community. “It’s really cool to see that the number of students involved this year [in] MATTER is so much more than the year before. People know now that MATTER magazine is a thing…and something they might want to write for,” A. Gupta said.

Overall, A. Gupta is grateful to the growth she experienced from MATTER. “I just ended up in the editor-in-chief position, so I knew absolutely nothing about how to run MATTER. I really credit running MATTER Magazine with teaching me how to be a better leader,” A. Gupta said. “How to go back to the student activities office, ask for more funding, ask for help in contacting and working with the publishing company.”

Although there have been some struggles this year due to the resignation of the publication’s layout editor and the publication’s

advisor, MATTER has come a long way. “I’m really proud that Anjali and I have been able to...bring STEM education and STEM journalism onto campus.

Hopefully people were picking up MATTER Magazine, and learned about issues which they might not have read about before,” M. Gupta said.

During the A. Gupta’s time as Editor-in-Chief and M. Gupta’s time as Managing Editor, their primary goal has been to release two issues every year. They’ve also released two special issues, one on artificial intelligence and another for Climate Action Day, and established their own column in the Academy’s student-run newspaper, The Exonian.

Senior Bianca Lee spoke to M. Gupta’s leadership. “She was leading the meeting…and I was surprised with how poised and professional she was. When I gave the group suggestions on the issue, she took them extremely well. That’s when I knew she was not only a great friend, but a superb leader who both respects her own and others’ opinions equally,” she said.

Additionally, the Gupta sisters have found a deep love for computer science. “I love that with comp-sci, I can create something from almost nothing. Our half-brother actually taught us that. When we were younger, I remember he showed us this game he made called Pet Town. He let us design our own characters, and we just fell in love with the process,” A. Gupta said.

“STEM education is really important. Later in life I’d really like to be able to bring STEM education to more underrepresented communities. I am a part of the junior computer programming club, teaching kids in the local area computer science,” M. Gupta said.

Before the Academy’s decision to move classes online, the Gutpa sisters had planned to hold an A.I. summit in the New Hampshire area. “Meili was actually able to run her AIxTeens conference over Zoom this past April,” A. Gupta said. “Her and her teammates worked to transfer the conference online, with great success and about a hundred students in attendance.”

In their lower year, the Gupta sisters started the Science Olympiad at Exeter. “I tried out Math Club and Physics club…[but] I just never really gelled with those clubs perhaps in part because they are much more male dominated, and because they’re too focused on individual competition,” A. Gupta said. “They follow very much within the straight lines of directly applying math and physics concepts from the classroom, very similar [to] tests you might take in Mr. DiCarlo physics class.”

In addition to their STEM and speaking extracurriculars, the Guptas find themselves spending

many hours a day in the Forrestal Bowld Music Center. “On an average day, I am spending four to five hours playing the violin. Sometimes it’s one hour and sometimes there are days when I’m playing violin for seven hours just because we’ll have loads and loads of rehearsal. Music is an emotional outlet for us, and we’re so grateful to have such a thriving music community at Exeter,” A. Gupta said.

The Gupta sisters have been involved in the musical world for quite some time, but their introduction to the subject was unconventional. “My neighbors across the street from us used to play for me. For myself and my sister, they inspired us to take up the violin,” M. Gutpa said.

Having an equally musically-gifted twin provides the sisters with unique opportunities. “As much as we have become different people at Exeter, because we find we love the same extracurriculars so much, we often find a lot of joy by collaborating. For example, performing violin duets together,” M. Gupta said.

Throughout their four years at Exeter, the Gupta sisters have resided in Langdell hall. When the Guptas first arrived on campus, it was the Langdell proctors who created a source of calm for M. Gupta. “I was so nervous and the proctors said to my mom, ‘Don’t worry, we’ve got her now.’ They brought all my suitcases up and it was in that moment that I actually said to myself, ‘Wow, I want to be a Proctor one day.’ [Langdell] was like the first home that I found on campus,” she said.

In addition to giving back to the Langdell community, for A. Gupta, proctorship provided personal fulfilment. “It’s nice to be in this dual role where you’re both a leader and a friend for people.

You have to set an example, but you can also comfort people when they might be in their lowest, most stressful moment,” she said.

Senior Sarah Barrett also reflected on A. Gupta’s role in the dorm. “She’s so hardworking about anything she does,” she said. “She’s a really good person to have on the [proctorship] team, because you can always count on her to get stuff done and come to the meetings.”

A. Gupta has also excelled in the classroom. “Over the course of a year and a half, I saw [Anjali] grow considerably as a collaborative leader at the Harkness table, as a curious and critical thinker, and as a writer,” English Instructor Sue Repko said. “Anjali is patient and thoughtful, allowing the give-and-take at the table to unfold while also pushing the group with astute observations and questions.”

Senior Saskia Braden, a close friend of M. Gupta, appreciates all the fun times they have shared together. “There’s been a lot of rope swinging, watching movies, and going places. Lower year we

went up to Boston a couple times, but then the last time we missed our train back and our parents were furious!...but that was always lots of fun. We’d always go down and play with pigeons in the park, feed the squirrels and walk around and shop,” she said.

“She is by far the kindest, most caring person you will meet.

She’s the first true best friend I’ve had in my life, where she knows everything about me and I know everything about her. I can come to her with anything and she’ll drop everything to be with me in the moment,” Braden added. “[Meili’s] attitude has encouraged me to think more about others, especially during rough times.

During finals week or when she knows I am stressed about something, she never fails to reach out.

It is amazing that she can still do that despite the many tasks she has to think about and complete,” Lee said.

“One Sunday during upper spring, Meili, Celine and I jogged to the rope swing by the Exeter river. After, we walked back to Dunbar soaked and barefoot but still managed to crash the Front Street dorm tea. Great company, a fun activity, and good food pretty much sums up all our good times,” Lee continued.

Braden believes that despite being such a driven and focused individual, M. Gupta displays her talents in a remarkable way.

“Most people say that you have to pick either beauty, intelligence, athleticism, friendship or social skills…but I think she manages to have all of them and find balance as well,” she said.

In the future, the Guptas will both major in computer science.

Although A. Gupta does not have a career planned, she doesn’t find herself in a place of discomfort.

“I will see where the wind takes me…the field is changing very rapidly. I honestly think that my future job has not been created yet, or I will create it for myself,” she said.

Throughout their time at Exeter, the Gupta sisters have demonstrated a strong dedication towards bettering the world. “No doubt Meili will become a pioneer in her field of technology.

She is already a boss lady, but I believe she will develop all her positive attributes to become extra bad-ass. Her speaking skills will absolutely help her with her future endeavours,” Lee said.

Braden believes M. Gupta’s connecting abilities will play a role. “I think in just her everyday relationships, she’s gonna have a big network of people who care about her and value her opinion and her advice throughout her whole life, because of those speaking skills, and that’s going to be insanely valuable for networking among other things,” she said.

Repko also has high hopes for A. Gupta. “I can easily see Anjali making significant contributions to the fields of computing and AI, bringing her thoughtfulness and high ethical standards to all her interactions and her consideration of the human impact of her endeavors,” she said.

“While I get a twinge of sadness, realizing Anjali will no longer be here on campus to lead in so many ways, I will gladly think of her employing her talent, skills, and good energy to solve problems in the wider world. The world needs them!” Repko said.

Lee agreed. “Even now, without senior spring, I miss Meili’s smile. It reminds me of her big heart, ability to empathize, and strong will to care for others or do better for the world.”

“I joke that Meili and Anjali look even more similar than they did when I first met them.

But when you get to know them, you’ll recognize that they are completely different in their own beautiful way,” Jeun said. “Meili has a gift of making people around her feel at ease. Her presence is like a warm, fuzzy blanket that you want to wrap yourself in because it makes you feel loved and safe. Anjali has an incredible sense of humor. It’s slightly sarcastic, slightly slapstick and heavy on wordplay.”

Jeun concluded, “There have been many nights in Grill where we laughed by ourselves, trying not to choke on the Grill cookie that we warmed up in the microwave—I will always treasure those moments.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

21

Sam Farnsworth: Speaker of the Year

By JEANNIE EOM “I think one of the things I’m known for among my friend group is that I only eat hamburgers with no buns—my username in most group chats is my Lexies order: ‘Three patties, no buns,’” Senior Sam Farnsworth said.

Despite Farnsworth’s love for hometown Austin, Texas, he always looks forward to joining his friends on campus after each break.

“Spending time with my friends--It doesn’t matter how big or small the activity is, as long as I’m with them I’m happy. I value every moment we spent together,” he said. Farnsworth’s friends have shaped his Exeter career.

In many ways, food has been a big part of Farnsworth’s experience at the Academy. “At St. Anthony’s, he always orders two eggs and a few sides of bacon. It’s not something you can on the menu, but the workers unofficially named it “The Sam.” At Lexies or Green Bean, he’ll order a plain hamburger with two or three patties. He’ll only eat the patties and not the bun. At Hannafords, he always buys a small carton of Friendly’s Ice Cream Cake Sundae. Dippin Dots and Spongebob Squarepants popsicles, if available, are competitive options as well,” senior Celine Jeun said.

Jeun recalled one particularly warm memory from the four past years, “This memory is from senior fall. We were with a group of friends on the third floor of EPAC doing homework, DoorDashing McDonalds, and celebrating 10 PM checkin. Sam had a 4 or 5 page history paper due the next day, and all he had was an outline. An outline is an overstatement—I think he actually had a sentence or two that vaguely resembled his thesis. It was around 8 PM, and I was genuinely worried,”

she explained.

“I forget exactly what I had to do, but I left the third floor for some time. When I returned, I found Sam—the same Sam who can identify all the hits from the 50’s to the 80’s— blasting Blood on the Leaves

by Kanye. I’m talking full volume, hardcore Kanye pounding out his laptop, on repeat,” she laughed.

“And he had finished his entire paper. I found out a week later that he had received an A on it. His Kanye, adrenaline-powered essay had received a flat A on a 500 level history course. I’m still in awe of him.”

The level of academic involvement that Farnsworth has showcased highlights genuine passion and a love for learning. His interests lie in history and the humanities, which he has continually pursued on campus. He is a proctor, co-head of mock trial and debate, and a frisbee-enthusiast. “I have been an Adviser of the Mock Trial Club for the past 3 years which Sam has been a part of,” said Lori DuBois. “I have had the opportunity to watch him continue to develop his skills and be recognized as an “Outstanding Attorney” and an “Outstanding Witness” at competitions at Yale and New Hampshire Tournaments.”

DuBois mourns the times Farnsworth and his parents would drop by her office over the past three years. “We will all stay life-long friends,” she said. “As Sam moves beyond Exeter, first and foremost, I wish him continued good health and happiness. Sam has a drive and passion to continue competing in Mock Trial—He has such talent in the courtroom with his calm demeanor.

I don’t wish to say good-bye to Sam. I will say, “Until we meet again.” I will miss you.”

Through mock trial, Farnsworth has met many of his life-long friends. “Sam and I got to know

each other through mock trial but soon became friends outside of it,” Audrey Vanderslice said. “He always knows how to turn a dull night into a memorable one. Whether we’re headed for a night out in Portsmouth wandering around town or just practicing our closing statements the night before Mock Trial State Champs, he’s there to make you laugh and force you to listen to some Velvet Underground.”

Farnsworth is also a wonderful companion, Vanderslice explained.

“You can text him at any time of day or night for advice, just to chat, or for a top notch movie recommendation,” she said. “He always follows up later to ask how you’d rate the movie so that next time he can tailor his recommendation.”

After knowing Farnsworth for all four years, Vanderslice cannot recall a single time he forgot a friend’s birthday. “It doesn’t matter how much homework he has—he’s always the first one to make sure that everyone’s day is special. He’s thrown more than one surprise party in the Browning basement, and, with more courage than skill, attempted to cook their favorite meal himself. I got his signature mac & cheese for mine,” she said.

In fact, one of Farnsworth’s chief passions is throwing birthday parties. “I love throwing birthday parties on campus. I believe that no two birthday parties should be the same.

For one of my friends the perfect birthday was a cook-off in Browning, for another it was having everyone in their dorm sign a poster,” Farnsworth said.

“Sam brightens any day when you least expect it, and then you do because he brightens every day,” said JaQ Lai. “He is not the kind of person to forget feelings for the sake of humour, nor is he one to let his (formidable) intelligence get in the

Kiledria Aguilar: Activists of the Year

ByANYA TANG Kileidria Aguilar has acted as a constant force for change in the Exeter community since her involvement in activism and organizing since lower spring beginning with her involvement in the anti-gun violence movement sweeping the na-

tion at the time. As a dedicated organizer and supportive friend, Aguilar has left a lasting impact on students and employees over her four years at the Academy.

While at Exeter, Aguilar has directed Unsilenced since her lower year, and has helped organize initiatives such as Exeter’s MLK Day or Exeter’s intersectional publication

Unite! along with consistently being an advocate for women of color on campus.

Coming from a middle school that primarily consisted of people of color, Aguilar chose to commit to Exeter after attending their multicultural fly-in program. “The other members of the fly-in program were all put in a room with members of

way of silliness. His flaws are few and far between, ranging only within his blisteringly narrow culinary comfort zone. Whether I am passing Sam a spikeball, catching his frisbee, eating his hamburger buns, or debating the extent to which it all being a dream is a cop-out, I am delighted and grateful to be in the company of such a steadfast and brilliant friend.”

“If platonic realism is correct, Sam is the universal ideal of friendship that has escaped the abstract realm,” Lai concluded.

Lai anticipates Farnsworth will have a bright future. “I wish Sam nothing but the best, especially considering his temperament some years down the road will directly impact me due to his position on the Supreme Court. A world without Sam would be darker, harder, and have an identical quantity of non-water beverages,” he said.

Jay Tilton has been the acting advisor for Farnsworth over the past year. Tilton is fond of Farnsworth’s wonderful spirit, sense of humor, and his level of empathy of

which he said defined his presence on campus. “Although my relationship with Sam is relatively short, I enjoyed watching his leadership qualities emerge not only within our Advisee group, but also campus-wide,” he said. “I fondly remember an early off campus lunch meeting with Sam and a couple of Advisees new to campus and how Sam offered his hilarious version of “survival tactics” at Exeter. I knew at that moment that Sam had a true grasp on the big picture. He could be serious and focused, yet not take himself too seriously.”

“I’m very fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know Sam this year. Quite simply—he’s a stand up guy,” Tilton said.

Even as he departs beyond the Academy to begin yet another adventure at the University of Chicago, it is to no doubt that he will be remembered by various members of the Exeter community. St. Anthony’s cork board will not falter; it will always say: “Sam’s Orders - Three eggs and three sides of bacon.”

ALES [Afro-Latinx Exonian Society] and we had to go around and introduce ourselves. That’s when I felt most at home, because everybody was pretty rowdy and they knew each other and their inside jokes,” Aguilar said. “The other schools that I got into were also predominantly white institutions, but Exeter was the only place in which I saw a little corner that reminded me of middle school and I knew that I’d be comfortable here.”

Others have noticed Aguilar’s dedication to activism even in face of Exeter’s rigorous lifestyle. “I think that really sets her apart because Exeter’s crazy, and it’s really hard to take the time and the emotional energy to try to improve some part of campus in some way. That can be really exhausting,” fellow organizer and senior Tatum Schutt said. “No matter what is happening with her personally, [Aguilar] buckles down and does the work without fail in everything that I’ve ever known her to be a part of. She is always the last one to leave the room.”

Schutt has worked with Aguilar on a variety of initiatives, including Unite!, where they worked on coalition-building and fundraising to develop the publication together. Additionally, in their lower year, Schutt and Aguilar organized Unsilenced, the yearly show featuring student performers speaking out about crucial current issues.

The two share a deep-rooted passion for activism that goes beyond their classes and schoolwork. “What we were doing wasn’t an activity.

It wasn’t something that we could check off. It was a passion that we both had and a need to do right and to see change for our own moral purposes and the change that we wanted to see in the world,” Schutt said.

Aguilar’s dedication shines through in her directing of Unsilenced This year, Unsilenced was co-hosted by emcees uppers Nahla Owens and Dillon Mims, along with other student organizers, all of whom worked closely with Aguilar over the course of the performance.

For Owens, who first met Aguilar during the former’s Exeter Revisit Day, Aguilar was the reason why she chose to attend Exeter.

“Kiki is literally the reason that I decided to come here. I don’t think I would be here if I hadn’t had her [as my Exeter Revisit student],” Owens said. “She was just very kind and super sweet. She was almost like my mom. She was very much a caring and nurturing person.”

Working with Aguilar on Unsilenced was a taxing experience made smoother by Aguilar’s reliable

nature and confidence. “Unsilenced was insane. People were running everywhere. Like there were wires, microphones, props all over the place. People were warming up, people were stressed,” Owens said.

“But I think even then, [Aguilar] had this calming energy of knowing everything that was going on.

She approaches everything with so much confidence and control and an idea of what she wants and she fights for that. If there was a quote that I could use to describe [Aguilar], it would be Audre Lorde: ‘I am deliberate and afraid of nothing’.”

Similarly, Mims reflected on Unsilenced as a stressful but fun experience for those involved. “Unsilenced was a happy memory, looking back. It was a very stressful time for all of us, but I just remember collaborating with [Aguilar] and working really hard, having very long nights working together on that.

That was really fun,” Mims said.

Even as Aguilar and others dedicated countless hours to Unsilenced, Aguilar’s fun-loving nature continued to shine through in her actions and self-care. “[Aguilar] is so appreciative and is really fun to be around. When she was stressed, she played songs that made her feel powerful and she danced,” Unsilenced stagehand Diana Tzintzun said. “That was my favorite part [of Unsilenced]. Watching her be happy. She truly deserved it.”

Aguilar’s work does not stop with her organizing efforts: she continues to support her peers and practice self-care beyond her activism. “[Aguilar] wants to be present and heard not only for herself but for her friends. She has a natural spirit to help. As an Exonian, it helped her to lift up the girls of color who may feel like they have no voice on campus and in the dorms,” Aguilar’s adviser Khadijah Campbell said. “[Aguilar] has a passion for activism and doing the work behind it, but the real work for her is the self-care after it.”

Looking back on her work here at Exeter, Aguilar hopes she has made the campus a better space for all through her activism. “Exeter is a really flawed place, but it’s a constant, and there’s this quote by James Baldwin that in which he says, ‘‘I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.’ I’ve made incredibly great memories there and I’ve been influenced so much as an activist,” Aguilar said. “Without it, I could not be where I am today. If I truly believe in helping people, I need to nurture Exeter to be a better place. Hopefully by the end of my four years, I can say that I have.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Eman Noraga: Activist of the Year ByTINA HUANG “I had never been exposed to people who had never seen a black person in their life,” senior Eman Noraga said. “Being the daughter of immigrants, I was from a school with kids who I related to, and during my first year [at Exeter], I didn’t think it was such an uncommon thing.”

Noraga grew up in Arlington, Virginia, and attended a predominately minority school where she succeeded academically. Wanting a more challenging education, Noraga looked up “number one boarding schools” online and applied to Exeter. “I was like, ‘OK, I’m going to go there,’” Noraga said. “But I didn’t think I would actually get in.”

Prior to Exeter, Noraga would regularly converse with friends about their shared identities. As a Muslim and black student, Noraga had to adjust to the change in environment after arriving at Exeter. “During Ramadan, where we fast for a month, I would do that on my own sometimes [at school],” Noraga said.

“I’m used to having a whole family, a whole community, to celebrate with. Coming here, I had to do it on my own because of the academically demanding environment.”

While conversing at the Harkness table, Noraga noted her difficulties during her first terms at the Academy. “I have never had to ask for help academically in my life, and I thought it’d be the same at Exeter,” Noraga said. “It took me so long to learn that asking for help is OK, and that it’s actually extremely necessary at times to understand what’s going on in classes.” For Noraga, she experienced challenges with being black and Muslim at a majority-white institution.

However, Noraga is grateful for Exeter’s various affinity clubs, which gave her an opportu-

nity to connect with fellow classmates over shared identities. “I feel like I’ve always had the same interests about social issues,” she said. “At my middle school, the conversations were more casual because there was no need to develop them - everyone was black or brown. I never had a problem with being accepted.”

In an environment like Exeter, Noraga believes that affinity clubs are a necessity for students.

“People don’t have the same opportunity to reaffirm their black or brown-ness on a regular basis because they aren’t surrounded by people who look and experience the same things as them.”

During her prep year, Noraga admired the seniors at the time and wished to be like them.

“Someone said that the seniors used to be like me in their prep year,” Noraga said. “I was like ‘How were they ever like me?’ but it [made me believe that] I can get to their place of maturity and be able to speak on important issues.” Now, as a co-head of ALES and co-founder of the Black Students of Excellence (BSE) clubs on campus, Noraga has helped foster conversation for black and Latinx students.

Fellow BSE co-founder and senior Serene De Sisso recalled her early encounters with Noraga. As the only two non-Hispanic black girls in their prep year class, De Sisso believed their identities allowed them to “bond out of our shared experience of exclusion and similar pride of blackness.”

De Sisso further described Noraga’s growth since then, admiring her humility and leadership skills. “Each time that Eman faces an obstacle, her decisions are grounded in wisdom and empathy each and every time,” De Sisso said. “She takes full responsibility for her actions–good or bad. Eman is a person that genuinely wants to see others succeed in life. If she knows information that can help others reach this

success, she will gladly give them the help they need.”

Senior Genesis Baez admired Noraga’s leadership role. “Her presence within multiple affinity groups has allowed her to flourish into somebody that underclassmen and in reality even I look up to,” Baez said. “She has become a leader within the Exeter community and goes out of her way to help others.”

Through her time in ALES, Noraga realized the extent of varying student backgrounds.

“There’s a lot of people who may be black or Latinx but don’t know a lot about other black people or Latinx people. and I appreciate ALES for the diversity of experiences,” she said.

Furthermore, Noraga is the head of the Muslum Student Association (MSA) and Interfaith Council. “[MSA] is a safe haven to pop some Muslim jokes at people that will get them,” she said.

“It’s a chance to have conversations you normally don’t get to have. It’s a chance to practice my faith away from home.”

During her upper year, Noraga attended the Academy’s School Year Abroad (SYA) program in Spain. Inspired by the seniors of color who went abroad in previous years, Noraga decided to apply and challenge herself.

“Freshman year, I literally failed Spanish,” she said. “I wanted to go to SYA to [prove to myself] that I had the ability to learn and could become fluent in it.”

“She always goes for what she wants, and she’s made it,” senior Oluwatise Okeremi said. “She never fails to get to the bag. She went abroad, learned Spanish and now she’s elite.”

Senior Leah Delacruz, who also attended the program, credited Noraga for her support for others. “Eman was actually the one who convinced me to apply last minute to SYA Spain,” Delacruz said. “I used to hold back from doing things I wanted a lot

because of doubt. When Eman found out that I had wanted to apply for SYA Spain she told me about the rolling deadline and helped me draft emails and reviewed my application all in the span of three days.”

“Going with her to Spain truly changed the way I viewed things and ever since then I never shied away from exploring what I want,” Delacruz said. “She’s also shown me what it means to be a great friend, and for that I’ll always consider her one of my best friends.”

While in Spain, Noraga noted the occasional stares she received for her appearance. “I’m black and I wear a hijab, and I think a lot of Europeans assume that everyone like that is an immigrant,” she said. “I always saw people staring at me on the train or on the street, but as soon as I spoke in English, people would turn away and look guilty.”

Noraga acknowledged the obstacles facing immigrants of color in Spain, and decided to address the issue with her capstone project, a end of the year SYA assignment. Noraga interviewed immigrants in Spanish about their identity and ultimately created a flier of websites for those searching support. “A lot of the websites haven’t updated in years and people weren’t aware of the resources,” she said. “I had to do a lot of interviews with organizations as well, and it made me realize that there are people in Spain who care about students of color and want them to succeed.”

In her senior year, Noraga began to participate more comfortably in Harkness and emphasized the importance of class discussions. “Us being able to learn depends on the success of our peers, and we’re robbing ourselves of a true Harkness education if some of us aren’t able to take part at our full potential,” Noraga said.

“Senior year was when I felt like I was really level with my classmates.”

Delacruz commented on Noraga’s growth since prep year.

“She’s become more open to meeting new people and trying new things - I noticed this especially during our time abroad in Spain,” Delacruz said. “The amount of connections she creates with different people are endless.

I’ve also seen her become a mentor for other people and someone other people look up to as she became more comfortable with her life at Exeter.”

Outside of her influential presence in clubs, Noraga has made an equal impact with her friendships. “Eman has helped me love myself,” senior Nicole Blanco said. “She validates my experiences and is honest with me when I am being too critical about myself. She’s helped me see the good in myself and at the same time challenges me to better myself. She’s taught me a lot about the world and her realities, which has made me open my eyes and heart so much.”

Looking back on their time together, Okeremi mentioned Noraga’s creativity. “I don’t think I’ll meet anyone like her again,” Okeremi said. “She’s so funny and original. Sometimes I just have to sit back and laugh because I’ve never heard anyone say some of the things she says.”

Through four years of knowing each other, De Sisso shared her fondness for Noraga and compared her friend’s growth to that of a butterfly’s. “When a caterpillar morphs itself into a chrysalis, it may be unsure of its own significance in the greater world; after all, it is a tiny insect in a cocoon,” De Sisso said. “But when it is ready, and on its own timing, the caterpillar emerges as a beautiful butterfly, so radiant and confident that no one can ignore its presence–even the butterfly recognizes its growth and beauty. Eman is the butterfly that no one will be able to forget.”

Noraga’s trust in herself and her abilities grew during her four years at the Academy. “Exeter has taught me to be confident in my abilities, regardless of where I came from or what background I have,” she said. “I think seeing how, especially this year, I’ve been able to measure up with my peers, I’m still able to perform academically well. It’s definitely something I appreciate learning at Exeter, so I don’t have to go through that in college - imposter syndrome and whatnot.”

Noraga will be attending Tulane University, where she hopes to continue “bettering the lives of black and brown students on a college campus.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Tatum Schutt: Activists of the Year

By MINSEO KIM On the evening before MLK Day, the spotlight shined on senior Tatum Schutt as she stood on stage to deliver her spoken word piece “Can You Hear Me?” on feminism. Her resounding speech was followed by a deafening whoops and applause from the assembly hall, which was packed to the brim with students and faculty who had come for the third annual Unsilenced.

A prominent figure on campus, Schutt can often be found giving debate curriculum lectures as an executive board member of the Daniel Webster’s Debate Society or adjoining the coalitions for her Unite! Publication group. She is also a member of the MLK committee and restarted Unsilenced, a performance-centered event that celebrates the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Due primarily due to Schutt’s work during her lower year, Unsilenced has become a tradition integral to the Exeter experience, a platform to speak truth to power and spark necessary conversations surrounding race, class, and gender-identity.

In the evenings, Exonians can find Schutt at Amen Hall as a proctor on duty. A dedicated member of her dorm community, she can often be seen organizing dorm events or helping students revise their history papers.

Even when she’s out of the dorm, Amen dorm members can look forward to finding Schutt’s

sticky-notes of encouragement on their doors after a long exhaustive day, or for Lower Siona Jain, after her dance performance at the fall prep rally. “Tatum came in with a big hug and kept talking about the performance. She can make anyone feel great about whatever they did,” Jain said. “I remember countless times that I would screw up after a round when she was the captain and judge, and she would talk to me all the way back to Amen.”

Aside from her extensive extracurricular commitments, Schutt has also taken part in significant course policy changes at the school. She successfully persuaded the Academy’s administration to allow lowers to take US history, allowing for greater flexibility in students’ options for their academic timelines. “Tatum saw an urgent need, and worked to make it a reality. Now, so many lowers have more freedom in their course choices because of Tatum,” senior Anjali Gupta explained.

Debate and public speaking skills have become a fundamental factor in building Schutt’s legacy as a leading advocate and community organizer; she is a strong believer in freedom of speech.

Schutt is the middle child between a younger and older sister. Thus, squabbles and friendly “debate” was common throughout her upbringing.

When she first joined Exeter’s debate society as a new student, Schutt noticed an overwhelming minority of female debaters.

Over the years, the club’s culture

changed vastly, and debate became a crucial aspect of Schutt’s Exeter experience. “I love debate because of the rush of argumentation, and the thrill of being forced to think analytically on the fly while keeping up the performance and presentation,” Schutt said.

Schutt also recognizes debate for what it’s done to challenge her perspectives. “I believe it’s crucial to have that ability to reach past your own personal beliefs and really consider the facts and alternative sides of every argument… That’s how you reach the truth,” Schutt explained.

Throughout her four-year journey at the Academy, Schutt has constantly worked to alter the school’s atmosphere regarding racial and gender awareness.

Schutt grew up in her hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, which had prominent segregation and not many opportunities to discuss racial inequality.

When Schutt came to Exeter as a prep, the school’s social justice environment was also relatively under-developed. Determined to gain more knowledge on the topic, she decided to join ALES during her first year to listen and learn more. “I think just being in that space was incredibly important for me. It was a way for me to enter the conversation.”

Through Schutt’s interactions with ALES members and firsthand observance of their proposals to the school administration on inclusion and diversity, she gained much experience raising social awareness. “Watching the

ALES board in the 2016-2017 school year advocate for the proposal showed me how movements work. Their energy, commitment, and organizing were deeply inspiring. But I also saw how few white students cared about the work they were doing, and how apathetic the broader PEA community was to their stories and message. That attitude of indifference has been something I have been trying to change since then,” Schutt explained. As a founder of Unite! and Unsilenced, she has certainly contributed to making Exeter a more equitable community.

On her mission to change the school’s outlook on race, Schutt focused on the need for meaningful dialogue on the subject.“I knew there were students that cared. They just didn’t know how to get involved, were embarrassed to seem ignorant, and didn’t feel like they had a place to go and learn. I understand that. We needed to create a place to bring people together and have tough conversations, and also a way to keep the dialogue up on the wider campus,” she said. After this realization, she created Unite!, an intersectional platform where representatives from campus’ racial, religious, and social advocacy-related groups could gather in the panel’s coalition to exchange thoughts and dialogue freely. Her club also publishes a yearly magazine that draws works across a diverse range of clubs and student groups. As the head of Unite!, Schutt worked on organization,

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funding, and publication. Now, concepts of equity and inclusion have become the buzzwords on campus.

Four-year senior Angelina Zhang commended Schutt on her efforts and willingness to speak up for the community. “I admire her dedication in helping others and speaking up for what she believes in,” Zhang stated.

Schutt’s work with Unsilenced gained recognition and appreciation from many members of the community. The event had been founded several years ago but was discontinued due to lack of interest. After a conversation with Ms. Carbonell, Schutt revitalized the event and brought a new addition to the school’s yearly MLK celebration. She recruited performers, ran dress rehearsals, organized advertising, and ran the event as MC. “I remember feeling like ‘wow, this is an impact that I’m making.’ Since then, Unsilenced has only grown. Every year, incredible students have brought it together even more beautifully.

It’s gotten bigger every single year,” Schutt explained.

“Driven. Badass. Fire,” Gupta expounded. “Tatum is fire not just because of her gorgeous flame-colored hair, but because she is determined to live every day to it’s fullest. She inspires me to be a better person.”

Schutt has indeed become a trailblazer advocate and is dedicated to her work, whether it was working behind-the-scenes for Unsilenced or connecting with and mentoring younger students on public speaking techniques. A fellow Amenite and close friend, senior Leah Cohen, explained, “It is true she is very invested in what she does, but she is also the funniest, weirdest, best person I know and I hope that everyone at Exeter had the opportunity to see this side of her.”

Schutt’s investment in activism brought a newfound focus to social justice at Exeter, and Gupta noted how her work reaches beyond the bounds of the school. She recalled how Schutt explained the one downside of boarding school to be the difficulty of connecting and writing to the political representatives in her home state of Delaware, which she had done so for many years.

“She sees the world in all its beauty and its flaws, and is always appreciating the beauty while striving to correct the world’s flaws,” Gupta said.

And as much as she is a well-spoken academic and advocate, there are many memorable moments that Schutt and her friends can cherish from their time at the Academy. “The many hours we’ve spent preparing cases together or arguing against each other have blossomed into an amazing friendship that’s traveled from debate tournaments to the Water Street Bookstore to the gym to our rooms,” Gupta said.

At the dorm, she provided emotional support for dorm members with Tuesday Tea while on duty. She restarted some of Amen’s dorm traditions with Morgan LeBrun by watching The Bachelor on the fourth floor. She lifted spirits with other student listeners by hosting parties like a tropical-themed smoothie night with early 2010s throwback songs and grooving. “Tatum was always there for any dorm event, and she always stayed afterward. She truly was an Amenite,” Jain said.

From group studies to watching the sunset at the ocean with warm blankets and friends, Schutt’s Exeter experience will likely be an unforgettable series of memories strung together by her friendships, hard work, and large-scale projects.

Schutt nears the closure of her time at Exeter and she reflects on her legacy as well as her advocacy goals that will continue into the future. “I am obtaining an education so that I can create the biggest positive impact in my state and country. I am driven by inequality brutally present in my home community. From degradation of the environment, to a culture of intentional ignorance, to institutionalized racism in every aspect of public policy, I do not believe we, as a country, can continue in the way that we have. I will dedicate myself to one of these issues-- I am just not sure which, or in what career exactly yet.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Chaitanya Vankireddy: Scientist of the Year

By OTTO DO “Chai’s fascination with biology, surgery, and medicine is incredible to witness. She’ll quite literally watch valve replacements and bypass surgeries during lunch or just while relaxing,” upper and close friend Nahla Owens said.

Although known for her deep interest in biologyMUN co-Head, she also serves as the Chamber Orchestra Section Leader, McConnell Proctor, Tennis Coach, RareX CEO and RA at Stanford’s Cardiothoracic Surgical Skills Internship. Chaitanya Vankireddy does it all.

“Chai has always been very interested in science,” sister and lower Teja Vankireddy noted. “Growing up, she used to go around telling everyone she wanted to be a neurosurgeon. She and my mom always used to talk about the anatomy of everything, whether it be the chicken we were eating for dinner or a bug my mom just killed while my Dad and I would just be really grossed out. Being so good at science, she’s always helped me with my homework and pushed me to go into STEM even when I resist.”

“Chai already has a clear idea of what she loves and wants to pursue,” senior Kelly Mi said.

In Owens’ experience, Chai’s pursuit of human biology is a constant one. “She also practices sutures in her free time. She even taught me a few simple ones! It’s honestly amazing to see the way she lights up when you ask her a question about a surgery that she’s watching or about a medical term. It’s so refreshing to see her passion for the subject,” Owens said.

“Chai’s biology knowledge also translates to her humor,” senior Candy Tantichirasakul said. “When we cook together, she’ll dissect pieces of meat like she’s doing a surgery or during a movie, she’ll comment on how a violent scene is biologically inaccurate. It’s pretty weird but it’s pretty Chai.”

As the daughter of a practicing physician, Chai realized her

love for science at a young age.

According to her mother, Haritha Vankireddy, “When she was much younger . . . we went to a dementia unit in a nursing home. Here, she played Kinect with residents with the activity director while I was seeing patients. Shortly after we left, she told me that she wants to become a neurosurgeon and cure all of the residents’ memory problems! I always wonder if this is where it all started,” she said.

As a renowned science-whiz, C. Vankireddy’s duty hours as a McConnell proctor often turn into spontaneous bio help sessions. “Every time she’s on duty, I always see people, usually lower-classmen, just waiting around waiting for her to explain some biology thing to them,” Tantichirasakul said.

“Chai loves interacting with others and is passionate about helping others while fulfilling her passion,” H. Vankireddy said. “She wants to choose a career where she can be herself and make an impact in others’ lives.

She plans to pursue medicine and integrate it with her other interests like finance, business, and entrepreneurialism. I am very confident that she will make the world a better place.”

According to Adviser and Dorm Head Michelle Soucy, Chai “tells stories as if she is a doctor already! She also promised to be my heart surgeon if I need one PRO BONO!” Vankireddy has already begun spreading the Academy’s values of knowledge and goodness beyond the Exeter community. “She had started a company called RareX that was trying to raise money to subsidize expensive medications,” T. Vankireddy said.

Although friends attribute her deep connection with human science to a natural affinity, C. Vankireddy explained that it was a realization that helped push her.

“At some point, I realized that I could take my education in my own hands and stop being so dependent on what my teachers provide. Although [seemingly] simple, learning how to ask questions

that will further my knowledge instead of questions that only reinforce what I know is something that Exeter taught me. It helped me tremendously when I was doing research over the summer,” C. Vankireddy said.

However, instructors have also played a large role in her growth as a scientist. “The teachers, especially the ones in the science department, are really invaluable resources, and talking to them and hearing about resources through them has been a really good opportunity for me. The research projects at Exeter are unlike any other high school’s,” C. Vankireddy commented.

Although she has spent six terms in the Academy’s biology department, according to C. Vankireddy, “I’ve only had two biology teachers — Chisholm and Matlack. It’s actually pretty crazy, because most people, myself included, consider them the best teachers in the department.”

Having spent so much time with the two, C. Vankireddy has had the opportunity to build deep connections. “I still rant to Mr. Matlack whenever I have trouble with Physics,” she said.

Like her friends, her instructors have also noticed her enthusiasm for science. “Chai is an enthusiastic and motivated biology student. As well, she has a natural aptitude in the subject matter, which makes it thoroughly enjoyable for her. Chai comes to every class with a joy for learning that is great to see. She is always enthusiastic and energized in class. Chai comes early to class and stays late. As well, Chai always rolls with the punches and never balks about the scope of an assignment or the difficulty of a question,” Biology Instructor Christopher Matlack said.

Matlack highlighted a particular moment when Chai shined.

“When I first taught her in Biology 320, she was the only student in the class that was willing to dissect the fetal pig on her own without a partner. This impressed me very much. I’m a big fan of Chaitanya Vankireddy,” Matlack

said.

When Chai was on the hunt for research opportunities, she turned to Biology Instructor Townley Chisholm. “Outside of class, I asked Mr Chisholm, ‘how do I get research?’ He told me to contact everyone I know and keep on sending emails even if I get a lot of ‘no’s,” she said.

Although her dedication and intelligence is quite apparent, Chisholm said that “Chai’s kindness is what sets her apart. It’s the kindness that she radiates all the time to everyone around her,” Chisholm said.

C. Vankireddy explained her response to science naysayers. “I think science is so broad that it’s unfair to completely cut it out of your periphery. It’s intertwined in practically everything and having knowledge in science really broadens your perspective on the world,” she said.

“Besides her passion for surgery and medicine, Chai is a girl of many talents,” Owen said.

“She’s a dedicated entrepreneur. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone get excited about filing taxes for their non-profit, but it definitely demonstrates her love for business and economics.”

T. Vankireddy attributes Chai’s multifaceted endeavors to her boundless curiosity. “She just loves learning. When we’re home, I always complain because when it’s her choice for movie night, she will always pick a documentary over a rom-com,” she said.

In addition to pursuing research and business, C. Vankireddy also finds herself at the Forrestal Bowld Music Center daily.

“I’m not the best musician, but I play a pretty rare instrument — the viola. The first time I walked into the music building for my audition, I didn’t think I’d get into chamber orchestra, but Mr. Smith and Mr. Schultz encouraged me to join the highest level orchestra.

Eventually, I began participating in chamber groups too. At the peak of my music career, around lower fall, I had about eight music commitments,” she noted.

Before Exeter, C. Vankireddy didn’t imagine that music would play such a big role in her life. “I always thought it was just something that I would do in high school and drop afterwards, but the music department has helped me find fun in performing,” she said.

C. Vankireddy also performs in multiple mediums, so to speak. As the co-head of MUN, Vankireddy has spent many hours in the spotlight. However, that was not always the case. “In middle school I pinned myself as the science girl, so I had never imagined myself participating so actively in a speaking club. When I came to Exeter, I wanted to try something new. Joining MUN was an amazing experience; you’re surrounded by a bunch of talented and motivated individuals who just keep on pushing you,” she said.

Her title is certainly deserved.

C. Vankireddy served as the MUN team’s coach at a conference last year. “I remember watching person after person come into our hotel room to ask Chai for advice on what to do,” lower Michelle Park said. ‘Despite probably being worn out from a long day of visiting everyone’s committee room and answering countless questions, she never seemed to be tired and really listened and answered thoughtfully about what she believed would be the best thing to do in each and every person’s situation.”

C. Vankireddy also supported Exeter delegates throughout each day’s endless committee sessions.

“It was my first MUN conference and I honestly had no idea what I was doing,” Park said. “When I got to my committee, there were a lot of ambitious, power-hungry people who were only vying for awards and were ready to crush everyone else there. Chai helped me throughout the entire conference, texting me what to do and what to say in these situations.

She never fails to make me laugh and I am incredibly grateful to have gotten to know her last Spring.”

C. Vankireddy’s attentiveness is recognized by adults and students alike. “Chai is an excellent and sensitive listener with a wonderful sense of humor who is able to read situations very well, and to assert herself with clarity and kindness to get her always helpful and astute ideas and suggestions across,” MUN Adviser Marianne Zwicker said. “This served the club particularly well when Chai took on the inaugural role as ‘club coach’ last year at a MUN conference at Dartmouth. She attended sessions and observed newer club members in their committee meetings in order to give them constructive feedback to help them achieve their goals and to improve their MUN skills. I know her presence was reassuring for many students.”

Unless you live in McConnell, one of Chai’s lesser known hobbies is Monopoly. “Chai is very passionate about Monopoly.

That’s why every time she asks me to play with her, I say no. She gets really worked up about it and will smack talk whoever her opponent is. When you’re not playing with her, it’s kind of funny to witness it,” Tantichirasakul said.

Despite all of her accomplishments, according to Ayush Noori, “Chai never takes herself too seriously. She is an incredible friend and someone I know that I can always rely on. It’s fitting, then, that perhaps my favorite moment with Chai is not poring over a biology textbook, but rather, famished and clutching only a few dollars, hunting through the streets of London (when the Concert Choir and Orchestra went on tour together last March) for some authentic Indian food.”

In short, according to Tantichirasakul, “Chai is passionate about saving turtles, Tommy Hilfiger and cheating at Monopoly. In all seriousness, there are no words to describe Chai. All I can say is that I treasure her and the rest of the world will too, soon enough.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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Penny Brant: Scientist of the Year

By JEANNIE EOM “I’m bi-racial, bi-lingual, bi-cultural, bi-continental and gay,” senior Penny Brant said. “I love science, technology, art, writing and music.”

Brant, who grew up in Luo Shan in Beijing, first moved to the United States when pollution deteriorated her hometown. Coming from a public school in Wu Dao Kou, Beijing, near Tsinghua, Brant grew up dreaming of becoming a manga artist, her creative spirits spiraling in her works.

“As a child, I loved drawing, as it bridged my imagination with reality. To this day, the bottom of my bed is filled with papers covered with sketches for fantasy stories, blueprints of crazy inventions, and observations of nature,” she said. “My creativity was furthered when I discovered coding in 8th grade--256 possible characters, infinite ways to build applications to help others.”

This was just the start of Brant’s interest in computer science, a passion that will endure far beyond her time at Exeter. “Ever since then, I’ve spent a significant amount of my time testing out cool applications, and not sleeping for 72 hours straight developing apps at hackathons,” she said.

Brant has taken numerous challenging courses at Exeter to fuel her passionate interests in science and will continue to do so at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the coming year. The Machine Learning 999 class of her lower spring was her first introduction to machine learning concepts.

Since then, she has completed a research project in the “application of generative adversarial networks in finding alternative chemical methods to efficiency solar energy production.”

Creativity in Brant’s project sees no end. “In USIYPT upper-year, I worked on a problem investigating what rainbows would look like on other planets, and senior year, I worked on measuring the distance to the sun,” she said.

Her exploration and hobbies in the word of science keeps her motivated constantly. “I would be very sad to die without understanding the underlying rules of this amazing universe I’ve been born into, and this belief drives me towards my many hobbies.”

Brant’s involvements on campus mirror her exceptional abilities. She is the “Co-head of Exeter Computing Club, Co-Director of Communications for the ESSO Board, Co-captain of the USIYPT physics team and Co-head

of physics club, Co-captain of the FTC robotics team, Director of HackExeter, logistical lead for HackNEHS(hacknehs.org), cohead of ESSO Robotics, technical director for the Exonian, Stucco tech committee lead, TEDx organizer, and director for STEM Day.” Other clubs/initiatives include GSA, EASA, LoveToAll, Debate and MUN. “I joined Exeter Computing Club on day one of Exeter, and I loved it!” she recalled. “It was the first time I had a big community of friends who were equally passionate about science and technology.

Exeter Computing Club gave me a community of peers who I struggled with together during USA Computing Olympiad competitions, machine learning/artificial intelligence projects, and organizing our annual community hackathon-HackExeter.” She has been a co-head since her upper year and she continues to inspire lowerclassmen with her passion.

“I first met Penny in my prep year in Exeter Computing Club (ECC), and again later on through our robotics team,” said Celine Tan. “Since then, she’s been an incredible upperclassman to me. I can count on her to encourage me when I find myself in moments of doubt, since she is kind and genuine to anyone and everyone around her. I find that conversations with her often give way to laughter, and she brings a friendly environment to any space she’s in.”

Tan is incredibly thankful for the support she was able to see from Brant at Exeter, and will truly miss her presence next year. “At Exeter, I’ve discovered a love for physics and computer science, but I often struggle to overcome my lack of self-confidence, which is often paired with the lurking feeling that my male peers are superior to me,” she explained. “However, through my years here, Penny has been an incredibly supportive upperclassman, and whenever I needed help, whether related to computer science or not, she’d be an amazing source of advice and support. She’s a constant upstander for everyone around her, and she encourages her friends and fellow Exonians to work hard and be kind.”

Tan was able to feel that her identity was fully supported and lifted as she saw Brant in the science field. “Penny greatly inspires me as a queer woman in STEM, and as an empathetic and caring friend,” Tan said.

“Exeter really provided me with an environment where I came to accept myself, as both bi-racial, bi-cultural, and gay,” Brant said.

“In both Beijing and NH, I lived in

communities that are 99% from the same ethnic/racial group, and as a bi-racial person, I’ve always felt the pressure to fit in with one side of my culture.”

The overwhelming support from the Academy community, however, inspired Brant to thrive and explore the complexities of her own identity. “I’m very thankful that Exeter gave me the courage to love and accept my differences, especially in an age where rapid development has led to loss of integrity and honesty in scientific entrepreneurship. I believe this confidence Exeter has given me to believe in myself will help me sustain my genuine passion to help others and not get lost,” she said.

In her lower year, Brant gained an invaluable piece of advice from Zuming Feng, Instructor in Mathematics, that stuck with her throughout her time at Exeter. “I don’t recall the exact quote, but it was something along the lines of ‘don’t ever lock yourself in a box,’” she said.

“At the beginning of Exeter, I felt a lot of pressure to be very into math and even considered abandoning my more humanities hobbies, such as art, philosophy, poetry, writing, and music for a more stem concentrated lifestyle. However, this quote reminds me that the possibilities of life and things you can learn are endless, and continues to push my creativity in all directions. I live by this quote as to this day; some of my biggest research/project inspirations in computer science came from the humanities,” she said.

Lower Mana Vale has looks up to Brant, inspired by her boundless curiosity. “Penny and I first met long before I was at Exeter,” said Vale. “We both actually competed in a math competition back when I was in 6th grade and we faced off against each other. I remember she was really chill when I faced off against her and she explained a problem that I got wrong.” Since then, they have been good friends and Vale truly admires Brant’s personality. “One thing I love about her is she tries to get to know people,” said Vale.

“She would come sit with me and my friends at lunch and ask me to introduce her to them and then she’d go around dhall/weth and introduce herself to preps and lowers, and by the end of lunch she’d have a new group of underclassmen friends,” Vale said.

Brant’s bright personality emanates towards all of her friends, and Vale loves spending time with her.

“She’s also very productive and she knows how to get things done, and she’s a girl who’s really good

at STEM so I definitely do admire her in that aspect,” Vale concluded Brant’s computer science teacher Sean Campbell also recognized her uplifting leadership, especially towards underclassmen. “Penny is simply an outstanding student.

She is a great leader by example and her enthusiasm definitely has inspired and encouraged younger students and anyone else who is around her for more than a minute or two,” he said.

“Penny always brought a lightheartedness to meetings that she was leading,” Campbell said. “She was always happy to share her love of learning (especially as it related to computing) with others. Her enthusiasm was contagious and inspired others to become more involved.”

Brain Liu met Brant through numerous shared extra curriculars, including physics club and club USIYPT. “She brings a lot of energy and cheerfulness and it makes doing stuff with her enjoyable. She’s also really driven and talented,” Liu said. “Beyond Exeter, well, we are going to the same college, so hopefully it will be four more years of great memories.”

“Penny is the perfect mixture of hardworking, savvy, funny, and lazy that I could wish to only one day emulate. I’ve known her casually for a while now,” said Orion Bloomfield. “We were ECC frequents, but now as coheads together I’ve definitely become a much closer friend this past year.”

Bloomfield is a big fan of Brant’s humor. “Penny is a great friend to have, she has the nerdy wit that can propel any conversation, and she is soooo funny when you get to know her. Don’t get her started on machine learning puns,” he laughed. “I felt my connection to Penny was at times sevrendipitous, and at others, the best kind of chaotic good. For a long period of time, I would miraculously run into her in the library every week and she would always have something to say to me – a joke, an invitation to something, a crazy idea to start mail merging for all of the ECC emails.”

Bloomfield is fully confident that Brant will drive her success beyond Exeter. “I know she is going to slay the game at MIT, and all I can ask for her is to plan an ECC reunion with me!” he said.

Brant has also brightened senior Nathan Sun’s years at Exeter. “She is a great presence to be around and she’s a great musician, excellent coder, but an even better person,” he said. Sun shared many interests with Brant, which brought them closer together throughout the

years. “We’ve played piano duets, coded neural networks, played badminton, celebrated birthdays, Puzzle Hunted, and last-minute-studied for multi tests together,” he said. “So it’s no exaggeration to say that Penny was part of a significant chunk of my Exeter experience, and I wish I could relive it all again.”

Over spring break of her upper year, Brant took part in the incredible school travel program to India with her peers. Brant did not know of Noah James yet, another student on the trip, but they would grow to become great friends. “We didn’t know one another before getting on the bus for Logan airport, but she was my assigned buddy so that we wouldn’t lose each other at the airports and we became fast friends,” James said. “We shared some of the greatest experiences of my life on that trip and Penny has remained a reliable, supportive friend ever since.”

Similarly to Brant, James entered the Academy as a new lower, and she was able to support him throughout his adjustment to being a three-year student. “Our interactions are not necessarily frequent, but every time I’ve seen her around campus, we end up sitting down and having long conversations. I appreciate Penny for the humility with which she approaches everything,” he said. “She is a Math and Computer Science genius, which she would never admit herself, but also a talented artist, as I recently found out.”

James truly wishes Brant the best as she finishes her Exeter career and begins a new journey at MIT. “As she moves on from her time as an Exonian, I am sure that Penny will approach the next chapter with the same humbleness and enthusiasm,” he said. “She better come back to visit me and I will definitely be there for her graduation, whenever that may be.”

“I hope that Penny will find what makes her happy both intellectually and further, also those things that create joy which are an escape and diversion from the academic,” Campbell said.

When asked about her hopes for the future, Brant concluded, “I dream of a world where everyone has equal opportunities, where everyone can live with dignity, and where everyone has equal, unrestricted access to resources to help them reach their full potential. In that world, there are so many interesting people to work together with on fun projects! I hope to use my knowledge in science and technology with my passion for community service to work towards this dream.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Tony Yu: Scientist of the Year ByTINA HUANG At age 13, Tony Yu explored a new style of education in Waterloo, Canada—a change from the traditional Chinese, testing-based style he grew up with.

“My mom came to [Canada] for a visiting professorship,” Yu said. “At first, I was like, ‘Why do I have to study with Canadians in a country I don’t know, in a language I don’t know?’— but I absolutely loved it. I had the chance to go skiing, play volleyball, and invent my own games in class.”

After returning to Wuhan a year later, Yu’s time in Canada stayed in his mind. “I either stay in China, go through the whole gaokao system and get a job, or apply to schools in the United States,” Yu said. “I have to thank my parents. They supported whatever decision I had to make.” In tenth grade, Yu began applying to boarding schools.

Ultimately, Yu chose Exeter due to the Academy’s atmosphere and STEM program.

When Yu first visited the campus, his tour guide at the time was just accepted into Columbia University—the college Yu will be attending in the fall.

Although Yu actively participated in math competitions in the past, he decided to leave the Academy’s math club after the first meeting. “I heard rumors on Exeter’s math club being extremely authoritarian with Mr. Feng being a boss, but he was just being a Chinese-style teacher,” Yu said. “But [the math club] was not what I was looking for when I went to America.

I wanted to try something else.”

In his first term as a new lower, Yu experienced challenges with the Harkness method. “I had a little language barrier,” he said. “In English, we were reading a poem book, and when I first saw it, I was like, ‘What the hell is this thing?’ I didn’t know how anyone was supposed to make meaning out of it.”

Fortunately, Yu talked with his teacher, English Instructor Lundy Smith, and the class switched the poems for a fiction book. After a month, Yu began to speak more in discussions.

Yu’s interest in English expanded during his upper year. “I learned to really write essays as a person,” he said. “People always say you should write about real stuff, but that can be hard, especially with the prompts.

Writing true stories was pretty rewarding for me because I’m able to have a reflective moment with myself.”

Since his first year, Yu has become more involved with the international student community. “Tony became an International Student Organization (ISO) Leader for the class that came this past fall,” International Student Coordinator Jennifer Smith said. “He took the role very seriously. He was right up front, greeting students and their families, and went out of his way to make sure that students were engaged, having fun and comfortable. He wasn’t afraid to also do the work that sometimes is not as fun at ISO: carrying luggage upstairs, cleaning up food, etc.”

Additionally, Smith noted Yu’s impact on his fellow students. “Tony is no longer that shy, somewhat quiet boy he was when he arrived,” Smith said.

“Students seem to gravitate to his positive and friendly energy.

His demeanor has enabled him to adopt a leadership role quite seamlessly. I’m not even sure he realizes how much the younger students and his peers look up to him as a role model.”

Thoguh Yu is a self-described STEM-oriented student, he also found a new appreciation of

history his upper year. “I hated history when I was a lower,” Yu said. After encountering difficulties in his first class about Native Americans populations, however, Yu soon became intrigued with his United States History course. “I saw how events tied up with one another: how World War II ties back to the Great Depression, how the Great Depression ties back to the Gilded Years.”

Despite leaving the math club, Yu continued exploring STEM through the Academy’s physics, computing and chemistry clubs. “I ended up sticking with computer science and physics,” he said. “They were both math heavy, but you get to do experiments in physics, and it’s applicable in real life.

we had together in Abbot, working on English essays at 2 AM due that morning, binging Star Wars until 6 AM once, and of course, staying past lights out almost regularly as lowers. It’s really nostalgic,” he said.

“Nathan was always there with me,” Yu said. “We had some great moments: just trying to wake each other up in the morning, going to Swaysey and hanging out in the Observatory late at night.”

Upper Kenneth Elsman agreed, mentioning’s Yu’s honesty. “It’s nice to be around people like him that ground you in reality,” Elsman said. “He has been emotionally supportive when needed.”

Senior Smaiyl Makyshov appreciates Yu’s ability to com-

needed Yu’s enthusiasm. “He showed deep commitment to our team and project, and was even willing to sacrifice many things from his personal life just to ensure our team does well and succeeds,” Makyshov said.

“When Tony works on a task, he doesn’t just finish it, but goes beyond it.”

As Yu’s advisor, Chinese Instructor Ning Zhou admires his initiative. “As this is the first year for my four other advisees and me, Tony provides lots of good suggestions for us in advising meetings,” Zhou said.

“He is also very generous with his time to help others in the school community. I wish Tony much success in his journey beyond Exeter.”

After three years at the Acad-

ing recently about the education systems in China, Canada, and the United States - like how to build an educational system against all the biases we have,” Yu said. “There are a bunch of other systems we can explore in terms of college applications.”

Yu elaborated on the concepts of hard work and talent.

“People would say ‘Bill Gates dropped out of college,’ but he code for six years in a row before college,” Yu said. “More than 10,000 hours of practice.

He was not a prodigy; he just coded and coded. Not every kid is like Bill Gates, and that’s part of the reason why I chose Columbia because New York is so diverse. It will offer me a lot of choices to shape what I want to do in the future.”

Currently, Yu is working with

Math— and my parents—are what prompted me to study STEM.” One of Yu’s favorite memores was a 2019 trip to New York City for an international physics competition. Along with the club, Yu debated with fellow schools on the applicability of their experiments. Exeter’s team won first place. “It was the first time I got on stage in front of 500 people,” Yu said.

“I managed to pull through the competition and train myself as both a physicist and a presenter.” Furthermore, Yu especially appreciated the friendliness of his competitors. “We were debating seriously an hour before, but after some pizza, we all sat down and introduced ourselves and became friends— even with Andover’s team,” he said. His team won 1st at the competition.

Additionally, Yu has built close ties with those in the Exeter bubble. As a resident of Abbot Hall, Yu’s compassion and responsibility have greatly impacted fellow dorm-mates.

Senior Nathan Sun, Yu’s roommate of two years, commented on his dedication. “He’s very determined and focused, yet embodies Exeter’s non sibi philosophy,” Sun said. “As one of the heads of Peer Tutoring, he doesn’t hesitate to help people out.”

Sun talked about the roommates’ memorable pastimes in the dorm. “Especially in quarantine, I’m missing the late nights

municate with others. “I think Tony is one of the smartest, yet also one of the coolest people I’ve ever met,” Makyshov said.

“Tony is one of those people who are creative and like to think outside of the box, and most importantly, someone who can be serious when needed but laid back and chill at other times. It’s very easy to talk to Tony about anything, and in any depth of a conversation, so he is a very approachable friend at any time.”

Grateful for his friends’ consistent support, Yu reflected on a difficult moment in his Exeter career. “In my lower spring, I was really depressed, and I developed the habit of going to work in Dunkin’ Donuts,” Yu said. “My friend Smaiyl always went with me. I later learned that he didn’t like doughnuts, but he probably sensed me being unstable. I really owe him for all that time spent in Dunkin’ Donuts. Just sharing a doughnut and talking to him was a great way to combat depression.”

Yu and Makyshov, along with four other group members, worked on a startup project called Recyclotron. Their team hoped to “simplify the recycling process,” according to Makyshov.

As they went through multiple Recyclotron prototypes in the Design Lab, staying past lab hours and getting caught by the occasional faculty member, Makyshov commented on much

emy, Yu has come to value time with his friends. “When someone doesn’t get a position in a club, they might be just really disappointed for a moment,” he said. “I think that happens because of the college pressure - that’s maybe why everyone must earn their position and if you feel like you’re not doing well, you suck, and you can’t blame anyone else. It’s a bit unnecessary. You could have used those times hanging out with friends and eating ice cream.”

While Yu acknowledged the Exeter community’s competitiveness, he mentioned the school’s impact on his personal growth. “I became more adventurous,” he said. After his senior winter, Yu and his friend took a train from Boston to San Francisco, stopping at Utah to camp at the National Parks.

Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Yu’s return train was cancelled, and the two friends spent two weeks in the Utah mountains. “We were literally camping in the wild and building bonfires - I would never have done such a thing if I hadn’t come to Exeter. It made me more adventurous about meeting new people and talking about different things,” Yu said.

In college, Yu hopes to remember these lessons. Planning to study Computer Science— and potentially physics, philosophy and education—at Columbia, Yu has also found interest in other fields. “I’ve been ponder-

a friend on English tutoring opportunities for kids in China. “I knew some kids who stayed in China their whole life and were perfectly fluent in English,” Yu said. “I wondered how they did it, and they were like, ‘I’m just watching movies on repeat.’”

Although a tentative idea at the moment, Yu hopes to find cheap alternatives for English learning. “The majority of Chinese high schoolers were not able to understand daily conversations in English, and that’s concerning because they got amazing scores on those written tests but couldn’t communicate.”

From leaving his home city of Wuhan to entering the Academy, Yu values the unique experiences he has been through at Exeter. Academically, his time in Chinese schools helped prepare him for the workload.

“Even if I have to start my 332 the night before, I would still finish it,” he said. “If I have to submit an essay, I’ll work on it at 3AM and then wake up after four hours of sleep energized.

It’s a skill we have to learn at Exeter.”

Yu has also embraced the boarding environment and the diversity of the school, prioritizing the moments he can spend with friends. “My middle in China was one hundred percent Chinese,” he said. “The fact that we were able to experience different cultures from all over the world and all over America was something that was really, really special to me.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

27

Billy Menken: Scientist of the Year

By MINSEO KIM After many weeks of blueprint-making, collaborating and 3D-printing rocket nose cones in the Maker Space, launch day finally arrived. Senior Billy Menken and EOPS club members gather together on the snowy bank next to the school’s baseball field and proceed to do a countdown: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… There’s a cascade of whooping and shouts as the rocket shoots hundreds of meters into the sky. Soon after, the parachute pops open and students run across the field to retrieve the descending rocket.

Menken has made many contributions in STEM-related initiatives, including the Exeter Off-Planet Society which he and fellow senior Avery Clowes co-founded and co-led since Upper year. The EOPS organization eventually created a small “outer-space revolution” on the Exeter campus and brought together a tight-knit student community invested in space exploration and related technologies.

Some major projects include: research with micrometeorites, building a cloud chamber, creating The High Schooler’s Guide To The Galaxy, inviting astrophysics guest speakers, collaborating with the Chem Club for a large-scale rocket launch experiment, and the latest endeavor being food computers for agriculture in outer space. Menken’s dedication to space has also led him to take part in other projects.

This includes presenting an ionic propulsion system with Clowes at Intel’s International Science and Engineering Fair during Lower year, and taking part in an innovation bootcamp program in Hong Kong the following summer.

Other than being a STEM student trailblazer at Exeter, Menken was a co-captain of the boy’s Varsity soccer team during his senior year, taught students as a part of ESSO piano tutoring, and was a proctor at Abbot Hall, the oldest dorm on campus.

Since prep year, as a part of the first-year Student Council grade representatives, Menken’s outgoing mindset was evident.

Senior Ben Cai had also worked as a grade rep along with Menken and Senior Mai Hoang. “Billy already showed the traits of a leader and an innovator; always asking

questions and thinking of ways to engage with our class. Whether it be through s’mores nights or dodgeball tournaments, he clearly cared about his peers and would do everything he could do to fulfill his duty.” Cai said.

Regarding the Lower Year science fair, Menken got the chance to build a functional magnetoplasmadynamic thruster with Clowes, his teammate. There was a crucial 6-month-long journey of step-by-step learning, research, a couple hundred emails sent out, and hundreds of more hours of commitment -- which had all started from a small inspirational spark at the drawing board -- that eventually led to this successful outcome.

With these efforts, they were able to learn much about aerospace engineering, material sciences, mechanical design, and many other aspects of project-building such as management and communications. “We had to learn what we didn’t know before we could figure out how to build something that we didn’t know how to build. And Billy was an integral part in making that happen.” Clowes said.

These valuable skill sets eventually became fundamental stepping stones to creating scientific-community-building projects like the EOPS organization.

And throughout both the science fair and EOPS projects, Menken continues to stay steadfast to his projects’ scientific and educational visions. “He has the spark that keeps a project from dying… He gets you inspired when you feel like you’re not doing things correctly.” Clowes explained.

Overall, Menken is widely known on campus to be a highly-intelligent academic; he is committed to school work and activities. He often takes time to help out others with their assignments as well, such as during writing workshopping in English class, where he spent an hour on each classmate’s poetry to provide feedback and constructive criticisms for his peers.

His friends commend his reliability, thoughtfulness, and hard-working personality. “ He always gets what he says he’s gonna get done and he’s a great motivator, collaborator… He is a really important part of any team.” Clowes said. Senior Lucy Gilchrist spoke about their times

spent discussing writing and poetry. “His curiosity simply doesn’t stop. He takes care with everything he produces, both in the design lab and on the page.”

Gilchrist said.

Many pieces of Menken’s legacy on campus actually stem from creative missions and quirky adventures that he sets out to do with his friends. “In all that I did at Exeter, I tried to be daring and create something new.” Menken said. And he did just that: he wrote poems that were structured in the shape of boats, wrote and sang parodies for his US History finals, and delivered jokes while dealing blackjack at Abbot Casino.

Another time, Menken was running through D-hall with “burlap sacks” (trash bags), electric tape and PVC pipes from EOPS for the Beckett Fest, which was a final playwriting project for a Senior winter term English class on Samuel Beckett. Classmate Senior Joy Liu talked about how she and Menken would discuss Beckett’s works like Waiting For Godot, and how they would create a footprint trail to a lone bench and spell out “Godot” in the snow. “We wanted to surprise people, since it would be difficult to maneuver onto the bench without leaving footprints on the words… [Menken] gets genuinely excited, and it was really fun to do quirky things like that,” Liu said.

Many of his peers love how this creative spirit is infused into his every-day personality and style, and how it directly brings fresh changes to the students’ environment. Senior Noel Gomez, Menken’s roommate during prep year, recalls a Saturday night in Abbot when Menken suddenly decided that they should renovate the dorm’s antique phone booth on the third floor.

Students can now tour the insides of the newly-vacuumed Abbot phone booth, and this has become a memorable moment in the long history of Abbot Hall. “I feel like a lot of people get to know Billy the way he is as a nerdy, super smart, committed and driven person. But inside of the dorm, he’s also got like this silly, kindof-wacky side to him that’s really great to be around.” Gomez explained.

As a dorm proctor, he has also become a role model to lower-

classmen and created traditions that have positively influenced others. Menken is well-known as the dorm proctor who asks checkin questions while on duty: “Are you the main character in your life? Does existence precedes essence or existence? What’s your favorite kind of milk?”

Senior Joy Liu commented on this energizing presence and how she applied them to her own work as a Hoyt Hall proctor. “His excitement about everything that he sets his mind to is contagious…

I picked up [dorm check-in questions] from him, and it propagated because now I made the upcoming proctors’ protocol include check-in questions.” Liu said.

Menken exemplifies a combined persona of “studious and carefree,” and always keeps up a positive mindset. “We’ve probably spent equal portions of our time doing homework or planning for the next Chemistry Club and EOPS collaboration as we have spent galavanting around the woods, the assembly hall, or playing music together.” Gilchrist said.

Menken firmly believes the importance of committed academic pursuits while also staying true to personal enjoyment during the process. “I got to have my role models – teachers and proctors and captains – and as an upperclassmen I got to be one. I did my best to exemplify hard work and non sibi, but also to teach kids to relax and have fun.” Menken explained.

Above all, Menken has become an inspiration to many through his own passion and his academic work and large-scale initiatives. Gomez has frequently worked with Menken while taking classes on the Modern Physics route; he provides a big-picture view of Menken: “I would take

him as a dreamer… He’s got big motivations and big things that he aspires to do… That really drives him.” Gomez also explains his admiration for Menken’s enthusiasm during discussions: “Nowadays, It’s hard to find someone who’s totally spearheaded and in love with a certain academic concentration, but [Menken] has these futuristic thoughts about space and he’s very optimistic…

It’s inspiring for sure.”

There has also been much growth from start to finish in his Exeter journey. “I barely remember the little me from prep fall, when everything was so new and exciting and scary.” Menken reminisced.

The experiences include: spending nine hours on Sunday in order to write elegant solutions for the math homework, accidentally locking a friend out of their room in the morning, and getting knocked over by a 220-pound senior multiple times during a soccer drill practice. “Honestly it was kind of fun, cause whenever he got the ball, I got to hit him as hard as I could right back,” Menken said.

There is no doubt that Menken has greatly influenced the Exeter community not only with EOPS and his extensive outer space research, but also from all the friendships, collaborations, and beautiful memories that he created throughout the four years.

“I’d like to believe my legacy at Exeter amounts not just to the projects from classes and clubs I engaged in, but also the memories I got to build with my favorite people in the whole world, from the soccer team to the dorm, and everyone in between.” Menken said. He will move onwards with his fiery spark and continue to pursue his passions at MIT. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1… Lift off!

Aiwen Desai: Linguist of the Year

ByJEANNIE EOM After coming to Aiwen Desai transferred to Exeter from a public school in Wisconsin, she gained a new perspective of her passions and interests. From critically examining current news, politics and history to pondering privilege, elitism

and responsibilities that come with learning at Exeter, she has grown as an activist and person.

As a co-head of Feminist Club, member of the Concert Choir, proctor in Wheelwright, student listener, member of Asian Voices and an advocate for diversity and inclusion work in the Office of Multicul-

tural Affairs, Desai has engrained herself in the Exeter community.

Advisor and English Instructor Wei Ling Woo described her experience with Desai. “Aiwen is one of the most intellectually committed and mature students I’ve met at Exeter—and I don’t say that lightly,” Woo said. “She speaks with conviction, and whenever I want to get students’ opinions on an issue, I’m always curious to hear what Aiwen has to say.”

Desai has decided to take a gap year before embarking on her journey at Yale University. “I love the structured, rigorous day to day life at school, but I’m hoping to slow down and try new things during my gap year. I think it gets harder to take long periods of time off after college, and I want to take advantage of this time,” Desai said. “Ideally I’d be able to travel internationally and work on my language skills during my gap year if the coronavirus situation improves.”

Desai has made a lasting impact on the lives of fellow students and teachers at Exeter. Senior Ramyanee Mukherjee, one of Desai’s friends, recounted their friendship during their time at Exeter. “She’s always there for me if I want to talk and she’ll always walk with me when I want to get Stillwells!

We’re very different people which is why I think we’re such good friends,” she said.

Fellow proctor and senior Erin Ahern recently befriended Desai during the winter term of their senior year, but described how close they were able to become. “We had fun doing proctor stuff but that

quickly turned into dinners at weth, studying at D2, lots movie nights, and constantly knocking on each other’s doors,” Ahern said. “Really quickly I felt comfortable having serious conversations and telling her things that I don’t tell a lot of people, partly because we realized we have a lot in common but mostly because she’s so warm and supportive.”

Senior Chloe Malikotsis remembered her first impressions of Desai after meeting in her fall term English class. “Being a new Upper, I was a bit intimidated by how well spoken and knowledgeable she was,” she said. “Aiwen is an extremely driven and talented person.

She embraces every challenge and never gives up.”

Although their English class was where they met, Malikotsis and Desai became close friends during their fall term abroad. “We became a lot closer this past fall when we went to Grenoble together,” Malikotsis said.

Malikotsis noted Desai’s ability to immerse herself in French culture. “She adapted the quickest and became extremely fluent early on.

She was extremely easy going and got along with every French person she met,” she said.

Instructor in Modern Languages Katherine Fair, who taught Desai in two, upper-level French courses at Exeter and directed Desai’s senior fall Grenoble program, praised Desai’s talent in learning and absorbing the French language. “Aiwen is unique in the degree to which she exemplifies generosity, modesty and goodness while attaining the

highest levels of intellectual integrity and academic achievement,” Fair said. “A soft-spoken dynamo with a gift for delving into difficult texts, she brought striking insights to the table every single day.”

Despite her remarkable achievements, Fair observed Desai’s humility.“For someone of her intellectual stature and accomplishment, Aiwen is remarkably unwilling to toot her own horn, yet her stellar accomplishments – including near-native command of French and profound understanding of literature – speak for themselves,” Fair said.

Desai’s academic aptitude was also noted in religion class. “Aiwen was a wonderfully engaged and intellectually curious student in a winter term course on the literature of existentialism,” Instructor in Religion, Peter Vorkink said. “She always had a smile on her face, and she utilized the resources of Harkness, the give-and-take around the table, to its fullest.”

Looking forward, Desai admitted that she isn’t sure of her plans for the future, but will pursue the interests that she had built during her time at Exeter, “I’m not sure what field or career I hope to pursue, but I definitely want to continue studying languages and history and travelling as much as possible,” she said.

Whatever she chooses, Maliktosis wished her the best—“I hope Aiwen follows her passions. Aiwen’s ability to adapt to diverse environments and linguistic talents will bring her success and happiness no matter which path she chooses.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Angele Yang: Linguist of the Year

ByOTTO DO “I didn’t quite become fluent in Korean when I was younger because I was lucky enough to have family that accommodated for me and spoke to me in English whenever I visited them in Korea,” senior Angele Yang said. “My grandma and I would speak ‘Konglish’ to each other.

Frankly, her English was better than my Korean, but I’ve always felt that I should be the one talking to her in Korean to understand her rather than the other way around. I wondered what stories she wanted to pass onto me but couldn’t because they would get lost in translation.

The reason I learn languages is to better understand people as a whole by learning how their culture influences their words and actions.”

Currently, Yang plans on taking a gap year in Korea “to become more proficient in Korean.” Yang explained, “I want to give back to my family who took it upon themselves to learn English in order to communicate with me. I also want to better understand the drastically different school experience my cousins had from me and see how that has made them who they are today.”

Distinguished linguist, classics diploma recipient, ESSO Latin co-head, fashion enthusiast and respected Merrill senior Angele Yang took Exeter by storm when she first stepped onto campus as a new lower.

Always enthusiastic about all things language, Yang let her curiosity fuel her as a learner and role model throughout her time at the Academy.

For as long as she can remember as a child, Yang has traveled to either Korea or Taiwan in the summertime to visit family. In retrospect, according to Yang, “being able to visit a foreign city that I can now call familiar is a huge privilege that I didn’t realize back then.”

Yang noted that her family emphasized the importance of learning multiple languages from a young age. “I would say I started actively learning languages sometime in the Philippines where I lived from when I was three to five. They always

stressed the importance of English, especially with what my dad does for a living in the international online education industry. Additionally, with my mom being from Korea and my dad from Taiwan, they wanted to impress their native languages on me, jokingly competing between themselves to see which language I would pick up first.

Whenever I wanted to learn something new, like German or Spanish, my parents went out of their way to find classmates at their medical school who could teach me,” she said.

Yang’s gifts for classical subjects have stood out to students and instructors alike. “Angele attracted our notice right from the start because she placed into Latin 511 as a new lower,” Latin Instructor Matthew Hartnett said. “This is relatively unheard of.”

However, at the beginning of her career at the Academy, her initial reasons for pursuing classics were quite different from what they are now. “If someone had asked me five or six years ago why I enjoyed Latin, I would’ve said that I liked to learn about Roman culture but also for the sake of knowing obscure terms. Latin back then seemed much more like puzzles for me to decode,” Yang said.

“But the way that Exeter teaches Latin has completely changed my view of it. Perhaps the mysterious aspect of the language intrigued me in the beginning, but the deeper reason I continue to pursue it is because of the timeless emotional depth that ancient poets were able to create through the flexibility and fluidity of the language.”

“Being able to read ancient Roman literature in the language it was meant to be read in adds a completely new dimension to it, simply because of the beauty of the language and word order that is lost in translation,” she continued.

For Yang, neoteric poet Catullus resonated with her experience at Exeter quite profoundly. “I have made Carmen 85, a short but deceivingly complex poem, my unofficial anthem for my time at Exeter. When I am struggling I look to it. During upper year, I would sometimes

shout in the quad or the stairwell ‘odi et amo,’ meaning, ‘I hate and I love’,” Yang said.

Senior and fellow classicsist Suan Lee explained its significance for Yang and herself. “I’d say that poem accurately describes Angele’s feelings toward the classics. There have been plenty of moments when we’ve both loathed and commiserated about the heavy workload that comes hand in hand with taking classics, for sure. But, I’ve never once doubted that Angele loves being a classics student with all of her heart,” Lee said.

Yang agreed. “Catullus was able to crystallize exactly how I felt in just 14 words,” Yang said. “The word order of ‘odi et amo’ is quite interesting. It’s as if Catullus means, despite how much I hate you in the moment, I can’t help but love you. When I felt like I was really struggling at Exeter, I would scream, ‘odi et amo,’ because, despite how I felt in the moment, I knew I was in the right place because being able to go to Exeter had always been my dream and that these moments would be worth it in the end,” she said. “[Catullus] showed me the infinite expanse of human connection through shared emotion, especially despite the different societies we lived in and the millennia that separated the two of us,” Yang said. “This realization for me that to live is to explore emotions, whether positive or negative, is how I was able to open myself up more to people and create more meaningful relationships.”

“The incredible opportunities the Classics Department is able to find have absolutely shaped my Exeter experience,” Yang concluded. “I was fortunate enough to be able to go on two archaeological summer trips, one to France after lower year and one to Italy after upper year.

I can say they were life-changing. When you’re literally in the dirt, you’re in a completely different headspace. You’re thinking about how how different your society is from the one you’re digging up. You wonder how to still pay your respects to the skeletons you’re digging up despite the immense cultural gap that won’t be closed any-

time soon.”

“That’s when you realize that the Caesar you’ve been reading in class reflects such a small part of actual Roman life. You wonder what remnants of their culture are forever lost to the earth.

These experiences have opened my eyes to how much more there is to learn about the nature of things,” Yang explained.

In addition to her personal discoveries, Yang also found a noteworthy artifact during her summer abroad. According to Latin Instructor Matthew Hartnett, Yang “made one of the most significant finds of the season—a bronze pin for clasping folds of clothing together.”

Yang said it was “completely by chance,” but Hartnett disagreed. “The artifact had escaped notice during several earlier stages of the excavation and it was only preserved because Angele spied it glinting in the sun as it came out of a wheelbarrow full of dirt. I think she was there for a reason, because she sees details that others sometimes miss,” Hartnett said.

In regard to her classroom presence, Hartnett remarked that Yang is a student who “really lives” in a “genuine intellectual curiosity.” Hartnett recalled a memory of Yang in one of his Pliny classes. “One of my favorite memories is Angele’s participation in my Pliny class, chiefly because she wasn’t actually enrolled in my Pliny class. In fact, she didn’t even audit it. In athletic terms, you might call her a ‘walk-on’—she just kind of showed up and started coming to class. And so I started giving her assignments . . . Angele actually did a lot of them. It was all quite unusual.”

As a distinguished and classics lover, Yang has worked with younger students in the greater New Hampshire area to share her interest and insight.

“She has been active in outreach through Classics as well, and has been a leader in the ESSO Latin club, which endeavors to teach elementary and middle-schoolers about Latin and Classical mythology,” Latin Instructor Megan Campbell said.

Ironically enough, Yang didn’t originally intend to pursue classics at the Academy— she first enrolled in Spanish having taken it before for several years. “I remember my first day at Exeter, and Ms. Dean was talking about how great the classics department was at Exeter and something about a leaf hat,” Yang said. “I was a bit skeptical about switching at first, but Ms. Dean managed to convince me to go with Latin. I went to a Spanish class on the first day, to be sure that I was making the right decision. I actually really wanted to take Spanish, but I still found myself thinking, ‘I miss Latin.’ That’s when I decided to officially switch to Latin, and I haven’t looked back since. I can always count on Ms. Dean to be the voice of reason, and she has been there for me so many times at Exeter.”

Adviser and English Instructor Elizabeth Dean understood Yang’s enthusiastic outlook on Exeter. “There’s something kind of anachronistic about Angele’s relationship to this place, this school, because she’s not a student who fears or doubts or just plain dodges the adults on campus. Rather, she’s a young person who’s comfortable seeking out mentors and sharing what she knows and finding out what she doesn’t,” she said.

History Instructor Alexa Caldwell agreed. “I am not surprised she is good at classics— she approaches her studies as an investigator, reading for and uncovering original ways to view the material. She is a careful reader and an original thinker,” she said.

Additionally, Caldwell described Yang’s presence on the lacrosse field. “On the field she was eager— she loved lacrosse— but kept her eagerness pretty chill. Overall Angele strikes a balance between being laid back but still engaged. She

is a strategic thinker—always thinking about how to do things better, faster and more efficiently,” Caldwell said.

In and outside of the classroom, Yang brings her candid, dry and loved sense of humor and playfulness. “Despite the fact that she takes all her pursuits seriously, she never takes herself too seriously. She’s a loyal friend, and has a great sense of humor,” lower Tommy Seidel said.

Upper Charlotte Lisa agreed, recalling a time during their summer abroad in France together. “Angele leaped into the crowd of dancing people and started moving to the music. I was feeling shy and had stayed off to the side, but she pulled me into the middle of the crowd, grabbed my hands and made me start dancing with her. We soon found ourselves at the front of the dance floor directly in front of the stage,” Lisa said.

Lee described her first encounter with Yang. “We were sitting together at a Friday night Kirtland Society meeting, at the big Harkness table in the Latin Study, when Angele out of nowhere offered me her hand, palm-side up,” Lee said. “She was staring at me intently, but didn’t say a word. I was confused and pretty uncomfortable— she looked like she wanted me to hold her hand. I had no idea what was going on. Finally, I just took her hand hesitantly, held it for like two seconds, then let go. I was so, so confused.

Angele looked really amused, and then— I’ll never forget this—said, ‘okay, you passed.

Not great, but not bad either’.”

Lee continued: “Turns out this was a test to see if I was worthy of her friendship. A great friend would’ve taken her hand and held on. A bad friend would’ve done nothing at all.

Basically, I was mediocre. Even though I didn’t pass Angele’s test with flying colors that day, I knew from this moment on that Angele and I would be great friends,” Lee said.

“I think that Angele works hard to not be defined by one thing, and that she would love most to be described more by how much people love and appreciate her than by how impressive her academic achievements are,” senior Anna Fahey observed. “She’s a dynamic student but also a dynamic friend, and I think it’s important to know that she’s not one of those people that let how hard they worked get in the way of their relationships.”

In addition to being multifaceted, “Angele is a very reflective and candid person,” lower Bona Yoo said. “She’s very aware of her environment, the pressure around her, the tension at times in the Exeter atmosphere. I have never met someone that is as good at examining their actions objectively as she does… she has encouraged me to also become more aware of how I’m being affected by pressures around me, to take a step back, and to appreciate the little things.”

For senior and Mia Kuromaru, “Angele’s little spurts of Roman languages and history remind me why I love Exeter…

Exeter is a place that allows people like her to find a home and, likewise, allows someone like me to find a home in her, in her rants, blurbs and appreciations.”

Kuromaru brought up one of her favorite memories with Yang— their first Merrill Halloween dance. “I still have a picture and it makes me laugh because of the energy she exuded in the photo—laid-back, holding up a peace sign and all while maintaining a straight face,” Kuromaru said. “She still remains the same today. My appreciation for Angele is not a cherishment of her accomplishments or what she’s done for me or anything like that––it’s just a compilation of genuine satisfaction, comfort, and adoration when I think of her or spend time with her.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Sam Weil: Writer of the Year

ByANDREA LUO “To be dissolved into something complete and great.

Something entire. To acknowledge that love and suffering come together completely intertwined. To realize that one without the other gives no meaning.”

Bring up senior Sam Weil in a conversation with anyone on campus, and people will immediately think back to the meditation that she presented in Phillips Church, the first reader of her class. Despite her notability for this beautiful work, Weil also brought her spirited passion to The Exonian, Democractic Club, Feminist Club, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Planning Committee and Dunbar Hall. As a four year student, Weil’s infectious love and passion for life has left a lasting impact on her fellow Exonians.

The above quotation, from Weil’s meditation, is at the core of her Exeter experience.

Weil’s Academy writing journey began during Experience Exeter, when she heard a senior meditation in the church.

“I cried, my parents cried, and that was when I knew I wanted to go to Exeter. That was also when I knew that I wanted to write the best meditation I could possibly make,” she said.

Growing up in New York City, Weil aspired to be a writer early on. “[I] was surrounded by a lot of artists and a lot of creative people,” she said.

“And so I would say that was

part of the reason I was always inspired to be a writer because it just seemed so possible.”

“I am a writer,” she said at a young age when asked about her future plans.

Weil made the most out of any writing opportunity she was given. In middle school, she participated in the National Novel Writing Month challenge, penning a 20,000 word novel in seventh grade and a 30,000 word one in eighth grade. Though she regretted certain stylistic choices, she looked back on the experience fondly.“I definitely was proud of myself because it’s kind of a commitment to go home every day and write a couple thousand words,” she said.

Weil continued her artistic development at Exeter, where the curriculum helped her grow. “I felt like it challenged me a lot, but in the best ways,” she said. “I loved struggling with writing personal essays. It was very difficult for me at the beginning, especially trying to personalize it.”

At Exeter, Weil grew particularly fond of the personal narrative, using her skills to help her peers. “I’ve always loved details. [Showing and not telling] is something that I love in writing—how you can say one thing about something and completely change an essay or tone,” she said. “I loved writing narratives. From prep year, I think I edited probably three narratives a week. I kind of became a little bit of a writing workshop for people, because,

I don’t know, I just loved it so much.”

Weil’s passion for writing became evident in class. English Instructor Sue Repko noted Weil’s determination when it came to writing. “She was fearless about trying out ideas and scenes and playing with language,” Repko said. “She was also relentless in her search for topics that could hold her interest over the course of several drafts.”

Fittingly, the event that began Weil’s Exeter career also capped it off. This year, Weil presented her meditation in the church, achieving the dreams of her prep year self. That Wednesday morning, members of the Exeter community filled the church, sitting alongside intimates from her life. Family, friends, classmates, teachers and strangers alike, all present to hear her story.

English Instructor Elizabeth Dean, who worked with Weil on her meditation, highlighted Weil’s natural talent. “I may or may not have been a little weepy at her meditation this winter because when you’ve got a writer as good as Sam, you want them to have an audience,” she said.

Weil’s meditation painted her life beautifully, from little details to the relationships that are most important to her.

“It was the combination of her eye for really vivid imagery and beautiful storytelling, coupled with the brutal honesty in depicting the relationships that I know are most import-

ant to her—namely, her and her mom,” Grace Carroll ‘19 pointed out.

To read the meditation aloud was also Weil’s tribute to her mother and family. Weil spoke of her childhood and the impact that her parents’ lives had on her. “I can’t imagine a more meaningful gift from daughter to mother than a piece of writing like that,” senior Kennedy Moore said.

Aside from the meditation, a highlight of Weil’s time at Exeter was her involvement with The Exonian. A Staff Writer her prep and lower years, Weil transitioned into the 141st Board as a News Editor during her upper year.

Journalism was markedly distinct from the more creative style of writing that Weil was used to. “I realized that while I might not write creatively in [The Exonian], I knew I wanted to continue the practice of typing on the keyboard and writing every day for non-school assignments,” she said. “And I’d never really been interested in journalism, but I loved it.”

Weil brought her same passion for personal essay writing to The Exonian. Dean, also a faculty adviser for The Exonian, attributed the quality of her work to her character.

“Sam brought a lot of moxie to her desk as well as measure— she’s an editor who knows not only how to take risks but also how to evaluate them and how to hold her desk accountable for them,” she said.

For Weil, The Exonian

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wasn’t just a club or school newspaper—it was a community. “I got really interested in it partly because of the people who were on it: cool, passionate, and driven people,” she said.

Senior Suan Lee, the 141st Editor-in-Chief of The Exonian, noted Weil’s impact on the paper. “The Exonian wasn’t just a paper Sam worked on; The Exonian was Sam’s paper,” Lee said. “Witnessing, and being grateful for, her extraordinary dedication to her job inspired me to be better at mine every day.”

Weil extended this same determination through to all facets of her Exeter experience.

Senior Lilly Pinciaro, co-head of the Feminist Club with Weil, noted her devotion to the club.

“She’ll always go the extra mile,” Pinciaro said. “In the Feminist Club fundraiser, Sam has been working so hard making sure that everything is the way that everyone wants it.”

Moore attributed Weil’s accomplishments to her dedication. “I think a lot of people read her beautiful writing and assume she has a natural gift for writing, which she does, but she also works really hard at it, and I think that deserves notice too,” he explained.

Friends appreciated viewing and sharing in Weil’s evolution in her time at Exeter.

“I’ve seen her grow a lot as a learner and a person,” Pinciaro said. “She’s become a lot more confident in herself, and it’s been great to see her grow up and to be able to grow up by her side.”

Weil never failed to impress Lee with her approach to life. “Time and again, over my years of knowing her, I’ve been awed by how inspiringly and persistently unsparing Sam is in the amount of heart and energy she puts into everything she does,” she said.

“I can tell that she’s going to make it somewhere really amazing, just because of the person she’s become here,” upper Malia Monge said. “You can really see through her meditation how she’s transformed as she’s grown up.”

While Weil’s campus involvements varied widely, Mathematics Instructor Panama Geer, Weil’s adviser, emphasized that her impacts extended beyond the most visible. “Those are just some of the more public forums in which she has impacted those around her,” Geer said. “Oftentimes, Sam’s impact comes from the small kindnesses she extends to others, and the thoughtful and graceful intentionality with which she conducts herself.”

Within the Dunbar community, Weil inspired younger students as a dorm proctor.

“Sam is definitely one of those seniors who younger students look up to,” Geer added. “I can easily see that, when students are applying for dorm leadership positions several years from now, they will mention Sam fondly as one of their memorable role models.”

Weil’s long-lasting influence does not end here. Carroll stressed that, in “every space she occupies, she [will] make it more beautiful than it was when she got there. That goes for her ambitions in life and career, as well.”

Though her high school experience has come to an end, Weil’s relationships and legacy will outlive her time at Exeter.

“All three times I listened to Sam’s meditation, I found myself saying a silent thank you to Exeter for allowing my path to cross with Sam’s, and those of other extraordinary people like her,” Lee said. “Sam, if you’re reading this—I feel so crazily blessed to have been in your bright, inspiring presence for four years.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Ervin Williams: Writer of the Year

By OTTO DO “Jesus, this man is talented. His writing really does help him and the others around him,” senior and close friend Stephanie Harris said.

Even before becoming an Exonian, Ervin Williams was ready for the Harkness table. “Ervin actually visited my class when he was a prospective student,” English Instructor Willie Perdomo said. “Visiting students are usually shunned from participating in Harkness discussions, but Ervin jumped right in and actually enhanced a discussion on Hamlet.”

Williams has always sought to help his peers in need. “Ervin was always available to give people feedback on their pieces,” senior and dormmate Alexander Urquhart said. “He helped me rework my meditation in one night, for example. I read the entire thing out loud with him, and some of the stuff I wrote was so bad and out of place that we were laughing our asses off.

Thankfully, he helped me improve it tremendously.”

However, where his linguistic talent shines the most, according to Urquhart, “is through his rapping performances.”

Lower Garrett Paik agreed. “My greatest memory of Ervin was when he took the stage for his UnSilenced performance,” he said. “Whenever he performs, he transforms entirely, and that night was no different. He embodied a sort of rawness that was unparalleled by the other performers; his emotional journey in his piece almost seemed genuine, perhaps it was. His performance was earth-shattering — unforgettable.

He gave me someone to look up to in our dorm, Peabody.”

Williams even showcases his prowess when he’s put on the spot.

“In Peabody, we do a fair amount of free-styling, and he shines whenever he hits the mic,” Urquhart said. “He can always think of super-complex bars, and he weaves together intricate stories while rapping with a very defined flow. Sure, we clown him for reverting to certain lines once in a while, but it’s way bet-

ter than anything we can come up with.”

In addition to his knack for words, Williams has a strong sense of ambition to support it. “Ervin was planning to release two or three albums of his original work this spring,” English Instructor Todd Hearon said. “We worked together in the Poetry and Songwriting senior elective, and I was very impressed with his abilities in that class.”

He connects his skills with words with a love for music. According to Piano Instructor Jung Mi Lee, “the range of musical languages that Ervin is fluent in — from Beethoven and Chopin to Debussy and Schoenberg, Blues to Rap, and far more — evidences that he is a truly multilingual and multi-genre artistic voice.

His ability to translate the imaginary and unconscious, political and societal, painful and exquisite, into the sonic realm, be it through piano or language, is singularly wondrous, complex, incisive, multi-registered, and eloquent.”

Lee also vividly illustrated Williams’ innate sensitivity with a memory of their first lesson together. “Ervin began studying with me in his Lower year. I remember fondly at his first lesson that he played Chopin’s posthumous Nocturne in C# Minor with such gentleness and sensitivity: the way he wedded touch and sound was memorable.

He clearly had a poetic sensibility of such care, nuance and depth of feeling,” Lee said.

Although Williams’ natural affinity for words is the first talent that comes to mind, Williams holds a few secret talents. “Ervin also designs a lot of creative projects,” Urquhart said. “He makes games on his computer— rules, pieces, boards, everything— and even 3D-prints them when he’s done. He also made a wicked design for our dorm gear this year.”

On campus, Williams can be elusive— but whenever anyone stumbles across him, he makes sure to leave smiles behind him. “I don’t see Ervin often, to be honest,” Dean Hadley Camilus said.

“However, whenever we see each

other, we come to a full stop to greet and sometimes chat for a bit. He’s a kindred spirit. I’ve always felt a connection with him. It could be because he reminds me of home.”

Harris shares this experience of enchanting warmth emanating from Williams. “I couldn’t put it into words but he makes you feel important, like your opinions genuinely matter to him,” Harris said.

“He’s very caring, and isn’t one to be mean. He has a huge heart for those around him. He doesn’t think so, but he’s the kindest person I’ve ever met.”

Harris illustrated one of her favorite memories with Williams.

“We often got Stillwells together or hang out at night in town. I remember one day I wasn’t feeling great and had accidentally planned something else and couldn’t go on our trip to Stillwells. He showed up to my dorm with ice cream, and we talked later that night. I love talking to him, and our conversations were funny and deep all at once,” she said.

“There are few students that I enjoy spending time with more than Ervin Williams,” Dean Sami Atif said. “We share a relationship that I hope will transcend the Academy.

Ervin and I first met during the summer of 2016. The connection was strong then and despite, at times, going weeks without seeing each other, he remains my guy… In so many ways, I hear myself in Ervin’s voice, his art, his perspective, and his sense of humor.”

Like Atif, Camilus first bumped into Williams outside of the realm of literature. “My first encounter with Ervin was during a football game. While I was standing on the sideline, I continually heard a player grunting loudly and wondered who it was. I also observed that the player had an extremely high motor on the football field. He held a strong willingness to ‘get after it.’ It turned out to be Ervin,” Camilus said. Whether it be spitting words out in the late hours or ploughing through opponents on the field, Williams tackles every task head on.

Through various avenues, Williams has made a deep and felt im-

pact. For Spanish Instructor Jacqueline Flores, hearing a poem written

by Williams was a bittersweet moment. “He gave an amazing presentation about his father, who passed when Ervin was a little boy. He brought one of his father’s shirts to class and he read a beautiful poem about loving and missing his father.

By the end, I was in tears because he opened up his heart and shared deep feelings. That’s what I love about Ervin, he is an open and honest young man; he knows how to express his feelings in a unique way.

His message is strong, consistent and unforgettable,” Flores said.

“The death of my dad has always been a looming cloud over me,” Williams said. “He died when I was three and a half, and ever since then, it has only been my mother and me, so I was without a father figure for most of my life. When I went to Exeter, I found a group of men that I could look up to and were integral in my survival of high school. Without people like Mr. Perdomo, I don’t think I would be where I am today, and to all those people, I must say thank you. Thank you for giving me the strength, courage, and support to

Ben Cai: Proctor of the Year

ByCLARK WU Anyone who has scrolled through senior Ben Cai’s Instagram would find dozens of wholesome 4K pictures featuring him and his Abbo-

teer brothers. Perhaps a dressed up photo taken right outside the dorm or a proctors-only exclusive at a traditionally last-second-prepared Abbot casino.

However, through the deeper

glimpse of fellow senior Suan Lee, we see Cai and his closest friend in their true, quirky form. “I have video footage of the six four-year Abbott seniors literally lying on top of each other on Ben’s bed, like a human sandwich. Billy on top of Noel who’s lying on top of James, and Cameron, and Zane, and finally Ben,” Lee recalled, laughing.

“They are incredibly, incredibly comfortable with each other.”

Another time, Lee heard the six boys watching “a cheesy rom-com: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.” “The six of them cuddled on one bed. It’s the farthest from toxic masculinity you can get. I think it’s incredible that Abbot has this dorm community that everyone is fiercely loyal to,” she said.

Of course, Cai’s love for his Abboteers extends far beyond those in his class. To upper Josh Lum, Cai is “the glue in the dorm that brings everyone together and makes sure everyone’s okay. He helped me become more mature and he gives, he gives a lot of good advice. He gives a lot of tough love to everyone in the dorm,” he said. “I feel like he’s impacted me so much as a person that I can’t even imagine what it’d be like without him” In addition to his caring character, Cai’s work ethic impressed many from the very beginning, including his prep roommate Cameron Frary. “He never went to bed on time and always stayed up late by my standards, working away. Sometimes we and the dorm fac tease him for working on Saturday nights and such,” he said. “I sometimes don’t understand what he’s working on.

His annotations look to everyone but him like nonsensical scribbles, and he circles every paragraph without fail.”

Cai’s lower and upper-year roommate Billy Menken agreed.

“If one measures work ethic in email output, then Ben Cai is the most persistent person alive,” he said. “Ben Cai is more driven than a cross country tour bus. He has more impulse than a Falcon 9. More spirit than a liquor store. More zest than a freshly picked orange. More punch than a high school party (not that we’d know, we had homework (just kidding we were just never invited)).”

As a proctor, his diligence has

affected many of his younger brothers. “Ben has shown me how to be a better student and person, through his incredible work ethic and his endless compassion,” prep Tendo Lumala said. “He puts 110% on every single one of his assignments and his door is always open if someone wants to talk. The example that he’s set for me is something that I strive to emulate every single day.”

In fact, Cai’s presence in the dorm feels like a blessing to many. “Ben is always smiling.

He’s a really cheerful figure. He’s encouraging people to be their best at all times, which I think is really healthy for the dorm,” upper Emilio Abelmann remarked.

Cai attributed part of his work ethic to a childhood of swimming.

“My swim coach in elementary and early middle school was an ex-Navy Seal. He had this line he would repeat every time: ‘If you can’t, you won’t,’” Cai said. “In other words, you actually can finish the workout, finish the work. The problem is you’re just telling yourself you don’t want to.”

Cai additionally realized that Exeter has improved his sense of balance, making him a much more conscientious student and worker.

“It’s okay to take a nap or go play a game of spikeball. I try to do something that isn’t a required assignment, every day,” he said. “It could be writing a diary entry or going on a walk with friends. If you can find an intrinsic reason to do something, it makes it a lot more enjoyable.”

Fellow senior Mai Hoang witnessed this change in Cai’s approach to life at Exeter. “We found out that we had been nominated for the same college scholarship this year. Even though we shared many of the same activities, we never felt that sense of competition. We were always rooting for each other,” she said. “People think he’s a try-hard.

While he is very ambitious, when it comes down to it, he will always be very supportive of his friends.”

Beyond the dormitory, Cai’s involvement in the local Exeter community also highlights his unparalleled sense of commitment. “I’ve always been interested in just how money shapes people’s decisions and perceptions. Working with SPARC and learning about socioeconomic status in our country got

go further in my educational career.”

Perdomo reciprocates the forged familial bond. “I have learned to have continued faith in the impossible as a result of my relationship with Ervin. I see Ervin as a son in addition to the two I have already.” said.

As one of the closest individuals to Williams, Perdomo views writing as something beyond a hobby for Williams. “I think his verbal dexterity and his poetic talents have allowed Ervin to think his way through chaos, embrace joy, and exercise his imagination. Langston Hughes wrote a poem called Genius Child. There’s a line that reads ‘…let his soul run wild.’ The line reminds me of Ervin. You must let Ervin’s soul run wild for him to create and exercise his full humanity,” Perdomo said.

Lee concluded, “whether in rap, spoken word, writing, music-making, Ervin’s creativity is one of seismic potency and depth, insightful criticality and call, as well as that most crucial of qualities — the urge and ability to express with his entire being his full spectrum as a thinker, teller, preacher, musician, author.”

me interested in policymaking,” he said. “A few upperclassmen and myself did interviews with students, administrators. I also worked on the committee for community equity and diversity. It was very eye-opening work” Lee, as former Editor in Chief of The Exonian, characterized Cai as a “vital rock” on the news board. “As a tri-varsity athlete, every Wednesday he would come in during free blocks and after practice, even though I didn’t ask him to do it. He wouldn’t leave the newsroom until his section was complete,” Lee said.

Notably, however, when the Abboteers asked Lee for her oneword impression of Cai, expecting sweet praise, they received the answer ‘grumpy.’ “In the newsroom, when the paper’s format needed to be changed, it meant that the news layout required a complete do-over.

So Ben would grumble and mutter to himself, make faces, but he would never refuse to do it. It was very endearing,” Lee recalled.

Indeed, even the “normal teenager” side to Cai cultivates joy in those around him. “Ben was helping one of the other Abbot seniors to film a project for Spanish and he was supposed to throw a ‘chancla’ at a wall.

But his aim was so bad that he had ended up hitting the window, breaking it. To this day, I’m still in shock,” Lumala said.

Cai hopes to pass on his spirit for the community and remind his beloved underclassmen to strive for excellence, to reach for the opportunities presented to them, and to embody ‘non-sibi.’ “This is a special place with a bunch of opportunities.

The people here are very great and amazing. But it’s easy to get ahead of ourselves. We should truly realize that coming to Exeter is a privilege.

We should take full advantage of it and give back,” said Cai. Exeter doesn’t lay out the direction for the rest of our lives. A lot of things are still very much up in the air for us. But Exeter gives you a lot of compasses that will help point you in the right direction - Sam Weil “To me, those compasses are specific people I’ve met at Exeter, not just lesson’s I’ve learned or experiences I’ve been fortunate to have,” Weil said. “When I think of the compasses I will cherish for the rest of my life, Ben is definitely one of the first names that comes to mind for me,” Lee said. “I know we may noy know each other in the same context for the rest of our lives, but I’ve respected him, admired him, and have been inspired by him. I’m deeply grateful for Ben.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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Michael Singer: Proctor of the Year

ByJEANNIE EOM To a stranger at Exeter, senior Michael Singer’s quiet demeanor could be mistaken for being timid or shy. But all of his friends know that this is far from the truth—Singer is always present and always listening.

Listening, according to Singer, is a component of his Japanese heritage and upbringing.

“If you don’t speak up much in Japan, it wouldn’t be seen as the strangest thing. People would think: he’s really thinking, or he’s really deliberate and intentional with his points,” Singer said.

Singer was born in Yokohama, but never stayed in one place for too long. His parents’ jobs brought him to Australia, Shanghai, Chand then finally back to his hometown for high school before Exeter. After changing schools many times and repeating his lower year, “all my friends joke that I’m like 25, and I’m an old man with white hair. It’s funny, but I do feel old. If I gap year, it’s just not going to be ok,” he joked.

Born to a Jewish father and a Japanese mother, Singer went by Michael Murakoshi-Singer before Exeter. “My last name was Murakoshi-Singer in my Japanese passport, but when I was submitting my application, I applied using my Candaian passport with Michael Singer.

Unfortunately, the Murakoshi part disappeared,” he said. “I like people knowing that [Murakoshi] is part of my identity and that’s why I haven’t changed my Instagram name. It takes people a while to make that connection that Michael Singer and Murakoshi are the same person.”

Although Singer attended international schools with similar communities to Exeter, he still found New Hampshire to be a stark change from the Japanese culture he grew up surrounded by. “When I came to Exeter, I was quite out of it. I was met by a pretty big culture shock,” he said. “In Japan, people are more reserved [with] sharing their opinions. You don’t really want to stand out. But that went against being at the Harkness table every day and speaking up.”

Singer recalled being self-conscious at the table when it came to open-ended humanities discussions.

“I remember in lower fall when I first showed up sitting at the table and second guessing myself or scanning history readings over and over to make sure my point was a hundred percent correct,” he said. “I didn’t speak up unless I was really confident in a point, and obviously that’s not what Harkness is about.”

In spite of the cultural transition, he was still able to find welcoming communities on campus quickly.

Singer enjoyed Friday night homemade meals with the Exeter Jewish Community (EJC) and played JV soccer. “Everything just seemed like a sleepover and just sleepover night after night with all these cool kids,’ he said.

In his senior year, Singer served as co-head of EJC and sought to create the same welcoming community

he experienced as a new student.

First-timers at EJC could always expect a friendly face in the church basement when he was present. “I think a great thing that we’ve done with EJC is bringing in our friends that are not Jewish and fostering a respectful atmosphere even amongst kids that don’t know our prayers,” he said. “That’s always been fun to see— my friends and other Jewish kids sharing a community.”

Singer now plays on Exeter’s varsity soccer team. “Michael is noble, determined, and caring. He’s one of those guys who you can have a conversation with for the first time, and it will feel like you’re old friends,” teammate and senior Billy Menken said. “Michael has a great positive mindset on and off the field, constantly determined to improve, and not worrying if he screwed up (which is an inevitable part of every striker’s life). He showed up every day and put the work in. Everybody noticed.”

“Practice often finished with shooting drills, and Coaches Cosgrove and Lincoln would tell us when the next goal would end practice.

When somebody rolled one in the net, say, thirty seconds later, we kept going, because practice had to end on an absolute banger, one that made the coaches throw their hands up in the air, yelling ‘OOOOOOH!!’,” Menken said. “Let’s just say Michael ended a lot of practices.”

“We called him Jamie Vardy, Leicester City’s star who led them to win the Champions League in 2016,” Menken said. “I remember once he got the ball at half field during a home game with no one in front of him. It was a foot race, and the whole time the crowd was yelling ‘GO MICHAEL!’ and we on the bench were yelling ‘COME ON, VARDY!’ and he slotted it near post like a natural.”

Singer is familiar with Knight House dormmates coming to his room late at night to talk as a proctor and student listener.

“Michael is a great selfless guy. He lived right across the hall from my room, and I could always swing by and ask for help or some advice. I quite enjoyed irritating him from time to time,” Knight House lower Erik Obukanich said. “Michael spent a lot of time working, but he never put work above the boys. His example will guide me through the following two years at this school. Michael was sunshine and every day with him a good memory.”

“Simply put, Michael is a great guy,” Knight House lower Nick Chen said. “Amidst the occasional overwhelmingness of campus and academic life, he’d help me take a step back and put my struggles into perspective. He has that special, innate ability of bringing out the best in people. I’m endlessly grateful for having had someone like Michael to live with and learn from, and I wish him the best of luck in college.”

Knight House dormmate and senior Tom Yang was able to relate to Singer “on our cultural shifts to America from East Asian countries, him from Japan and me from China.” “As I got to know him more, I

noticed that he is a very genuine and caring person. He always wanted to make sure that his words and actions would have positive and constructive impacts on people,” Yang said. “On a daily basis, not only would he talk to athletes about how their sports games went, he’d also chat with the more musically oriented students about their performances. I can only say good things about Michael as my friendship with him has pushed me to put myself out of my comfort zone and become a better person. It is no surprise that he is well liked on campus and seems to be able to strike up a conversation with someone anywhere he goes.”

Knight House dorm affiliate and History Instructor Michael Mastumaru describes Singer as his “younger, smarter twin.” “We share some connections – Japan, Canada, being multiracial, a love of soccer, not to mention our names,” he explained.

Singer was one of the first students Matsumaru met on campus, with this year being his first at the Academy. “At a time when I was struggling to get adjusted to life at PEA, Michael went out of his way to make me feel welcome and valued. He is incredibly curious, eager to learn and loves getting to know people,” Matsumaru said. “I came to know Michael through being a dorm affiliate at Knight House— I have really enjoyed seeing him develop as a proctor and grow through the challenges presented by dorm life. It was a thrill watching his meditation, which encapsulated a lot of the hard work he has done at PEA.” Matsumaru recalled a botched attempt to attend a Bernie Sanders rally in Manchester with Singer. “Michael is not always the best planner, another thing we share in common.

After frantically trying to get parental permission, we got a late start and ended up lost in a cul-de-sac in the middle of nowhere. We eventually arrived at the location but the arena was already full. We ended up consoling ourselves with a late-night McDonald’s run,” he said. “I hope that he continues to be excited about life and learning and that he will love those around him well.”

Singer is also seen as a leader on the track, where he runs in the winter and the spring. Singer didn’t initially anticipate track becoming a significant part of his life at PEA, joining at the advice of his soccer coach to stay fit, but he soon found friends and a community. “Michael and I first had a chance to work together on the soccer field and then, on the track,” Track and Field Head Coach Hillary Hall said. “It has been said by many that ‘Athletics reveal a person’s true character’. This was very true with Michael. His focus, his ability to put himself fully into whatever activity was at hand, his response to challenges, his competitiveness, his kindness toward teammates, and his ability to lead by example… all character traits that are deeply imbedded into Michael.”

Fellow teammates recognize him as a role model for kindness and sportsmanship. “One of my greatest

memories with him was when I ran the 4x200 meter relay with him and both of our dads came to watch us,” lower Aiden Silvestri said. “We had a last second comeback and won by 0.1 seconds. We finished the race and ran over to each other and hugged.

Despite him running a much faster time than me and setting a personal best, he gave me all of the praise to the coaches and friends because I had gotten my personal record.”

Seniors Samuel Chang and David Kim also became Singer’s close friends over the course of their upper winter on the track team. “I’ve always been really fond of Michael’s willingness to help those around him, whether it’s through talking problems out or simply editing papers or college apps,” Chang said.

“My favorite memories were on the track team— he’s always there for his teammates and pushing everyone around him to be better. Not only is he able to be serious when you need him to be, especially when you need to talk to someone, but he also knows how to have fun.”

“One of my favorite memories of him were when David, Mike, and I went to Boston,” Chang recalled.

“We spent the entire night reflecting about our time at Exeter, and relived stories of the rope swing, cooking, and even climbing Mt. Fuji.”

Chang fondly remembers their upper year post-E/A celebration.

“The first time we went to the rope swing together was with a group of guys after our Spring Track E/A Upper year. We had just won, so we figured we’d end the season off with some celebratory rope swinging,” he said. “Except Michael couldn’t hang on to the rope. He may be able to lift a lot, but he couldn’t hold on to the rope for his life. It was one of my favorite memories and I know that if it weren’t for COVID-19, Michael would be trying to convince us to go everyday during Senior Spring.”

One of Chang’s favorite memories with Singer was scaling the summit of Mount Fuji, the tallest peak in Japan. “Climbing Mt Fuji was so funny— we began our 12 hour hike wearing t-shirts and shorts.

By the time we got to the peak, we were bundled up in parkas, and using our oxygen canisters. We started hysterically laughing, and sat in the snow for hours,” Chang said. “No matter how cold it got, or how tired we were, Michael kept trudging forward. I think this speaks directly to Michael’s personality. When you give him a challenge, he’ll do everything he can to meet that challenge.

Michael is undoubtedly someone that has shaped my Exeter career for the better.”

“Michael is one of the most loyal and trustworthy people I know on campus. I really value his friendship and he’s one of the few closest people that I can share anything with,” Kim said. “I have too many to choose from but one of my favorite moments was when we cooked with our other friend Sam. The chicken pesto pasta was good too. I wish for him to continue to be guided by his strong morals and I have no doubt he’ll have great success in the years to come.”

Singer’s character has not been lost on one of his closest faculty friends, adviser Leah Merrill. “Michael is a model Exonian,” she said.

“He is intellectually curious, incredibly hard working, and open minded. I admire his humility and commitment to reflection and personal growth. He never seeks the spotlight yet is a true leader. He is an excellent listener who genuinely values the contributions of others. He is supportive, thoughtful and kind. There is a depth and sincerity to Michael that is far too rare. He has enriched my classroom and our Advisory, as well as many aspects of campus. He is a true gentleman and I will miss him enormously.”

Senior and fellow Merrill advisory member Gabriel Wong counts Singer as one of his closest friends.

“I’ve been especially moved by how persistently [Singer] has stayed in touch throughout this corona-term.

He never fails to check in and keep up with my classes and time at home from across the globe. It really brightens the parts of the day that I get a chance to talk to him,” Wong said. “Dedicated and compassionate, he’s an essential part of our little advising family; his presence constantly makes our Wednesday meetings something to look forward to.”

Wong praised Singer for his dedication to his friends. “Michael is constantly looking out for his friends around campus. Always hard at work, I always appreciate checking in with him on the paths or at lunch,” he said. “I seriously cannot wait to keep up with Michael as he moves beyond Exeter. He’s done so much with our time at school and has really come to embody what a true Exonian means to me. His ability to

learn, care and intensely interact with those around him will always inspire me. That being said, he does need to work on his FIFA tekkers. I hope they improve.”

Singer’s senior Meditation, a written reflection of life experiences, drew crowds from all corners of campus. An impassioned story of his two grandfathers, Japanese and Jewish, Singer shared narratives on culture, belonging and memory. “All these kids that you’ve reached out to, the kids that show up— at Exeter, you have all these circles, whether it’s violin, track, soccer, Japanese-American society, EJC— they’re all dispersed across certain nights,” Singer said. “But in the Meditation, it’s an opportunity for everybody to come together. It’s so visual— you look around and you see all the people you’ve met, and it’s so amazing.”

“One of the most moving moments I’ve had with Michael was the entire experience of his meditation, which culminated in our performing of the Jewish folk song Hava Nagila,” Wong said. “He was a real presence behind the podium & on stage and I am so honored that I had the opportunity to explore our shared rich cultural backgrounds together through music. Not only was it incredible to hear his words and experience his story, but the deep sense of pride and happiness he radiated afterwards was absolutely infectious.”

Singer is known across campus for his kindness and willingness to listen. He attributes his eagerness to hear the voices of others to his upbring— “it’s just kind of being Japanese to some extent.” “Listening has always been like a pretty large part of my life and my values, in terms of growing up in Japan and my mom being Japanese. I think that’s really the first step of understanding people,” he said.

Japanese-American Society cohead Mia Kuromaru fondly thinks of Singer “as like a brother.” “At first glance, Michael can seem reserved, but he’s the most caring and outgoing friend and brother-figure; he regularly reaches out to check if JAS members are alright, he always asks how he can help and he’s always introducing challenging topics to our discussions,” she said.

“I met Michael my lower fall in my history class... on the first day right after class, he asked me if I was Japanese, and we immediately became friends,” Kuromaru said. “We talked about already missing home food, where our hometown was, and what clubs we were interested in.

There’s something comforting about meeting someone who has a similar cultural upbringing when we find ourselves in the unknown, and Michael was that someone for me.”

Members of JAS are familiar with Singer’s appetite for Japanese food. “Every term, we make home food, whether it be okonomiyaki, Japanese curry, or miso soup. Even though he either burns or eats everything he puts in a pan, Michael’s child-like excitement and humor brightens us all up,” Kuromaru said.

“He eats so much in a short amount of time and goes completely into a zone when he eats home food. Even then, he always finds time to ask if I’ve eaten enough or how he can help with food.”

JAS adviser and Modern Languages instructor Tayoko Kazawa taught Singer in his first term at Exeter. “His Japanese is better than some of the Japanese native speaker… [his writing] is filled with sophisticated sentences with eloquent ideas and keen analysis. He shows empathy,” she said. “He is friendly and funny. Even though he is a senior, the uppers in JAS felt comfortable teasing him. We always had a good time chatting.”

Kazawa concurred with Kuromaru on Singer’s appetite— “Michael is very slim but has a huge appetite.

When he came to my house for dinner, I was amazed how much food can go into his system. I felt like I was feeding an elephant,” he said.

Singer has left his imprint at Exeter through the people he’s met.

Peers fondly recall how Singer changed their lives by always being there to listen. ‘One of the characteristics that is special to Michael is that he listens to every person as if he has something to learn from them, no matter who they are or what their relationship is,” Kuromaru said. “I think that’s such an important quality to have, not just as a student, but as an individual and someone part of a community. He is an incredible person surrounded by incredible people.”

Friends and faculty alike will miss Singer dearly, but are sure his kindness and empathy will persevere. “Michael’s incredible. The way he internalizes what you say really makes you feel cared about,” Wong said. “He’s just such an extraordinarily deep and considerate person.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Coronavirus in Review

» INTL. STUDENTS

» LOW-INCOME

At home and in the United States, international students faced unique challenges due to COVID-19, 35.

College Admissions Process Adjusts to The Coronavirus 5/16/2020

By ARHON STRAUSS, CLARK WU and ANGELA ZHANG This spring, the Academy’s pace of life and expectations changed drastically due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, which required all students to remain home and undergo online learning. As spring term gives way to summer, plans are already in the works for the fall term, which is a critical term for uppers embarking upon the college admissions process.

Director of College Counseling Betsy Dolan described that, more than anything, colleges across the globe are trying to show compassion and understanding during these uncertain times. “Colleges have been incredibly understanding, and continue to be very understanding, in regard to their applicants’ situations and their current student bodies,” Dolan said.

“They’re adjusting to the change in standardized testing opportunities and to online classes and how the latter has impacted how students are learning,” Dolan said. “They also understand that some students have new familial obligations or financial constraints.”

One chief way colleges are accommodating students’ needs is through financial assistance, Dolan specified. “I foresee more families speaking with their colleges and asking for a review based on their

current circumstances; I foresee more families asking for aid in the coming school year,” Dolan said.

“Colleges have committed to making adjustments and helping families during this difficult time.”

For the upper class, Dolan explained the new expectations, or lack thereof, for standardized testing. “The Academy’s policy has always been for students to take standardized testing in March, April, May, and June of their upper year,” Dolan said. “Those plans have been altered due to this pandemic, and colleges will certainly be understanding of our situation—which schools and students across the nation are also in.”

In some ways, the college application process has already begun to migrate online, Dolan pointed out.

For example, many interviews are already conducted over skype or phone call. “Colleges conduct less and less interviews on campuses,” Dolan said. “I don’t foresee that changing much for this application cycle.”

One valuable part of finding the right college, Dolan noted, is visiting the campus. “When you find the “right” college, it can sometimes be hard to articulate; it’s just something you know in your gut,” she said. “These reactions—just feeling an institution could be the right place for you—is an intuitive skill Exonians develop at the Harkness table. So, I do feel that will be a loss for the upper class.

However, colleges have provided many online sources to fill the

gap, Dolan described. “I think it’s certainly possible to learn about a school without visiting, especially with all of the wonderful resources provided by the colleges,” she said. “Additionally, this is also part of the college process that has been moving online for a while now—there are a number of applicants who have always visited their colleges primarily online, and they are able to discern a lot from virtual tours and other online resources.”

The Academy, in its own right, has also made some adjustments to consider students’ situations in the pandemic. One significant alteration to the curriculum was the new pass/fail policy, announced by Dean of Student Brooks Moriarty.

Some, such as upper Yunseo Choi, feel that pass/fail may be necessary to those who do not have a suitable learning setting at home. “For students who don’t have high speed internet, printers and a good environment at home the classes will be much harder,” she said. “For international students who have to do asynchronous classes it will also be harder to learn. The only way to be fair to those students is if Exeter makes the term pass/fail.”

On the other hand, two-year upper Hassane Fiteni displayed interest in having graded assignments and a more flexible policy from the Academy. “I think the Academy could move in the direction of many colleges and offer pass/fail as an option. I personally feel I can

handle the workload and expectations in my own personal life situation, although I understand the struggles others may have to complete assignments,” he said. “Optional pass/fail could be a healthy medium especially since likely the majority of students have not been impacted as severely and can do work.”

An online spring term unfortunately also indicates that many uppers will lose the opportunity to demonstrate their extracurricular excellence. In light of a recent email announcement from Director of Student Activities Joanne Lembo, the Academy cancelled all club “events... turnovers, and virtual competitions,” with the exception of The Exonian for a brief period. Though some activities have resumed, they have taken on a limited form.

School-planned athletic competitions and activities for Varsity and Junior Varsity athletes also could not occur due to remote learning.

“I think the new changes to spring term can present many challenges to the already competitive college process,” upper Hojun Choi said. “Being unable to engage in my extracurricular activities such as mock trial, track and music production is going to be especially challenging.”

A void of campus interactions will further stifle student-teacher relationships, now more difficult to form and maintain given the restraints of the online classroom,

Students on financial aid grapple with additional familial and economic burdens, 39.

particularly for students living in different time zones.

Upper Matt Chen expressed his concern regarding the quality of teacher recommendations.“It’s harder to gauge a student’s ability outside of a classroom,” he said.

“They have even less of a chance to see who you are as a person, so recommendations would be of lower quality than if we had a regular spring term.”

Uppers will also have to adjust to their limited campus visiting opportunities. To upper Diana Tzintzun, this will certainly hinder her decision-making process when narrowing her college list. “It was definitely something I was looking forward to doing,” she said. “Now I will only be able to see what schools offer on their website. It’s going to be a huge disadvantage for the rising seniors,” Nationwide cancellations of standardized testing also pains the upper student population. College Board announced the indefinite postponement of the SAT and ACT and moved the Advanced Placement (AP) exams to an online platform. Hojun Choi communicated his concerns for its implications.

“A lot of my friends have not taken the SAT yet and their tests getting cancelled has seemed to cause a lot of stress and anxiety,” he said.

As the global situation rapidly changes, the college admissions process will alter in tandem. “An important part of this situation to remember is that applicants, or even the Academy as a whole, are not alone in this process,” Dolan said. “Colleges are trying to accommodate students and high schools across the country, who grapple with the same problems we face. There is an outpouring of support on the college end—I am incredibly hopeful for the admissions cycle to come.

Exeter Responds to Coronavirus 2/126/2020

By HANSI ZHU Concerns over 2019-nCoV, a coronavirus that the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a “global health emergency,” have struck the Exeter community. Though Medical Director Dr. Katy Lilly stressed that the “risk to the US public is currently low,” students and administrators have addressed both the virus’ medical and cultural impacts. Asian and Asian American students, in particular, have noted coronavirus-related incidents of racism and xenophobia.

Shortly after reports of international transmission, Lilly sent an all-school email addressing coronavirus concerns. “At this time, we are continuing programming as scheduled. Please be assured that we continue to consider our programming, visitors to campus and upcoming vacation travel as we monitor the situation,” her statement read.

Despite these assurances, Dean of Students Brooks Moriarty encouraged students to “review travel plans for the March break” to and from China in an all-school email. International students from China were also offered two non-Academy affiliated travel programs, one to Arizona and the other to Boston/New York City.

“The circumstances surrounding this situation are changing daily. We are monitoring information carefully, but please know that some countries may impose travel restrictions which may make it difficult or impossible for travelers to return,” Moriarty wrote in an email to international student parents.

Shortly thereafter, the Academy canceled a spring Global Initiatives trip to China, and partici-

pants in the Shenzhen term abroad and School Year Abroad Beijing programs in China were called back to the United States.

Travel program participants noted their disappointment at the trip cancellations. “I thought it was kind of premature, in that—in a month—the circumstances surrounding the coronavirus might be different,” upper Ursie Wise said. “However, we would have had to cancel it regardless because airlines are cancelling flights now.

Still, we probably could have waited until airlines took action to cancel the trip.”

On Friday, Asian Voices (AV), a Pan-Asian affinity group for students on campus, hosted a discussion on coronavirus-related racism. “People who have family near Wuhan or in China talked about how they’ve been hearing students at school make jokes about coronavirus,” AV co-head Mia Kuromaru said. “We talked about incidents in classrooms where we felt that teachers didn’t guide the classroom environment respectfully and allowed students to make jokes about it, or made jokes themselves about coronavirus.”

For many Asian students, “travel plans have changed and international students have had their plans affected,” AV co-head David Kim added.

Dean of Students Brooks Moriarty made an announcement after Friday’s assembly asking students to refrain from allowing fear of the coronavirus to influence their views on Asians and Asian-Americans in the Exeter community.

Dean of Multicultural Affairs Sami Atif urged the community in an all-school email to remember that “health scares have led to discriminatory policies, scapegoating, xenophobia, and racism” and that “what you may perceive to be

a joke, can easily come across as a racist barb.”

However, many Asian students felt that the responses from the administration were delayed. “The reactions [from AV] were grateful, but there were students who were not satisfied that there was information [from the Health Center] about the virus sent out first, and then later on, an email that said, ‘That doesn’t allow you to be racist towards Asian people,’” Kuromaru explained. “For a lot of the students [AV members] in that room, it seemed like a second-hand thought.”

Kim also explained that certain AV members felt that multiple emails about coronavirus unintentionally dramaticized the situation. “Some people at AV thought that… several emails felt excessive and unintentionally made the administration seem overly concerned about coronavirus.” However, Kim himself thought that the Dean Atif and Dean Moriarty’s responses were necessary.

International events hosted by clubs were also interrupted due to coronavirus concerns. Exeter Math Club (EMC) cancelled the 2020 Exeter Math Club Competition (EMCC) on Friday, Jan. 24 due to a fear that competitors could potentially be carriers of coronavirus.

Members of the EMC work all year to write problem sets for the competition, comprised of 300 middle school students from across the globe who travel to campus for an intensive mathematics competition. Upon hearing about the coronavirus outbreak, tournament directors seniors Ben Wright and Sanath Vogindarajan and club adviser and Mathematics Instructor Zuming Feng sought the guidance of the administration about whether to continue the event.

Though the school approved the event in accordance to CDC (Center for Disease Control) and WHO guidelines, Feng, Wright and Vogindarajan opted to cancel.

“The risk was simply too large to continue with the competition, especially due to the difficulty of finding symptoms, the two-week incubation period, its highly contagious nature, and the unavailability of a cure,” the two said in their statement. “We did not want to risk anyone’s health.”

EMC chose to cancel the event entirely as they “did not want to discriminate against competitors/ coaches/chaperones and therefore couldn’t block a specific subset of groups from coming.”

Due to the competition’s proximity to MATHCOUNTS, another national competition, EMC decided against postponement. “One of the reasons Exeter hosts EMCC is to help competitors prepare for MATHCOUNTS, a very important competition series for middle school mathletes that starts in early [February]. Delaying the event would defeat this purpose.”

Student and parent concerns over the competition also contributed to EMC’s decision-making.

Parents, in particular, wrote to administrators about their concerns.

Some students noted their disappointment with the cancellation.

Upper Yunseo Choi, a member of EMC, understood the concern for campus health but was saddened that the event would not go forward. “When I was in eighth grade, [this competition] was a chance for me to get noticed by Mr. Feng,” Choi said. “I think it had a big impact on my acceptance here, so I’m kind of sad that there might be some kids that could’ve used this opportunity.”

In lieu of an on-campus tournament tournament, the head problem writers, tournament directors

and Feng sent out tests with electronic submission forms. Coaches were told to administer the test problems to the teams that would have competed. “Now, EMCC graders are in the process of grading the electronic submissions,” EMC said.

However, the “guts” round, a teamwork-based contest that is the highlight of many competitors’ experience, required proctors to administer it. It will not be administered remotely.

In spite of the educational opportunity lost, EMC stood by the cancellation. “Teams, as well as Exeter staff, lost an important opportunity to have a team bonding experience,” they said. “However, we believe we made the right decision, given the choices available to us.”

Peer schools have also had to balance participation in extracurricular activities with safety concerns. At a Model United Nations competition hosted at Yale (YMUN), an Andover student reported a Chinese competitor as a potential case of coronavirus. As a result, the final day of YMUN, including a culminating committee session and an awards ceremony, was cancelled. Due to safety concerns of coronavirus, The Andover Model United Nations team chose not to attend the Harvard Model United Nations competition last Thursday to this Sunday.

However, New Haven mayor Justin Elicker announced on Jan. 31 that the individual reported tested negative.

Kim reminded the Exeter community that many Exonians are proximate to the impacts of coronavirus. “I know that coronavirus seems very far from Exeter, but I want people to know that because it is such a diverse community, we need to be aware of the gravity of our words and jokes,” he said.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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Employee Pay Raises to be Frozen for the 2020-2021 Academic Year 5/16/2020

By DAVID CHEN, TUCKER GIBBS and CINDY SU While setting the Academy’s budget for the next academic year, the Board of Trustees decided to freeze employee raises for next year—a precedented course of Academy action during financial crises.

The Trustees approved this decision due to the economic effects posed by COVID-19, according to a letter sent to employees by Principal William Rawson. Usually, employees receive a pay increase every year, except in unique cases determined by the trustees. The last time employees did not receive a pay raise was in the aftermath of the 2008 recession.

The raise freeze was implemented to mitigate the economic effects predicted by the coronavirus outbreak. There has already been a clear economic downturn caused by the pandemic, and according to the Bu-

reau of Labor’s statistics, the number of unemployed persons increased 1.4 million people in March alone.

“The trustees manage the endowment in a prudent manner that helps insulate school programs from market volatility and preserves principal,” Principal William Rawson said. “Keeping salaries the same will make sure that the school can stay stable economically and pull through this recession.”

According to Academy Chief Financial Officer Marijka Beauchesne, “much work has been done on campus to prepare a proposed budget, which is then shared with the Budget & Finance Committee of the trustees, discussed by the full trustees initially in January when tuition for the following year is decided,” she said.

“This year the final budget will be approved in June.”

Instead of laying off employees, the Academy decided to freeze raises, President of the Trustees Tony Downer noted. “Rather than as a first

step reducing our headcount (as a great many companies already have), the on campus leadership and the Trustees chose to keep the school’s headcount intact at this time and to respond to the financial pressures attendant to the coronavirus by keeping faculty and staff salaries unchanged for the year ahead,” he said.

The 2008 Recession marked global declining national economies.

Many industries, such as banking and real estates, faced great challenges. Millions of people lost their jobs, houses, and much of their savings.

Historically, this 2008 Recession was the only instance in which employee pay raises have been frozen.

“There was no increase in 2009.

There has been an increase each since then, until this decision for the coming year,” Principal Rawson said.

Some employees agree with the decision of freezing salary raises. “It would be prudent for the Academy and other schools to freeze salaries and cut costs in other areas,” said

History instructor Michael Golay.

“Revenues are down. Endowments are down. In many cases wages are still being paid. Lots of outgo [and] not much income. My hope is that the sacrifices, if they’re necessary, would be shared out equally.”

Elizabeth Stevens, a science instructor who has been with the Academy for 20 years, echoed this thought. “No one is happy about not getting a pay raise, but given the current situation, I completely understand,” Stevens said, “I feel very fortunate to have a secure job in this very uncertain time.”

Some teachers were saddened by the decision. “It is certainly disappointing,” Mathematics Instructor Brandon Hew said. “Pay increases have happened each of my first two years of reappointment.”

Untenured faculty members noted that, while the halt in pay raises does not worry them, the economic climate does. “I am not tenured and, given all the changes that are

occurring, I am aware of the possibility that my position as Ensemble Instructor could be eliminated. The music faculty, Kris Johnson, Rohan Smith, Barbara Darby, Peter Schultz and others have all made me feel very welcomed,” Music Ensemble Instructor Paola Caballero said.

“I have complete sympathy and understanding of the difficult decision making process that may take place in confirming the course offerings for the fall of 2020. I have been very impressed with the adaptability, cooperation, eagerness and overall good faith demonstrated by everyone on the music faculty,” Caballero continued. “I can only hope that I may continue to be part of this incredible team in the fall.”

“My biggest concern is that the school will decide to lay off employees,” Classics Instructor Nicholas Unger said. “I hope the trustees will do whatever it takes to ensure that all employees—faculty and staff—keep their jobs.”

Students and Faculty Anticipate Spring Term Away From Exeter 3/18/2020 ByTUCKER GIBBS, AMY LUM and CLARK WU In response to COVID-19 pandemic, Principal William Rawson emailed a video announcement cancelling all on-campus classes for the Spring Term. All courses will be delivered online and students will receive a pass/no pass evaluation for their work.

According to Rawson’s video, seniors will still assemble on campus in June for commencement. Regardless of whether students can ultimately return to campus, the senior class will graduate on time.

Rawson allowed for the possibility of students returning to campus if the global health crisis improves.

Faculty members from all departments began discussing how to modify their curriculums for remote instruction in late January, although the bulk of the course planning is taking shape over spring break. “As the situation deteriorated in the U.S. and abroad, the planning began to take on more shape and the possibility of holding online for a longer period of time for all students began to evolve,” Dean of Students Brooks Moriarity said.

Following Rawson’s announcement, Moriarty sent students and their families logistical details about the Academy’s e-learning plan. For the Spring term, the Academy will follow a new schedule, with classes beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 4:15 p.m. Each course will have three blocks a week, with two 45 minute blocks and one 90 minute block, and Advising will take up two 45 minute blocks. Instructors will also be required to be available during designated Office Hours, when students may request conferences or additional assistance.

Given the sizable international student population on campus, the Academy’s plan accommodates those in various time zones.

“We know that students may not be able to be present at all of the class meeting times listed,” Moriarty wrote in his

email. “Students are required to have three ‘touchpoints’ for each course per week.” Such touchpoints are synchronous classes, one-on-one conferences or “engagement with or contribution to a class activity at a time of the student’s choice, other than the scheduled class time.”

The nightly homework allotment will also change during the spring term. All classes will assign a maximum of one hour of homework per night in the first two weeks.

Afterwards, each cours will have a maximum of one hour and twenty minutes of homework per night.

In the initial stages of planning, the administration anticipated having online instruction for students who might not be able to return to campus.

“At that point in time, we did not know the virus’ impact, but we were concerned that some students would be unable to return to campus… Before, we were thinking about hybrid classes with some students on campus and others off campus,” Dean of Academic Affairs Laura Marshall said.

However, as the number of coronavirus cases grew, plans altered to accommodate remote learning for all students.

Assistant Principal Karen Lassey noted that April 13 was chosen as an initial return date to provide faculty and students proper time to spend with family, adjust to online classes and prepare for travel back to campus. “[T]he date also kept open the possibility of resuming on-campus classes, in the event that the COVID-19 situation allowed it,” Lassey said.

Still, administrators found the risk too great to allow classes to resume on campus.

“As eager as we are to have our students return to their classes, practices, rehearsals, and friends, we cannot do that until we are sure it is safe for them and all members of our community,” Rawson wrote in his most recent email. “Since ours is a residential community, the choices each of us makes may have serious implications for others and we are mindful of our responsibility not to contribute to community

spread.”

Moriarty affirmed the commitment campus adults have to fostering a positive learning experience.

“We urge you to communicate with your adviser, teachers, deans, or other adults with any questions or concerns.

And we urge you to take care of yourselves and look out for the well-being of your peers as we move forward with this shared venture,” he wrote. “Be kind. Be respectful. Be patient with others and with yourselves. Use the many resources at your disposal.”

Even before the Administration announced the postponement of Spring Term, the rapid spread of the coronavirus had greatly affected student travel plans. For senior Morgan LeBrun, the global situation cancelled a long-awaited trip with her friends. Planning from as far back as prep year, Lebrun and her close friends finalized their itinerary to Turks and Caicos months ago. After discussing closely with her friends, “we decided it was in everybody’s best interest to cancel our trip and practice social distancing,” Lebrun said.

“In terms of slowing down the spread of this virus, it is crucial that everybody in the States restrict traveling and practice social distancing,” she continued. Despite making the safe choice, Lebrun has felt a large emotional impact.

Additionally, international students had to adjust their

Spring Break plans in response to the Academy’s initial delay and ultimate cancellation of Spring Term classes. In light of Asia’s numerous outbreaks, lower Emma Chen, along with ten other international students, planned to stay in the town of Exeter over break. However, after the announcement of online classes and an extended spring break, the eleven students decided to return home.

For Chen and other international students temporarily staying in the U.S, the extended break posed a difficult question. “We eventually decided to go back home partly because of the extended break and partly because of the situation worsening in the U.S. [and] improving in China,” Chen said.

Nonetheless, Chen added that “considering how much uncertainty there is and how little we all know, I think the school has already done a wonderful job—I’m really grateful for and moved by what the faculty and administrators have done for us and our families.”

Coordinating with the Dean’s Office and Campus Safety, Chen had the opportunity to collect some personal items from the dorms. Additional plans will be developed to allow more students to retrieve important items and educational materials.

Math Instructor Gwynneth Coogan believes online classes provide students more time to think through homework prob-

lems and become independent learners. “[Students will] end up being more patient with themselves and find that they can solve problems that they originally did not think they could,” Coogan said.

While he would prefer to be at school, lower Cyrus Braden understood the reasoning for cancellation. “I just think it’s a no brainer,” he said. “We can’t afford to jeopardize every member of our community for any reason. Online classes won’t be ideal, but they’re the only reasonable choice.”

Senior Sam Park hoped Exonians would embrace non sibi while away. “It’s important to keep in mind that our response just be from a point of compassion and collective work towards protecting the most vulnerable and immunocompromised,” he said. “As Exonians, and as members of the world community, it’s our responsibility right now to avoid going out, and to suppress the urge to hoard food and other supplies.”

Despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus, Moriarty noted the importance of the Academy’s values. “We are committed to maintaining a healthy and vibrant and supportive community even if we are not physically together,” Moriarty said. “These are uncertain times, and we need to stick together with generous hearts, an adventurous spirit, and a renewed commitment to taking care of each other.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Exeter Community Adjusts to Online Learning 3/28//2020

By TUCKER GIBBS, AMY LUM and CLARK WU As Zoom and Canvas replace Harkness classrooms for the Spring Term, the Academy has had to adjust its teaching methods and academic policies to provide an equitable online experience to students. Specific changes include pass/fail grading, “touchpoint” attendance, a new schedule, and a different textbook purchasing process.

Director of Studies Scott Saltman noted that, despite the changes to Exeter’s educational delivery methods, the Academy’s top priority is to support students. “Behind all of our thinking is the fact that this is being done in the midst of a global public health crisis that affects every one of us in different and unknown ways,” he said.

“Caring for our students is our top priority, and the connections that students have with teachers are central to that goal.”

To achieve this goal, the Academy had to respond to emerging developments throughout the past three weeks. Though administrators initially planned to delay Spring Term until April 13, they ultimately decided to cancel on-campus classes altogether.

Principal William Rawson announced the decision on March 18.

“With each passing day, the world seemed to change in new ways and we had to adapt our plan in response,” Saltman said.

The decision to adopt online learning came with a new schedule. “The daily schedule we have designed aims to make online learning as effective and inclusive as possible for our diverse student body working from locations around the globe,” Dean of Students Brooks Moriarty said.

“As is common in online learning, the schedule maximizes student and teacher flexibility, student independence, and opportunities for one-on-one student-teacher engagement.”

“In this schedule, each format has at least one morning block and one afternoon block, with the hope that students outside of the Eastern time zone can connect more easily with one of those meetings,” Saltman added.

During this time, the faculty will prioritize offering asynchronous learning to promote equity and inclusion among both students and faculty. “We know that many students are going to have a difficult time ‘meeting’ at their scheduled meeting time, for a wide variety of reasons related to location, internet access and individual circumstances,” Saltman said. “The primary method of engaging a class can’t be to simply hold every class on Zoom, although some classes may still take place on Zoom. Teachers must focus on developing learning materials that students can engage with at a time of their choosing.”

In accordance with this goal, the Academy has created a “touchpoint’’ system to track student attendance. Each student must meet a three touchpoint per week requirement for every course.

Health classes will require only one touchpoint.

Each course must provide students with multiple modes of engagement. In an email to students and parents on Mar. 23, Moriarty shared the Academy’s guidelines to faculty regarding these modes.

“Attendance at a class or class activity that takes place during the scheduled class time… cannot be the only option for students and should not be the primary method of engagement,” Moriarty wrote.

Alternatives include “a conference with a teacher, [or] engagement with or contribution to a class activity at a time of the student’s choice, other than the scheduled class time,” Moriarty added. This includes “writing on an online discussion board; posting a solution to share with others; watching recorded material.”

To aid asynchronous learning,

the administration has also been exploring ways to record classes. In an email sent to students and parents, Moriarty established the parameters for the program.

“Teachers may be recording video conferences and some class activities so that all students have access to all course programming. These recordings would be posted within Canvas, our password-protected learning management system, or in Dropbox, which is also password-protected. Audio and video of all participants in these sessions will be recorded,” he said.

“The use of video or audio recordings will vary, depending on the course and teacher. Students will review expectations about the use of these recorded sessions with their teachers,” Moriarty said. Students will have an opportunity before recording begins to offer their consent.

Asynchronous learning did pose some challenges for classes requiring in-person engagement, such as classes in the Music and Physical Education Departments.

will participate in three 40‐minute classes per week,” Herrick’s announcement read. ‘There is no scheduled class time. You may fit these workouts in when it makes sense for you and your scenario: any time of day, any day of the week. Each student will be required to check in with the teacher via Canvas every week to ensure they understand the instructions and are following the program. In this sense, ‘attendance’ is expected in order to pass the course and earn diploma credit.” The modules offered are “Yoga, Walking and Wellness,” “Small Space Fitness,” “Strength and Cardio Challenge” and “Solo and Group Games.”

During this term, the Academy will focus heavily for learning without a formal evaluation.

“Having carefully considered the consequences of using our standard grading system at this time, we have decided that all courses will be graded on a pass/no-pass basis for the spring term,” Moriarty said in an all-school email on March 18.

Financial Aid recipients were told to apply stipends to their online purchases. “You will be allowed to purchase only books and essential learning supplies,” Marshall wrote. “If you do not have enough remaining funds in your stipend for this term, please do not worry. [Director of Admissions and Financial Aid John] Hutchins has generously agreed to allow you to exceed your stipend if necessary.”

However, individual instructors later sent messages to students, notifying them that all financial aid recipients would receive online texts, mostly from bn.com. The Exeter Bookstore also took several texts off their platform. Those who did not receive emails from bn.com were expected to find the textbooks, either in print or digitally, on their own.

“I think that while [the Bookstore’s limitations] are certainly an inconvenience, I am sure that the school will make the best of it,” prep Jack Quin said.

According to Head of the Music Department Kristofer Johnson, music lessons will continue.

Teachers can use a variety of platforms, such as Zoom, FaceTime or Skype. However, because students are charged for lessons at the beginning of each trimester, students can choose to drop their lessons before April 1, and their families will not be billed for the Spring Term.

Because of current circumstances, Johnson noted that, for any student who decides not to continue their lessons this term, there will be an exception to the regular requirement that lessons have to be taken in consecutive terms. “Lessons will be linked from this past winter to next fall,” he said.

As for those without instruments, Johnson noted that the Music Department is currently working with the Dean of Students’ Office in order to safely ship the instruments. However, because many instruments require special packing, this process may take some time.

While instruments are being shipped, Johnson noted students can still learn from their music teachers. “Teachers have many ways to expand students’ musical horizons, build their knowledge base and engage meaningfully.”

The Physical Education Department has also created alternatives to traditional exercise classes. In an announcement to all students, Director of Student Information Sarah Herrick noted that those previously enrolled in club sports or activities would have to participate in two fourweek exercise modules.

“Within each module, students

Due to the late notice of Spring Term’s cancellation, many students left textbooks and essential items in their dorm rooms on campus. “We are not permitting students and families to come to campus to pick up personal belongings at this time,” Moriarty wrote on March 21. Instead, the Academy will send passports, medications and laptops to students. Additional items, such as textbooks and personal items, can be requested through an online form.

Materials from sequenced courses will be provided digitally or shipped to students. “We do not expect anyone to repurchase a textbook that they already own,” Dean of Academic Affairs Laura Marshall said. “Your teacher will tell you how you should access an electronic version of your textbook.”

New materials will be available to students through electronic means for the first two weeks.

After that, most students will be expected to purchase physical or digital textbooks.

To ease this process, the Academy and the Exeter Bookstore partnered to send physical texts or provide eBook options to students. On March 23, Marshall sent guidance to students about how to purchase their texts. “The bookstore will make one shipment of books for each student,” Marshall wrote in an all-school email.

“When available, we suggest you choose the electronic version. The bookstore will ship domestically free of charge. Teachers are aware that it may take more than two weeks for international students to receive shipments and will adjust accordingly.”

Another area of concern has been the availability of technology off-campus. The Academy has worked with students and families to ensure a reliable internet access and connection. However, according to Director of Technology Services Scott Heffner, the circumstances vary with each student, country and time zone.

“Some students don’t have access to reliable Internet due to their location. We’re trying to help those students get it, but it takes time,” he said. “Other students live in countries with strict censorship laws that include penalties for bypassing those laws.” Heffner urged students with questions or concerns to contact ncov@exeter. edu with the subject line “Internet Access.”

The online infrastructure itself also has a limited capacity, which may lead to issues down the line.

“With the massive switch to distance learning and remote work, we could see the Internet bogging down in some areas, resulting in a bad experience for impacted users.

Our core software suite should be unaffected with the possible exception of Zoom,” Heffner said.

“We’ve been in touch with Zoom and they’ve assured us that they’re able to scale indefinitely.”

With the extra time given by the absence of sports and the pass/ fail grading system, some students hoped to audit a class. However, Marshall and the Department Heads chose to ban audits for this term. “We must keep in mind that we do not know yet how this will feel,” Marshall said.

Instead, Marshall encouraged students to find other ways to help out their community with their free time and practice non sibi.

“We hope you can be creative in thinking about how you can be productive,” she added.

Lower Emma Chen affirmed the Academy’s efforts to support those in different time zones. “I like the flexibility of the touchpoint idea,” she said. “I think the school is trying to be accommodating and inclusive for everyone in different time zones.”

Upper Angela Liu acknowledged the necessity of the “touchpoint” policy but expressed her doubts concerning its practicality. “It must be rough for [students] not inside of a reasonable time zone,” she wrote. “I do not understand how international or other students halfway across the world would be able to take part and have the same experience as the others.”

Lower Allison Kim agreed. “I think the touchpoints are a good compromise, but I feel bad for students in really different time zones,” she said. “I’m wondering how it’ll factor into Harkness discussions and if they’ll be enough to replace actual class time, since most of our curriculum is based on students learning from each other.”

The introduction of Zoom has also brought concerns. Chen stressed that, with online classes, it may be harder to foster human connection. “Even if we have Harkness discussions, it would be challenging because we won’t get

to read people’s body language, class atmosphere.”

The pass/fail system, though designed to reduce pressure, was met with some pushback. “When I saw Mr. Moriarity’s email, I was a little distraught, because I knew this would mean a whole term [would be] gone, not just from my transcript, but from my Exeter learning experience,” upper Hassane Fiteni said.

Fiteni elaborated on problems that could arise because of pass/ fail. “Kids won’t be motivated to really try and actually study.

Oftentimes, kids make an extra effort to learn material and understand things thoroughly, knowing their grades depend on it,” he said.

“This incentive is lost when someone can simply pass while barely learning.”

Lower Christine Chung hoped she could have been alerted before the break of the pass/fail policy. “I know that this kind of decision is hard to predict, but before leaving the Exeter bubble, I wasn’t even aware the extent of panic the rest of the world was in or that schools were considering an online option,” she said. “I signed up for an art course this term, and if I knew more, I definitely would have chosen to knock off a harder course requirement.”

Step by step, the faculty and staff are trying to make remote learning the best it can be. “Last week, [Academy Technology Coordinator Vi] Richter provided a series of well-attended training sessions for Canvas and Zoom tools,” Saltman said. “We are hard at work, committed to creating a positive experience for our students.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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International Students Face Unique Obstacles Due to Coronavirus 4/9/2020

By DAVID CHEN, ANDREA LUO and ANYA TANG The shift to a remote spring term has raised concerns for international students enrolled at Phillips Exeter Academy. During the initial stages of the virus outbreak, many international students altered their travel plans to remain in the country over spring break. However, as COVID-19 cases rose and the situation worsened, international students were advised to return home by the Dean of Students Office.

As the international students returned to their countries of residence, they endured long hours of high-risk travel and quarantine.

Now that online learning has begun, they also face obstacles of time zone differences and varying internet accessibility.

International Student Coordinator Jennifer Smith has assisted students with their travel situations and journeys home. “I have been working very closely with Dean [of Students Brooks] Moriarty since early March to help determine the best course of action for students,” Smith said. “First, it was for spring break, next, a short-term plan for a couple of weeks of online learning and then a hopeful April return to campus and, lastly, to help get students out of the U.S. and safely home as the situation both globally and in

the U.S. rapidly deteriorated with COVID-19. We helped facilitate 11 students with host families or other group stays.”

Another concern about international students was Student Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) registration and fulfillment of visa requirements during this time. “I am working with international students to make certain that we know where they are for the spring term so that we can register students in SEVIS,” Smith said. “This database is our interface with the U.S. Government/Department of Homeland Security, where we report that students are enrolled in studies full time.”

“New regulations and guidance has been coming out weekly about how to adjust these procedures in this unprecedented time,” she said. “Students (new and graduating) are very worried about obtaining documents to get visas to study in the U.S., whether continuing on for college or hoping to matriculate at Exeter in the fall.”

When asked about the greatest challenge of learning away from campus, Smith noted the inconvenience of time zones with online classes. “From my vantage point, one of the first concerns was how to connect with Exeter from literally all around the world. The biggest initial challenge was the logistical aspects such as time differences (some students are any-

where from six to 12 hours ahead of the East Coast), to making sure that connectivity and online platforms were able to be accessed within various countries or not blocked,” Smith said.

In addition to the challenges of getting students home safely, the Academy had to have some students’ belongings and learning materials shipped for the remote term. “Traveling home was a challenge for many students.

Some flights were limited or not available, and many students did not pack more than enough for spring break—so many of their belongings are still in their dorm rooms,” Smith said. “This is true for most students, not just international students. However, with the shipping restrictions and delays, getting items to international students may prove more challenging than ever before.”

The Academy has readily provided students with support over travel plans and the issue of remote learning with inconvenient time zones. “Many faculty members emailed me regarding my travel plan,” prep Tony Cai said.

“I genuinely appreciate their hard work and their concern for us.”

Advisers have also been working hard, showing not only their concern for students’ learning but also their health and wellbeing.

“Personally, my adviser has also reached out to me about my travel plans and my family’s safety,” upper and Hong Kong resident

Vanessa Chan said.

A major concern for international students is the difficulty of attending classes due to the substantial difference in time zones.

“The main issue [regarding remote learning] is the 12 hour time difference. It makes going to the last three blocks of the day harder, as it goes from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. in Hong Kong,” Chan said. “Thankfully, three different touchpoint options are given to meet the course requirement.”

Some international students have drastically shifted their daily schedules to attend EST classes.

“A lot of my classes take place past midnight due to my timezone being GMT+7, meaning I have to take notes and participate while trying to stay up. 2 a.m. is usually not a time I take classes at,” lower and Thailand resident Zander Chearavanond said. “I have been adapting to the time by essentially turning nocturnal and just waking up at 1 or 2 p.m.”

Upon hearing news of spring term’s initial delay, and then the switch to remote learning, students scrambled to get on long international flights. Many made the decision to take risky flights, going well over ten hours, excluding lengthy precautionary screenings and procedures. In addition, upon landing and going through customs, many students had to quarantine, by themselves at home or by mass quarantine in government-run facilities.

The Exonian Reflects On 1918 Influenza Pandemic

Soldiers with influenza in Fort Riley, Kansas.

4/9/2020

By LINA HUANG, MAX PARK and ANYA TANG In September, 1918, news of a coming victory splashed across headlines. Americans across the nation waited in anticipation for the end of World War I. Not reported in the papers, however, was the onset of another, deadlier war. This time, the enemy was not human.

Within a year, the H1N1 virus outbreak, popularly known as the “Spanish flu,” would become one of the deadliest global pandemics in history, infecting a fifth of the world population and leaving 50 million dead. In the town of Exeter, more than 100 of the 4,500 residents would succumb to the disease by the end of 1918. As another pandemic begins, The Exonian has looked through the Academy and town’s archives to reflect on a similar period in American history.

News of the outbreak was concealed from the town before the Exeter News-Letter began running coverage in September, 1918.

“Although many newspapers suppressed information regarding the flu to prevent panic, the Exeter News-Letter began to run stories directly related to the outbreak in the last weeks of [September],” Exeter Historical Society curator Barbara Rimkunas wrote in Hidden History of Exeter. “By that time, it would have been difficult to ignore the flu’s grip on the town.”

As the influenza rendered millions sick or dead across the globe, many Exeter residents were left to the same fate, including Academy students. Certainly, the flu did not discriminate in its infection. “[Those with Spanish flu] are of all classes and ages and, in instances, entire families are affected,” the Exeter News-Letter reported on Sept. 27, 1918. “Manufactories, stores and schools have their victims.”

The Harvard Crimson Without antiviral drugs and modern virus-testing techniques such as PCR, the virus spread quickly. “The flu hit the school hard and fast,” Frary said. “Within a week, there were over 75 cases.”

On Oct. 2, 1918, The Exonian reported, “One boy has succumbed to the disease, [and] two others have been threatened with the same fate.” At one point, victims’ names filled an entire column of the Exeter News-Letter.

The Spanish flu’s symptoms were swift and painful. Within hours of infection, victims’ faces and skin would turn purple from lack of oxygen, and fluid would fill their lungs.

They died within days by suffocation in their own mucus and blood.

Perhaps most frightening about the H1N1 virus was the unusually high mortality rate among young adults— those between the ages of 20 and 30 were several times more likely to die than those between 70 and 80.

By October, cases of flu had

overrun the town, forcing the Academy to turn on-campus buildings into makeshift infirmaries. “The school sheltered in place … the influenza pandemic reached Exeter while school was in session,” senior Cameron Frary said. “They converted the gymnasium into a makeshift infirmary to house the 25 patients who exceeded the capacity of the existing infirmary.” The Academy required all students to remain on campus, preventing them from bringing the virus back to their home communities.

To limit the extent of the outbreak, the Academy canceled non-essential meetings and the town of Exeter closed down public buildings. The Exonian’s Oct. 9 issue reported that chapel services, study halls, and society meetings had been stopped to limit the flu from spreading and that the Ioka Theatre and local soda fountains had been temporarily closed.

As a result of the outbreak, Ex-

Lower David Wang and upper May Chen were some of those who had experienced government enforced measures once they landed in their country. After arriving in Shanghai, Chen spent hours filling out forms and waiting to board buses to another testing location. After testing, Chen was sent to a hotel, where she had to wait two nights before going home Since returning home, many have taken to acting strictly in accordance to quarantine rules.

“The quarantine process was very strict,” Wang said. “We were asked constantly about our flight information, and some of us were forced to stay at a hotel for the first few days. I was lucky enough to be allowed to self-quarantine for two weeks at home with no one else living with me.

While some highlight the Academy’s support systems for international students, senior Mai Hoang wished that the school would have provided further and more transparent support. According to Hoang, “my summer program sent out a mass email to all alums with a database of potential hosts in various states and their contact info. That was so great! As a senior, I want the agency to coordinate with potential hosts myself, rather than going through PEA admin, so I wish PEA had done something similar.”

eter’s economy suffered. “At this time, not many people could work because of contracting the illness themselves or having to take care of someone who had,” Rimkunas wrote. “This created a downturn in the local economy’s productivity.”

The town slowly recovered after a month, and schools reopened early November. The Academy recovered especially quickly; new cases ceased to develop within three days of the Academy’s peak, and all but ten patients had been discharged within a week.

By Oct. 9, The Exonian reported only 10 confirmed cases. “The Exonian also acknowledged that the precautions taken by individual students were crucial to the improvements in the situation. Given that the situation resolved itself so quickly, I think the Academy’s shelter-inplace plan worked reasonably well,” Frary said.

As another epidemic hits the United States, many are turning to the Spanish flu pandemic for precedent. As of April 3, the CDC has reported 213,144 cases and 4,513 deaths in America. However, there are distinct differences between the illnesses. COVID-19 symptoms, which include fever, tiredness, and difficulty breathing, may develop after a two-week period, and the virus has a median incubation period of around five days. Older adults are at higher risk for a severe reaction to COVID-19 virus. The pandemic is predicted to continue affecting students for more than a month, whereas influenza cases ceased shortly after the Academy cut down on social interaction. At the same time, both the COVID-19 and 1918 influenza are quick-spreading and have had widespread economic ramifications.

This time, though, the Academy’s response has been very different. For the duration of the 1918 pandemic, Academy students hunkered down in their dorms and waited for the scourge to subside. During the current outbreak, students are in isolation across the globe.

As a result, it seems that the COVID-19 pandemic will have a much different impact on Exeter than the Spanish flu. “The Academy’s reaction in 1918 is hardly applicable to today’s situation because we have already left campus,” Frary said. Still, Exonians may find similarities between their current experiences and those of generations past.

The Academy continues to publish health advice and logistical information on its website. For more information, visit The Exonian’s digital archive.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Town Partners with Academy to Combat Pandemic 4/9/2020

By OTTO DO, TUCKER GIBBS and LINA HUANG Phillips Exeter Academy and the Town of Exeter have strengthened their partnership to support the broader community in a difficult time. To this end, Exeter administrators have been in regular communication with town leadership, and the Lamont Center for Health and Wellness has been converted into an interim auxiliary facility for Exeter Hospital.

Three weeks ago, Town Manager Russ Dean met with Principal William Rawson to discuss the potential arrangement. According to Rawson, letting Dean know “what the Academy was doing to keep our school community safe and to avoid contributing to the spread of the coronavirus” remained his chief priority during the exchange.

Rawson has met with Dean several times and noted that this meeting was very productive.

On March 20, Rawson and Dean met again to discuss the use of the Academy’s Lamont Health Center as a provisional auxiliary

facility. Though the Lamont Center remains part of the Academy, it will be temporarily staffed and operated by Exeter Hospital. “The Health Center will be used for patients who are recovering from whatever illness or injury took them to the hospital but who are not yet ready to be discharged,” Rawson said in an all-employee email. However, “the facility will not have [intensive care unit] capability.”

In addition to this arrangement, the Academy donated 500 N95 masks to Exeter Hospital. The Academy followed this donation with additional personal protective equipment for the Exeter Hospital and Riverwoods Nursing Home.

Town officials were pleased to have access to the Lamont Health Center in their efforts to combat COVID-19. “Using the Lamont Health Center is one of the ways that the town was preparing an uptick in cases. We were actively pursuing ideas for supporting the local hospital in the event of a possible surge, so [Exeter] was approached as a potential site,” Town Manager Russ Dean said. “Our main purpose was to connect the two entities: the hospital and [the Lamont Center], to further the concept.”

These efforts are not the first time that the Academy has aided the town community. “PEA is a wonderful community partner and has engaged with us on [a] number of different things. Two recent events were volunteering to landscape our Parks/Recreation building on 32 Court Street and creating a Google based inventorying program for our Fire/EMS Department,” Dean said.

“When PEA is actively engaged in our community, we are stronger.

We look forward to resuming the relationship under more normal circumstances.”

On March 20, Rawson also joined several local leaders in requesting a statewide shelter-inplace order from the Commissioner Lori Shibinette of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. “The main thrust of the letter is to draw attention to the immediate need for a dramatic increase in COVID-19 testing capacity and supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) for first responders and health care professionals in our area,” Rawson said.

The letter, sent by State Senator Jon Morgan, was co-signed by Rawson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Exeter Health

Resources Kevin J. Callahan, President of Exeter Area Chamber of Commerce Jennifer Wheeler, District Superintendent David Ryan, Exeter Select Board Chair Niko Papakonstantis, Vice-Chair of the Exeter Select Board Molly Cowan, Riverwoods Chief Executive Officer Justine Vogel and Dean.

Given healthcare limitations, the letter’s signatories urged state officials to introduce a shelter-inplace order. “[Shelter-in-place] is the only intervention that has a hope of decreasing transmission in our communities while the prevalence and spread of coronavirus remain undetermined,” the letter stated. “Following the lead of several other states and municipalities, essential activities exempted from this order would obviously need to include food shopping, pharmacy, and home needs, emergency medical needs, banking and isolated exercise.”

The Town of Exeter participated as a signatory for several reasons.

“We were concerned about several things, including lack of resources such as PPE and an overall feeling that the state was not adequately prepared to deal with what was to come,” Dean said. “At that time,

Most Staff Working From Home, To Be Compensated Normally 4/9/2020

By OTTO DO, TUCKER GIBBS and TINA HUANG With the COVID-19 case count climbing each day, the Academy has altered working requirements to reduce the likelihood of viral transmission and support all Exeter staff in this difficult time. Though the Academy transitioned to online instruction on March 18, some staff continue to work reduced hours.

Campus Safety, a notable exception, continues to work regular hours.

While in-person work may not be possible, Principal William Rawson notified all faculty and staff on March 19 that regular compensation would be provided until June 30.

“All regularly scheduled employees, full time and part-time, exempt and nonexempt, will be compensated for all normally scheduled hours that would have been worked during this period, even if work can’t be performed due to the Academy’s decision to convert to online learning for the remainder of the academic year,” his all-staff email read.

The Academy’s health insurance provider, Anthem Blue Cross Blue

Shield, is waiving all copay requirements during the pandemic, allowing faculty and staff to receive free COVID-19 testing and treatment.

Furthermore, those who can have been instructed to work from home. “We implemented mandatory telecommuting for all who can work at home two weeks ago. Many departments, such as Institutional Advancement, [Human Resources] and Finance, are working almost entirely from home. Other departments, such as custodial and facilities maintenance, are working on reduced hours (essentially working every other week for many in those departments),” Rawson said. “Many employees are simply staying at home because they are not needed (e.g. dining employees), but they are being paid, as you know … Campus Safety is the only department that continues to be present on campus much as they were before.” Administrators are working from home, while teachers have the option of working in their classrooms. However, each teacher must be the sole occupant of their room.

At this time, D-Halls remain closed. “We will not be able to open Elm Street Dining Hall [on March

23], as we had hoped and planned,” Rawson wrote in an all-employee email. We are continuing to examine ways to provide for the safety of dining hall employee and ‘customers,’ with social distancing guidelines in mind. The earliest we would open would be April 6, but please do not count on that date. We recognize this may pose challenges for some families, and hope we will be able to help each other out as necessary.” As of today, the dining hall remains closed to Academy families.

The Post Office, another core service, has been running on a limited schedule. A morning driver, who arrives at 8:30 a.m., visits several sites on campus to make non-contact deliveries. The staff member then works in the Post Office until a designated time.

While some Campus Safety and Facilities Management staff do work on campus, administrative staff in those departments are telecommuting. “Those who can work from home are mandated to do so,” Director of Campus Safety Paul Gravel said. “Social distancing is mandatory. Meetings are being held remotely.”

Prior to a stay-at-home order by

Gov. Chris Sununu, Facilities Management operated with a portion of its staff on campus. However, some adjustments had to be made to accommodate the order. “Starting on March 30, Facilities Management will be operating with limited staff to provide only essential services,” Director of Facilities Management Mark Leighton said. “For those that need to be on campus to perform the essential services, we have very strict protocols such as social distancing and proper protective equipment.”

Despite these slight adjustments, Sununu’s stay-at-home order has had a minimal impact on the Academy. “In short, the order has not changed our behavior because we have already been meeting the expectations of the order through the various measures just described. But we did send out an email to all employees on Friday informing them of the order and reminding them of the importance of social distancing and the importance of adhering to mandatory telecommuting,” Rawson said. “Technically, the order is a stay-at-home order, not shelter in place, and you probably also noticed that it does not apply to K–12

information regarding testing was that it was very hard to come by, so the letter was written based on [the] best available information. It was then shared with many other communities, who joined the effort to support a shelter in place concept.”

On March 26, Governor of New Hampshire Chris Sununu introduced a stay-at-home order that closed most nonessential businesses, exempting grocery stores, pharmacies, gas stations, hardware stores, liquor stores, health care facilities, restaurants, news media, manufacturers, construction operations and breweries. However, Sununu has yet to introduce an order at the scale of shelter-in-place.

“Many of Exeter’s stores downtown are closed, maintaining reduced hours or operating online (e.g., the Water Street Bookstore),” Rawson said. “[It] is my hope that they will all be open when [students] return in the fall.”

Students voiced their appreciation for the Academy’s assistance to the town. “I think it was a good deed on the Academy’s part, especially since all of us Exonians are gone and the Health Center and other resources are up for use,” lower Christine Chung said. “Generous human actions are what really drives the world in hard times like these, and I’m thankful that PEA is offering even a little of their help to the people in Exeter.

The Academy is guided by its desire to assist the community at this time. Rawson said, “We want to be a positive presence and good partner in the Town of Exeter.”

schools. K–12 schools are closed by a separate executive order through May 4.”

For those working on- and off-campus, the Academy’s priority continues to be the health and safety of all Academy affiliates. “We are practicing social distancing very aggressively,” Rawson said.

English Instructor Alex Myers stressed that, at this time, extra scrutiny must be placed in determining whether staff members should work.

“I feel that Exeter can and should designate jobs that are ‘essential’ and have to be done in person and on-campus,” he said. “These should be carefully evaluated as truly necessary—mail has to be delivered, for instance. Campus Safety officers are needed for a variety of tasks.”

Additionally, History Instructor Betty Luther-Hilmman noted that, while faculty are permitted to work in academic spaces, social distancing was a priority. “I know that teachers were told we can work in our classrooms but by ourselves and to maintain physical distance from colleagues,” she said. “I think all teachers are either working from home or are working in their own classrooms, not in any other spaces.”

Rawson noted the Academy’s commitment to taking care of all students, faculty and staff. “I believe the strength and creativity of our students will match the dedication and commitment of our faculty, and combined we will have a successful spring term,” Rawson said.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Spring Restrictions In Effect From Home 4/9/2020

By EMMANUELLE BRINDAMOUR, TUCKER GIBBS and ANYA TANG The cancellation of an on-campus spring term has disrupted many areas of Exeter life, including the disciplinary response system for students.

With the constantly unfolding situation that is COVID-19, the Academy has changed many policies with the goal of decreasing both student and parental stress.

For the remainder of spring term, the administration has decided to eliminate additional attendance restrictions. However, restrictions will still be in effect for students who received them during winter term.

This change is a marked shift away from punitive discipline.

“What we have paused is differentiating between excused

and unexcused absences and the resulting punitive response of restrictions,” Dean of Student Health and Well-Being and Attendance Committee chair Gordon Coole said. “Those not reaching three touchpoints will have an interface with the Dean’s Office.

Our goal is to not penalize but support students who are unable to attend [classes].”

However, despite recent disciplinary changes in light of spring term, the Academy will still hold students accountable for attending each class’ three touchpoints weekly. “Student presence in classes is very important,” Coole said. “The minimum attendance policy remains in place.”

In addition to the change in attendance policy, the administration will rely on parents to determine appropriate action at home for students currently on restrictions.

An email sent to parents by

the Dean of Students Office listed the consequences that come with restrictions, and asked for assistance in carrying out an equivalent to restrictions on their kids.

“We ask that you take what you deem to be appropriate measures to meet the spirit of the conduct response in your home,” the email read.

The decision was made out of concern for students and parents. “We know families are facing a lot right now, so we have no particular expectations about how parents and guardians will manage this,” Dean of Residential Life Carol Cahalane said.

“We trust they will make the right choices for their children and their families. It is up to the students’ parents or guardians to determine what, if anything, they choose to do.”

The Academy expects that parents will be prepared to respond to the restrictions accordingly.

“The responses [to spring term restrictions] have all been positive, and I expect they will remain that way,” Coole said. “Disciplining children is part of the job of being a parent. Nothing new there.”

The decision to notify parents about remote restrictions mirrors the Academy’s approach to day students with restrictions. “This approach is very much like what we do when day students are placed on restrictions,” Cahalane said. “It has worked quite well.”

Many students see the new attendance process as a welcome relief from the stress caused by the pandemic. “I’m amped that attendance stricts aren’t a thing, because quarantine is like extended [restrictions],” senior Jasper Yu said. “It feels good not having to worry.”

Some students on restrictions questioned the effectiveness of the remote restrictions system.

“I’m just quite uncertain about the concept of [remote restrictions], especially during these trying times, I’m inside the house all day anyway,” lower Charles Favliena said. “My parents understand the circumstances under which I received them and are pretty chill about it.”

Other students raised concerns about the added stress of continuing restrictions this term.

Faculty Hiring Process Examined In Light of Religious and Spiritual Director Search 4/16/2020

By OTTO DO, MAXINE PARK and ANYA TANG As the Academy proceeds with its online spring term, hiring committees have turned to Zoom calls with prospective candidates in lieu of traditional on-campus visits. In the most notable example of this system, students and staff logged onto four digital Zoom conferences to provide their input remotely in the continuing search for the Academy’s next Director of Religious and Spiritual Life between April 2 and 7.

The hiring process for faculty remains largely unchanged despite the COVID-19 outbreak. Faculty seek to evaluate each candidate’s potential contributions to the campus with a set of certain criteria for each department, although those involved in the hiring process vary by department. The final selection process involves the Dean of Faculty Ellen Wolff, Director of Equity and Inclusion Stephanie Bramlett and Athletic Director David Hudson, who weigh candidates on additional criteria within their purview. Typically, the Academy provides opportunities for prospective candidates to visit campus.

For teaching faculty, the academic departments typically lead the hiring process. However, according to Principal William Rawson, the Dean of Students meets all candidates and the Principal makes the final decision.

The Principal’s involvement, however, may vary based on several factors. “Whether we are hiring internally for a position such as Dean of Students or externally for a position such as Director of Athletics, for most senior positions of a similar nature I am heavily involved in all aspects of the process, meet all candidates and make the final decision,” Rawson said. “Depending on the situation, I might rely heavily on a search committee, as I did with the search for a new Athletic Director.”

Several considerations are reviewed during the hiring process. “[This includes] the needs of the department, the needs of the school, the qualifications of the candidates, their commitment to the mission and values of the school and their interest in [being] a part of a residential school community,” Rawson said.

In dismissals of faculty, the Prin-

cipal typically would be involved, Rawson noted. He added that dismissed faculty usually do not receive severance pay.

While decision processes for most positions are restricted to administration and faculty, the Academy has tried to engage students in the current search for the new Director of Spiritual and Religious Life. Candidates Deanna Shorb, Mininder Kaur, Tyler Schwaller and Bonnie-Jeanne Casey were selected as finalists by a hiring committee led by Vice Principal Karen Lassey during the winter term.

In a series of meetings from April 2-7, students met and asked the four finalists questions over a group Zoom call. Prior to each meeting, Lassey sent the entire student body documents with each candidate’s curriculum vitae and cover letter by email.

Students who attended the Zoom group meetings were provided a survey where they could offer feedback and evaluate each candidate’s interpersonal and leadership skills, adaptability and relevant experience on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “Below Requirements” and 5 meaning “Exceptional / Outstanding”.

“I thought [the sessions] were effective since faculty created a space for the students to lead the questions while they listened in,” prep Fabriciana De Soriano said. “I felt honored to offer input on the candidates for the hiring process. I hope that my participation is a service to my fellow Exonians.”

As students are not on campus, the Academy attempted to schedule the meetings at a broadly-convenient time. “We realize that this may be challenging for some of you, depending on the time zone,” Lassey wrote in an all-school email. “If you are unable to attend and meet the candidates but would like to provide more general input on their candidacies, please feel free to reach out to Lauren Caldwell by email.”

Some student religious leaders were invited to meet with the candidates in smaller group settings.

“Our organization was provided the opportunity to meet with candidates on their respective days to have a discussion about what they could offer to Exeter as a religious leader,” lower and Hindu Society co-head Milan Gandhi said. “I felt that I was aptly and appropriately involved,

but I wished that the Hiring Committee had sent a form to ask which candidate we liked best in addition to the form that they gave.”

However, students from other organizations desired to be more closely involved throughout the search process. “Although I understand that certain opportunities were presented for the entire student body to provide input, I wish that our religious organizations were more intentionally consulted at the beginning of the process,” upper and cohead of Christian Fellowship Sarah Huang said.

“In many ways, the [Director of Spiritual and Religious Life] impacts our communities the most. As religious boarding school students, many of us face unique difficulties in practicing our religions as we lose access to our places of worship at home, as well as our communities of faith,” Huang said.

Some students noted Interim Director of Religious Service Reverend Heidilee Heath’s legacy and the hole that will be left by her departure. “I cannot stress enough how safe and welcomed it made me feel to walk onto a campus with a married, queer femme Chaplain as a new lower coming from a not-so-accepting high school,” senior Alisha Simmons said. “I’ve struggled so much with accepting my identity, pushing religion and spirituality away in the process and almost being afraid of churches. However, because of her, Phillips Church became one of my safe spaces on campus, and that’s something I never thought would ever happen.” Given Heath’s record during her tenure, Simmons questioned why Heath was not included among the final candidates.

Others wondered if her successor would embody the role as she did.

“I don’t know if our next Religious and Spiritual Life Director will live up to the example Reverend Heath has left behind,” upper and Catholic Exonians co-head Stephen McNulty added. “I’d say that all four candidates seem capable, and some left a particular impact on me, but they will have a tough, tough job ahead of them.”

Students hope that the new Director will continue Reverend Heidi’s work with inclusion and intersectionality on campus. “I am looking for a Religious Director who will actively support all faiths, embody the morals and values of the

Academy and brings positive energy to campus to connect with and make all students feel welcome,” De Soriano said.

Director of Equity and Inclusion Dr. Stephanie Bramlett has worked closely with Dean of Faculty Ellen Wolff and Director of Human Resources Rachel Henry to develop diverse candidate pools. “We added cultural competency as a key accountability in every job description, and we encourage departments to do a hiring workshop where they learn about equitable hiring practices,” Bramlett said. “We ask [candidates] to define cultural competency, tell us about experiences when they have demonstrated cultural competency, give them case study situations and ask them to respond and tell us examples of when their cultural competency has been challenged.”

For academic departments looking to hire, the process begins with an open and formal search. According to Mathematics Department Chair Gwyneth Coogan, the department posts “a job opening announcement in many places including our own website, the [National Association of Independent Schools] website, Carney Sandoe, the Jobs Board at the [American Mathematical Society,” among others.

In these posts, the Math Department describes “the work that goes into teaching math at a boarding school,” as well as department qualifications and the school’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Interested candidates send a “resume and cover letter for a six-person committee to review,” Coogan said.

After a round of questioning, the department selects a group of finalists, who are invited to visit campus.

“Since we had at least three jobs for next year, we invited seven people to campus,” Coogan said. Selected candidates stay overnight in Exeter to go to dorm duty in two dorms and have breakfast with the department’s hiring committee.

From there, they visit four or five classes and meet with the whole math department. In most cases, prospective instructors meet with Wolff, Dean of Students Brooks Moriarty and Bramlett. Additionally, candidates with athletic experience meet with Hudson. After the candidates visit, the Department makes a recommendation to Wolff.

Candidate criteria go beyond

37

“I do not think it is fair to put an added burden on parents to enforce restrictions on their child.

Moreover, I think this form of discipline would be applied inconsistently,” Community Conduct Committee member Graham Guité said. “[Restrictions are] unexpected given the attempts the deans have made, such as passfail and asynchronous learning, to reduce responsibility and stress on students’ and parents’ lives.”

“I do not feel that discipline methods should be enforced this term, given the anxiety that these uncertain times cause students,” Guité continued. “If discipline must be enforced, however, I would have suggested carrying stricts over to fall term.”

Coole noted that the Academy’s non-punitive approach stems from the unique circumstances of the term. “I spent a fair amount of yesterday reaching out to students who had missed classes Thursday and Friday, wanting to understand their situation, hear their story, so Exeter can exhaust ways to support them. There were stories of personal family troubles, of illness, of poor internet connectivity, of forced quarantine,” Coole said. “Punitive measures do not address these real life issues, only understanding and compassion.”

qualities expected from their respective departments and often evaluate aspects such as community involvement or sports coaching experience.

According to Art Department Chair Carla Collins, the Art Department looks at qualities such as the “number of years and type of teaching experience, cultural competency, skills, passion for working with teenagers, knowledge in diverse art mediums that we need teachers to teach, teaching experience at the high school level, education in art history and contemporary art, interests in [advising] clubs, serving on committees and coaching sports.”

The Classics Department approaches hiring candidates differently. “We don’t have a checklist of essential criteria. We look at each candidate’s overall record and try to think about ways in which they can advance the mission of the department and the Academy,” Classics Department Chair Matthew Hartnett said. “They have to know Latin, of course. Beyond that, we look for traits and qualities that seem well suited to the lively and sometimes unpredictable nature of a Harkness class and the campus as whole.”

The Academy’s hiring process for its Principal operates differently, involving Exeter’s trustees.

“The Trustees hire only one person at the Academy, and that person is the Principal,” President of Trustees John “Tony” Downer said. “The Academy’s bylaws confer that responsibility upon the Trustees, and the Principal is the only member of the Academy community who reports directly and exclusively to the Trustees.”

Similarly, new staff positions at the Academy must also be approved by the trustees. “In the event that the hire is for a newly-created position, because every new position has a material and long lasting impact on the Academy’s budget, the trustees must approve the administration’s request to create the new position,” Downer said. “In this case, the trustees do not opine on or approve who gets hired, but rather, the trustees’ approval to hire someone for the new created position is required.”

Most importantly, trustees are involved in maintaining diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the Academy’s hiring process. “The trustees work with the Principal to ensure that, in the hiring process, the Academy’s priority on the core value of diversity, equity and inclusion is fully felt and fully taken into consideration any time anyone is hired,” Downer said. “Progress in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion does not simply happen by itself. It requires attention, intention and deliberate focus, and we work with the Principal to make sure that the community is aware of the importance of this goal.”

Even as students and staff are adapting to the online spring term, the Academy’s hiring process has changed to involving community feedback in their hiring process, something students are grateful for.

“Obviously Zoom is not perfect,” McNulty said. “But it’s still a chance to get to meet [the candidates], and I’m still grateful for it.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Independent Exeter Student Relief Fund Open For Donations 5/1/2020

By MOKSHA AKIL, ANYA TANG and CLARK WU As the Exeter community adjusts to the online term, Exonians face unprecedented financial obstacles. While some worry about Zoom logistics, others must find ways to support their families to pay rent, purchase food or meet other needs. To mitigate this issue, seniors Benjamin Cai and Gannon McCorkle hope to launch an independently-financed Independent Exeter Student Relief Fund with donations from students and alumni.

To advocate for this fund, Cai and McCorkle conducted an anonymous survey of students and alumni over the past few weeks. Promoted through Instagram and Facebook, their survey gathered 143 responses and gauged common issues low-income students face. Popular responses included “food insecurity,” “rent/mortgage” and “healthcare/health insurance.”

Over a quarter of survey respondents reported “mental health challenges.”

According to McCorkle’s message in the survey, Cai and himself “creat[ed] this PEA COVID-19 Affected Community Survey to get a better sense of the needs of our community.”

Their project “was inspired by a similar fund at Dartmouth College that has successfully raised more $15,000 from alumni, faculty, classmates, and friends and supported 25+ vulnerable students,” McCorkle wrote. Cai and

McCorkle aim to raise at least $10,000 to leave a similar impact on the Exeter community.

This fund will be named after the senior class as one class gift to the Academy’s students.

“We’re going to tentatively call it the Class of 2020 Exeter Student COVID-19 Fund,” Cai said.

Working with several other current Exonians from a range of backgrounds, Cai and McCorkle are finalizing administrative negotiations and have begun to reach out to those in the Exeter network. The group has also written a handbook, “one that allows people to track grants, donate, request funds, see FAQ, data, and more,” Cai said.

They have identified Paypal as their primary method of collecting funds. “Right now, we’re forming a committee of current Exonians who are going to be in charge of taking in requests and saying who gets funding. Gannon’s already set up the PayPal and has linked to it,” Cai said.

“Our highest priorities are housing and medical bills and the rest is sort of to be determined.” The committee will also use Alipay and WeChat to collect international families’ donations.

As of April 30th, The group has already amassed a total of almost $2400 from the Chinese student family WeChat group and a committee member’s WeChat subscription account. PayPal has thus far raised $850, a figure expected to rise after the committee launches their major funding campaign on Instagram this Friday.

The process for acquiring

funds is designed to protect student confidentiality while remaining accessible. “The form request process is a simple Google Form.

The student, on behalf of their family, will request X amount [of money]. Then, they will describe their situation as much as they’re comfortably possible with, and they don’t have to put their name on the form,” Cai said. “It’s supposed to maintain their anonymity as much as possible. If they’re not comfortable with writing out their situation, they can also just call one of our representatives.

The rest of the form is just logistics, like if they’ve asked for funding from the school.”

To ensure the security of the funds and accountability of the applicants, the committee has “decided to add three PEA-specific questions to verify eligibility. We also keep track of where the money is going to via the transfer method specified by the applicant,” Cai shared. “Requests for sums greater than $500 will also be contacted by a representative.”

Additionally, to increase transparency of the project, a spreadsheet will be available to the public with types of grants given, but without any identifying information.

McCorkle and Cai met with Principal Bill Rawson on April 13, presenting the survey’s findings and discussing Exeter’s ability to support low-income students. “The school does have funds available, like the Experience Exeter fund, that are specifically dedicated to the educational expenses, which goes pretty far,”

Cai said. “Let’s say you need glasses for your classes—that technically would count as an educational expense.”

However, Cai noted that these funds do have their limitations. “We asked the school, if a student’s family is struggling with rent, if the school can do anything about it. To our understanding, the school doesn’t have the infrastructure, so they don’t have people to verify or review requests for personal hardships.

They can’t cover any rent,” he said.

Despite the limitations to existing school funds, Rawson stated the Academy is unable to create its own Relief Fund at this time. “Thought was given to creating a COVID-19 student relief fund so alumni with interest could contribute to the added educational expenses related to the public health crisis,” Principal Rawson said. “We did not do this because we already had a fund to support school-related expenses that interested persons could donate to, and we did not want to give the false impression that we are in a position to address personal, family needs unrelated to attending Exeter.”

Cai expressed his understanding of the school’s position but voiced concerns for the low-income community. “I don’t necessarily think it’s the school’s responsibility to act as a social security net. But you could make the argument that [rent] is an educational expense. If a student is learning online and about to be evicted for whatever reason, they’re going to be behind,” he

Town and Academy Respond to ‘Zoombombings’

4/30/2020

By OTTO DO, JEANNIE EOM and TINA HUANG In light of the coronavirus pandemic and new uses of video conferencing, cyber attacks called “Zoombombings” have targeted educational and municipal institutions. Through security flaws in Zoom and publicly available meeting links, individuals have entered private or public meetings and projected inappropriate or vulgar messages and imagery.

One such instance occurred in a recent town meeting. On April 13, the Exeter Select Board met via Zoom. In accordance to 91a laws, which require virtual forums to be accessible to all, the meeting invitation was available to the public. Approximately 45 minutes in, an intruder disrupted the Zoom video call with por-

nographic images and hateful language.

According to Town IT Director Robert Glowacky, the perpetrator—a pre-teen male—not only “yelled racial and homophobic slurs” but continued to “show their bare bottom on camera.”

Community members, including children, had been participating in the call, and Exeter TV, the town’s public access channel, was broadcasting the forum live.

Exeter Police traced the caller’s IP address to Seattle, Washington. Investigations continue.

Exeter Select Board Chair Niko Papakonstantis condemned all offensive behavior on Zoom, apologizing to those who witnessed the town’s intrusion. “I think that anybody who is directly or indirectly the subject of such hateful language and actions would feel angry, upset and violated. As Chair of the Select

10M users to 200M users almost overnight, [meaning that] their support and sales teams have been almost completely inaccessible.”

Though this was the first “bombing” of an Exeter town meeting, faculty at the Academy have reported similar interruptions. Modern Languages Instructor Katherine Fair encountered a non-Academy affiliated individual in one of her classes. “I had one ‘Zoombomber’ in a class early in the term,” she said. “The legitimate members of the group all recognized the intrusion pretty much simultaneously, and I simply closed and re-opened the meeting and finished the class.”

Such instances may lead to severe consequences. “In the event that an attack is particularly egregious, we can press federal and state charges,” Heffner said.

Sabrina KearneyThe Exonian “That’d be a last resort and would only be done after consulting with Board, I accept the responsibility the school administration and lethat this incident occurred,” he gal counsel.” Exeter Police Chief said. Originally, moderators as- Stephan Poulin told the Exeter pired to fully mimic the free na- News-letter that formal charges ture of in-person discussions by will be considered for the perpeallowing participants to unmute trator of the town meeting attack. at will.

While some incidents may be After the incident, Glowacky attributed to public sharing of acknowledged that a free partic- meeting invitations, others are ipation Zoom was not the best the result of lax security protocourse of action. He explained cols with Zoom. The University that virtual meetings provide a of Toronto recently published a unique opportunity to agitators. report indicating major flaws in “In a real meeting in the Nowak the security encryption of Zoom’s Room, outbursts like this could cloud-based meetings. Zoom prehappen, but people wouldn’t be viously apologized on a blog for able to hide behind the anonym- overstating their security properity provided by the internet,” ties.

Glowacky said.

In response to these instances, Academy Director of Tech- the Academy Information Technology Services Scott Heffner nology Department and Zoom stressed that local officials were have tightened security. “IT in a difficult position. “Like the quickly found a solution: they rest of us, the town has had to be- now have us set meetings only come Zoom security experts in a to accept people with an Exeter hurry,” he said. “Zoom grew from email address. I haven’t had any

said.

Peers schools have launched similar campaigns to organize financial support systems for their students—Choate Rosemary Hall is one prominent example.

“Inspired by the work of Gannon and Ben, the Choate Student Council is currently approaching our school’s administration to explore the development of a similar relief aid fund,” Choate Student Council President Ula Lucas said. “Many members of the Choate community, both as individuals and through student organizations, have established COVID-19 related aid campaigns.”

Deerfield Academy has also developed such initiatives, working with their student council and administration. “The student community has set up many COVID-19 relief efforts, including an organization called Shielding Our Defenders to help donate N95 masks,” Deerfield Student Council President Kareena Bhakta said. “The student council has been in close contact with the administration who has been open to hearing and implementing our ideas to the best of their abilities.”

Cai hopes that, in this difficult time, the community will rally around those who need it.

“I think it’s sometimes too easy at Exeter to forget that you have a lot of kids that do come from working class backgrounds and they don’t have stable income,” he said. “Every dollar counts.

This is a great opportunity for us to come together as a community in the spirit of non sibi.”

other invasions since, and we’re all hoping that the fix will continue to do the trick,” Fair said. For its part, Zoom has made “waiting rooms” for calls a default setting.

The Academy has also instituted investigation and mitigation systems in the event of further ‘Zoombombings.’ “We take Zoom audit logs, track down the Internet Service Providers for the attackers and submit formal complaints with those companies,” Heffner said. “We follow up with the faculty member who reported the incident and work with them to secure their future classes. We include legal counsel on all communications and provide updates to the Dean of Students Office as appropriate.” Such investigations occur over one or two hours under the direction of an individual staff member within the department.

While meetings are ideal for Harkness learning, Heffner noted that Zoom webinar licenses are more secure. “The webinar license restricts attendees from doing things like sharing their cameras, unmuting themselves and sharing their desktops. Those licenses are more expensive,” he said.

From now on, the town will use such webinars. “By going to webinars, we’re still allowing public participation, but in a much more controlled and filtered way… [We are in a] better position to respond going forward,” Glowacky said.

Town Manager Russ Dean noted that additional security measures will also be enforced.

“We plan to closely scan for strange IP addresses. The system can’t be 100% locked down, but we feel as though we’ve made as many adjustments as we can,” Dean said. The Town of Exeter will continue to meet the public participation standard.

Similarly, the Academy remains committed to ensuring that virtual classes are safe spaces for students. “As we investigate and gather our evidence, we work on containment, eradication and recovery,” Heffner said. “The goal is to make sure no further damage is done and then get [everything] back to normal.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

39

Amid Pandemic, Low-Income Families Face Unique Burdens 4/30/2020

By OTTO DO, JEANNIE EOM and TINA HUANG “Exeter is everything to me.

It means a bed to sleep on, three full meals a day and complete freedom from the concerns of financial security. In many ways, residential life is a great equalizer. Exeter allows me to focus on academics, rather than surviving. You ask what resources and opportunities it gives me… What doesn’t it give me?” upper Jaekeb Harper, who identifies as low-income, said.

Many low-income students are in a position similar to Harper’s. Under local shelterin-place orders, families face unique financial difficulties.

To ease the financial stresses many families face, the Academy has offered extensive assistance and financial aid for those without adequate access to steady wireless connection.

Additionally, Exeter has created a “touchpoint” system in order to accommodate students across all time zones. “[We anticipate that] many low-income students will be spending the term in places with limited space, food and privacy and dealing with unique stresses that will make online learning difficult. On top of that, the nature of the businesses that are closing due to COVID-19 are those that will disproportionately affect low-income students,” lower Mali Rauch and Harper, co-heads of the Association of Low-Income Exonians, said in a statement to The Exonian.

International Students face unique financial challenges in light of the coronavirus. “I had to scramble to find places to stay in the U.S. as I didn’t want to fly home and then back again,” senior Mai Hoang said. “[Currently,] I’m remaining in

the U.S. with friends.”

Lack of space and privacy poses a particular concern for some Exonians, as they must contend with distracting learning environments and assume additional responsibilities in their homes. “I face privacy issues. In neither household do I have a room, a bed or anything at all, actually. Everything I own is currently in my dorm room, leaving me with just five pairs of clothes and my laptop,” Harper said.

Rauch shared her similar living situation. “Since moving out, I no longer have a room, a closet or a permanent bed,” she said. “I will be sleeping on a mattress on the living room floor and have no clue where I will be able to work in quiet.”

With more people staying home, several families have experienced financial strain due to the rising household grocery bill. “My family relies on my siblings and I getting at least one meal at school every day, and the cost of groceries for a family of six eating three meals a day at home is a large financial stress,” Rauch explained.

“My family has already had to resort to food banks, which are starting to close due to the pandemic,” Harper said.

Some students have started working full-time to support their families and help relieve their financial hardship. “Before I left for school, I would occasionally work at ChickFil-A,” senior Gannon McCorkle said. “Now, I’m working full time to help my family.

My parents are facing some financial issues, which adds stress.”

Rauch and Harper said that Exeter has already reached out with financial assistance and internet access resources, along with access to textbooks and school materials. “Additional financial aid was provided to financial aid students based on

[the] level of need to support unanticipated expenses associated with distance learning,” Interim Chief Financial Office Marijka Beauchesne said. Finding solutions for individual circumstances remains the Academy’s top concern.

Director of Technology Services Charles Heffner agreed, noting that the Information Technology Department does not have a “one-size fits all solution” to address the technological needs of all students.

According to Heffner, 29 students have reached out for assistance. The Academy’s efforts have been largely supported by the fact that “internet connections are often possible through free Internet service provided by Comcast, Spectrum or Optimum Cable, [among others].” In addition to providing internet access, Heffner noted that the Academy has provided “a stipend as part of the standard financial aid package for students who cannot afford computers on their own.”

“The Administration has been incredibly supportive in their efforts [to support the needs of larger families], allowing us the freedom to help families in the best way possible on a case-by-case basis,” Heffner said. “The IT team takes great pride in helping the Academy to support our students in this way.”

Rauch acknowledged the Academy’s efforts. “I have been mailed some important documents from my room, have access to a wonderful advisor and have flexible teachers who understand my circumstances,” she said. “Of course, the Academy can’t pay for groceries or bills, but in my opinion, they have done a pretty great job doing what they can. I can say with certainty that my academic needs, at least, are being met.”

The Academy’s asynchro-

nous system has also provided necessary support. Following the announcement of a virtual spring term, McCorkle reached out to teachers about his family’s situation. “It’s hard to be on time to class. I emailed my teachers, and they took a step forward and sent my advisor an email. After, the administration came to me and started sending out forms. I think I was probably one of the first kids who asked for that,” McCorckle recalled. “They realized, ‘Wow, he’s probably not the only kid facing something like this.’”

Distance learning not only affects low-income students financially—mental health services have been disrupted as well. During the regular session, the Academy’s Health Center provided easy-access and free counseling, but with the decision to move online, a letter from Director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) Szu-Hui Lee recommended that “caregivers make appointments with a local mental health professional.”

To ensure a smooth transition, CAPS counselors will be available to inform local therapists. However, the transition has proved difficult. “Now, when I feel my mental health is most at risk, I can no longer access my old providers and really can’t afford to find new ones here at home,” Rauch said.

Though the Academy has recently made strides to accommodate students in various time zones and support its low-income students, Harper believes that further discussion is necessary. To best support students, Harper suggested that the Academy “reach out to low-income students directly and simply ask what that student needs. The Deans have asked ALIE to find as much of that information as possible, but we are not going to pretend to know every low-income stu-

Academy Offers Prorated Tuition Refund 4/16/2020

By JEANNIE EOM, MINSEO KIM and ATHENA WANG As a school that prides itself on educating youth from every quarter, Exeter’s community must grapple with the coronavirus pandemic in different ways. Exonians experience unique financial circumstances, and some families are facing hardships due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Financial Aid department is currently supporting several families by providing Visa gift cards as a form of financial support.

Earlier this month, parents were notified via email of a partial housing tuition refund option for boarding families.

Based on the amount of tuition a family pays, the prorated amount is a third of the difference between the boarding and day tuition. Families were given the option to apply the refund to tuition for the next

academic year.

For a family paying full tuition, the refund would amount to 4,201 dollars.

The Academy also allowed parents to decline their refunds or donate them back to the school. The Academy noted that it is “continuing to pay all [its] employees for their regularly scheduled hours through the spring term, even if they are not able to work, to support them through the public health crisis and associated financial crisis.”

Donations of money will be contributed to the Exeter Fund, Chief Financial Officer Marijka Beauchesne said.

The Exeter Fund is “an annual fund that raises dollars for unrestricted or general expenses of the Academy, including expenses like a portion of employee payroll benefits, maintenance, dorm renovations, et cetera. The Exeter Fund assists the Academy in covering any expenses which are not covered by tuition, endowment

or other restricted funds,” she said. As such, declining or donating the refund or donating will assist the Academy in supporting its employees. All options regarding the prorated tuition refund can be exercised through a link sent to parents.

Many parents agreed that the Academy’s refund option is a pragmatic way to assist Academy families under financial pressures at this time.

“Not all parents can telework or have alternative financial options to sustain them through this outbreak,” Kristi Odums P’23 said.

Students, too, voiced their support for this policy, noting that students would not benefit from many of the Academy’s resources this term. “We think this partial refund is appropriate because we aren’t in the school and using its facilities, like the library, dining hall, dorms,” prep Grace Nivera said. “Everyone is affected in this unexpected situation, and they shouldn’t have to pay

such an exorbitant price for sitting at home and attending class without any access to any of the other opportunities the Exeter experience promised when we chose to go to this school.”

“Personally, this tuition refund has really helped my family. I think it will help others, too,” Nivera said.

Parents of the Academy have noted their gratitude for the administration’s efforts to promote equity for all families. Sandy Zhang P’22 planned to donate the tuition refund to the Exeter Fund.

“We think the school is very thoughtful to have this refund, and we are grateful that the school has done a wonderful job during the break to support the parents and students. We also want to help the school in this difficult situation so they can continue to support students from less fortunate families,” she said. “As far as I know, many Chinese parents are doing the same thing: they

dent in the school. I’d like to see the school have advisors of low-income students reach out and have a conversation.”

More than ever, Rauch feels that Exeter is a “truly special” place. “Exeter provided me with a community that really cared for me and met my needs,” Rauch said. “The school gave me three wonderful meals a day, a room with a bed, hot water and other basics.

I had equal opportunity unhindered by my family’s status. I had a stable living environment without the chaos of three siblings, a dog and divorced parents under the same roof. I never had to worry about cooking or the grocery bill.”

As co-heads of ALIE, Harper and Rauch are doing all they can to support Exonians facing financial challenges, holding regular video calls with self-identified lower income students. “We are working on sending out a school wide email to let all students know that whether they have previously engaged with the affinity group, that we (and our advisors) are here for all low-income Exonians during this stressful time,” they said.

“We want to gather information about what low-income Exonians feel that they need, so that we can communicate with administration, students and alumni in an effort to provide more concrete support.”

During this difficult time, Harper hoped for compassion from friends and peers alike.

“The largest part friends play in a low-income student’s life—particularly at a wealthy school like Exeter—is sharing compassion, not pity,” he said.

“I would urge students to reach out to their low-income friends and check in on them; simply show them you care. Just be sure not to let the fact that they are low-income define any part of your friendship.”

are going to donate the money instead of taking the refund.”

Other families cited the same reasons for donation to the Academy. “We know that, in some ways, the school is still running, and we want to support Exeter.” prep Priya Nwakanma added.

In contrast, some students criticized the inequity of the prorated tuition refund option, given that students on aid receive less. While the tuition refund is a helpful support system, the tuition families pay per year is depleted by the end of fall term, the remaining two being fully funded by donations. “It’s unfair to have tuition refunds since tuition ‘runs out’ early in the year,” prep John Smith* said. Smith receives full financial aid from the Academy and received $300 in a gift card from the Academy.

Financial hardships due to the coronavirus pandemic may impose a difficult burden for many Exeter families, and the Academy’s efforts to take part in mitigating the situation have largely been positively received by the community. As spring term progresses and the pandemic situation evolves, families can expect to see more measures to support students—financially or otherwise.

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Four Years in Review

Prep Year

By LOUIS MUKUMA Transformative Changes to Campus The Class of 2020 arrived on campus in a time of tremendous change. The summer before the 2016-17 school year saw the completion of the Forrestal-Bowld Music Center and the demolition of the Thompson Cage, which, treasured since its erection in 1929, had grown dilapidated past the point of practicality and safety.

In its stead, the Academy began construction of the 85,574-square foot Thompson Field House.

Furthermore, Amen Hall and the third floor of the library were refurbished and preparation for the construction of the Goel Center for Theater and Dance, completed and opened in the 2018-19 school year, began.

First Female Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Appointed In addition to the construction projects that year, campus also underwent more subtle changes.

Reverend Heidilee Heath joined the Exeter community, taking over the duties of Reverend Robert Thompson in Phillips Church.

As Chaplain and Interim Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, Heath led weekly Protestant service, Mediation and Evening Prayer. Heath, who departs Exeter this spring, was the first woman and LGBTQ+ community member to serve in her position.

Academic Changes Take Place To offer students greater support, the faculty inaugurated the Writing Center, a collaboration

between the English, History and Religion Departments. Participating faculty offered Exonians on essays, narratives and meditations. The Center, to the dismay of many students, closed this year, largely due to a lack of additional pay for participation.

The Academy also updated course numberings to reflect their rigors, clearing up confusion within and outside the Exeter community that arose from inconsistency across departments. Many lamented the loss of infamous course numbers, such as History 333.

Community Grapples with Sexual Assault In the seniors’ prep year, the community continued to deal with the aftermath of Exeter’s history with sexual assault. Two Boston Globe articles, published the previous summer, revealed that the Academy had mishandled a student’s allegations of sexual misconduct. Students and alumni voiced varying opinions on the adequacy and efficacy of Exeter’s efforts.

As is done each summer, the E Book was reviewed and revised.

Students who leave an illegal visitation out of concern for their personal safety are now protected from disciplinary action. The role of Principal’s Discretion in sexual misconduct cases was also clarified and expanded—Principal’s Discretion was later eliminated in the 2019-2020 school year.

Student Body Mobilizes for Social Justice Widespread engagement in activism and protest characterized the Class of 2020’s first year at

The Bowld at night.

Exeter. The Feminist Union (Fem Club) played a leading role in this charge, encouraging students to raise their voices on a host of issues. That year, Fem Club arranged for 44 students to travel to the Women’s March in Boston the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

As 2016 was a general election year, campus political clubs also worked to have their voices heard.

Throughout the year, the Democractic Club attended political dinners across New Hampshire, volunteered for phone banking sessions and canvassed the town of Exeter, knocking on doors and reminding people to vote. Dem Club also took students to Bernie Sanders’ and Hilary Clinton’s rallies in town.

ALES Protest In May, the Afro-Latinx Exonian Society (ALES) released a video, showcasing four students

Lower Year

Principal Lisa McFarlane resigned this year.

By LINA HUANG All-Gender Housing Implemented The Academy’s first all-gender housing programs were implemented in Williams and Kirtland Houses. A faculty task force had worked towards making this housing option available for several years, intent on meeting the needs of students without regard for gender expression, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation.

Both houses adjusted to using gender-inclusive language and instituted a unique visitations policy, in which students of all gender identities and expressions were allowed to visit as long as room doors remained open. Dorm Heads Courtney Marshall and Christina Breen also developed a curriculum designed around gender identity, including art exhibits, speakers and a spring symposium to ensure a smooth transition to all-gender housing.

Center for Theater and Dance and Thompson Field House Constructed Throughout the school year and summer, Exeter’s Department of Facilities Management constructed the new David and Stacy Goel Center for Theater and Dance, continued work on the Thompson Field House and renovated the entrance to Love Gym. The Goel Center opened at the beginning of the Class of 2020’s upper year, and the new Field House and parking garage were completed in the winter term of their lower year. The facilities team also updated lighting in the Lamont Gallery and altered Williams and Kirtland Houses to suit their new purposes.

The Center for Theatre and Dance measures 63,000 square feet and replaced Fisher Theatre as the Academy’s performing arts space.

The Field House replaced Thompson Cage, demolished in 2016, and measures 67,000 square feet to accomodate a 200-meter track, four

Reina Matsumoto/The Exonian tennis courts, a wrestling room and two batting cages. The Academy also constructed a 169-car parking garage beneath the Thompson Field House.

Academy Reaches Memorandum of Understanding In the aftermath of highly publicized sexual assault allegations, the Academy reached a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Exeter Police Department (EPD) and sexual assault advocacy organization HAVEN in September.

The MOU stipulates that any and all suspected acts of sexual assault, regardless of legal classification or timing, must be reported to New Hampshire’s Division for Children, Youth and Families and/or the EPD. The MOU also requires that PEA not undertake any investigation on reported incidents until cleared by a representative of the EPD. The MOU additionally established better support systems for sexual assault victims. HAVEN

Courtesy of the Communications Office of color’s anonymously-submitted experiences with racism and discrimination on campus. ALES presented the video at faculty meeting on June 1, the last day of the year, and a required school assembly was called in response.

Controversy erupted when ALES members were not granted the opportunity to speak at the assembly and the video was not shown. Instead, Interim Chaplain Heath led the community in an apologetic prayer.

Dissatisfied by the hasty response, which failed to address ALES’s concerns, nearly 60 students staged a sit-in at Principal Lisa MacFarlane’s office. These students held a conversation with MacFarlane on the progress Exeter needed to make in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

A proposal was submitted to the administration, with the plan that it be implemented in the summer of 2017 and the 2017-2018 school year.

Student Council Election Tampered With The initial election of the 20172018 StuCo Executive Board was voided after administrators and StuCo advisors discovered evidence of election irregularities, including ballot tampering. Jackson Parrell ‘18, Tim Han ‘18, and Elizabeth Yang ’19 had been elected President, Vice President, and Secretary, respectively.

Because a full re-election was not possible (the Class of 2017 had already graduated), the decision was made that every candidate who made it through the primaries was allowed to serve in the roles for which they campaigned.

Parrell and Menat Bahnasy ‘18 served as Co-Presidents, Han and Michael Bamah ‘18 as Co-Vice Presidents, and Yang, Michaela Phan ‘19 and Tara Weil ‘19 as Co-Secretaries. The Executive Board now permanently includes two co-secretaries.

agreed to make 24-hour crisis hotline services available to PEA students and employees, provide confidential crisis information, counseling, information and referral and accompaniment to medical and legal services as requested by students and employees. The Academy also agreed to provide training to PEA staff about HAVEN resources that are available to student and employee victims and reporting procedures for victims who wish to access HAVEN services.

privatize her Instagram account. received from several Exeter students prompted her to make her public Instagram account private.

“I have received many hate filled, transphobic and racist remarks and comments from PEA students,” Hunter told The Exonian at the time. “Some are trolling me on social media using very disparaging and hurtful language. My pictures have been stolen, and they are making fake accounts with them.”

Conway Releases Rockingham Files In December, the Rockingham County Attorney released over 900 pages of investigative documents, detailing allegations of misconduct at the Academy dating back to the 1950s. County Attorney Patricia Conway released the documents to Seacoast Media Group under New Hampshire’s Right-to-Know statute (91-A), and reports revealed identifying information about victims, whistleblowers and accused perpetrators whose confidentiality the school and the Exeter Police Department (EPD) had worked together to protect.

After the release of the documents, Exeter’s legal representatives contacted Conway, arguing that more information should have been redacted. They also proposed specific redactions the County Attorney’s Office might make in the interest of protecting victims and minors. Conway informed the Academy of her commitment to honor the redactions they requested.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day MLK Day celebrations at Exeter marked the arrival of trans-activist and keynote speaker Lourdes Ashley Hunter, co-founder of the Trans Women of Color Collective.

Her address, concerning the experiences of transgender women of color, contained profanity and the public naming of a faculty member who posted statistics on his classroom door in response to information presented at the MLK Day Preview Assembly.

At a workshop that day, Hunter disparaged a student for a question concerning “white supremacy’s relation to other forms of structural oppression,” The Exonian reported.

Despite the student’s apology for the question, Hunter refused to acknowledge cisgender, white males in the room. Another student raised a question about Hunter’s role as an educator, which was taken with offense.

In response, several Exeter students left comments on Hunter’s social media, prompting her to

Affirmative Consent Policy Established In May, Director of Student Well-Being Christina Palmer and General Counsel Holly Barcroft drafted an addendum to the E Book to emphasize affirmative consent.

The draft defined affirmative consent as “a knowing, voluntary and mutual decision among all participants to participate in sexual activity,” setting it as the standard for all sexual activity at Exeter.

Palmer and Barcroft presented the new definition during a faculty meeting, and faculty supported the addendum with a near-unanimous vote. Barcroft also assured that extensive training on affirmative consent for faculty, staff and students would be planned for the upcoming year.

MacFarlane Steps Down After a three-year term, Principal Lisa MacFarlane announced her intention to depart the Academy, returning to her previous position at the University of New Hampshire.

In preparation for MacFarlane’s departure, the Board of Trustees announced a search for an interim principal to serve through the next school year, intending to introduce a new principal in the permanent position the year after. The Trustees hoped the interim principal would play a key role in the transition and address current problems including racism and equity.

Among three candidates, Director of Student Well-Being Christina Palmer, Head of the Doane Stuart School Pamela Clarke and former Academy trustee and alumnus William Rawson ’71, the Trustees chose Rawson to take on the interim position.

ALES Celebrates 50 Years Black and Latinx alumni returned to campus to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Afro-Latinx Exonian Society (ALES). Thee Smith ’69, Claudia Cruz ’96, Lauren Wilson ’17 and Kelvin Green II ’18, along with then-seniors Charlotte Polk ‘18 and Athena Stenor ‘18, spoke at a school-wide assembly.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020 lack of student input, Tara Weil ‘19 and Paul James ‘19 hosted an Evening Performance during the Tuesday slot to protest the decision. Due to the community opposition, EP was moved to Friday evening, to mixed reception by students.

Upper Year

William Rawson Appointed School’s Sixteenth Principal In January, just as a nationwide search was to begin, then-President of the Trustees John Downer announced the Academy’s decision to make William Rawson Exeter’s permanent principal. Before making the decision, the trustees solicited feedback from some faculty, Deans’ Council and alumni. In his first speech as permanent Principal, Rawson outlined his aim to improve the school’s agenda on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

After Rawson’s appointment, some alumni, faculty and students felt that not enough effort was put into the search.

Exonians protest sexual assault.

By MOKSHA AKIL Phelps Academy Center Renamed The Academy Center, previously known as the Phelps Academy Center, was renamed the Elizabeth Phillips Academy Center to honor Elizabeth Phillips’ role in establishing the school and she was officially named a cofounder at the opening assembly.

Academy Trials New Schedule In the fall term of the Class of 2020’s upper year, the Academy premiered a trial schedule, among one of many proposed by a committee of faculty members. The schedule, which centralized sports to G/H Formats and included several Community Times on Wednesdays, received mix responses from

JaQ Lai/The Exonian the community. Administration used Community Times for an affirmative consent workshop and a Halloween costume contest, among other activities.

Abuse Report Petition Later that September, Phillips Exeter Alumni for Trust and Health (PATH) created a petition to reopen the school’s investigation on sexual assault, believing that the prior investigations had not been sufficient. At the time, Principal William Rawson noted that he was reluctant to reopen investigations, given that previous investigations had made use of available evidence. Alumni expressed concerns that previous reports did not offer a comprehensive account of sexual misconduct and that the reputation of Exeter prevented the institution from conduct-

ing more thorough investigations.

The petition held the additional goal of ensuring greater transparency in future investigations. The Academy’s previous record-keeping system prevented some administration members from obtaining the complete conduct history in confidential files. This filing system was then corrected by the Human Resources Department. Materials are now properly stored.

Evening Prayer Rescheduled In December, Principal Rawson, Dean of Students Melissa Mischke, and Interim Minister Reverend Heidi Heath announced a time change for the weekly student performance known as Evening Prayer. Citing Study Hours as the reason, the group moved EPs from Tuesday to Sunday evening. Frustrated by the

The Dreaded 333 In the spring, the Class of 2019 received the History Department’s “gift” to all uppers—the annual 12-to-20-page paper infamously known as the “333.” Reception of the gift—which, sadly, could not be returned or exchanged—varied widely among the Upper class.

While some relished the chance to dig into a weighty research topic, others were dumbfounded by the daunting task ahead. Only when the papers were in, did the class breathe a collective sigh of relief. Three months and a summer vacation later, the most commendable 333 papers were awarded the annual Negley Prize. The 2018-19 recipients were Sam Farnsworth, Nicholas Schwarz and Jasper Ludington. Suan Lee received the prize for her work in the 2017-18 school year.

Community Conduct Committee Sees Changes Twenty years since the Academy’s last disciplinary review, Exeter established a Discipline Review

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Committee of eight faculty members, counselors and administrators.

The committee conducted an investigation of school policies through community feedback, spearheading a proposal in April to make the disciplinary process more educational than punitive. The committee renamed the Disciplinary System and Discipline Committee to the Community Conduct System and Community Conduct Committee, respectively, and added Dean’s Warning and Community Restoration as disciplinary responses not reported to colleges. The proposal also replaced the two-tier Regular-Major Level system with a three-tier system.

Student Protest Held Against Handling of Sexual Assault Cases In May, a crowd of more than 200 hundred students stood in front of Jeremiah Smith Hall to protest the mishandling of sexual assault cases throughout Exeter’s history, including the Rockingham Files and cases against former faculty member Rick Schubart. Student organizers publicized the protest through Instagram stories the day before. Principal William Rawson, who stood on a chair for the entire three-hour protest, answered student questions on a range of topics, one being the validity of Principal’s Discretion.

After the protest, the administration met with Exonians Against Sexual Assault, the MLK Day Committee and the student organizers of the protest to create a plan for the Academy. Organizers additionally presented a list of demands to Rawson, Assistant Principal Karen Lassey and Director of Equity and Inclusion Stephanie Bramlett, including a new definition of consent, a new zero-tolerance policy, a council to decide on disciplinary outcomes, the release of reporting statistics, the extension of Dean’s Leave to account for emotional harm and more support and clarity for the students involved. This list generated additional conversation over the summer to generate a new sexual assault policy.

Courtesy of Time Magazine

Senior Year

By JEANNIE EOM

Department has closed a case.

Visitations Policy Inaugurated After a term-long pilot in Wheelwright and Merrill Halls, the Academy launched a new visitations policy, designed for gender-neutral visitations and intended to be more inclusive to all members of the Exeter community. This policy required all non-affiliated students, regardless of gender, to obtain permission from faculty in order to enter a dorm room. The Academy also instituted a ban on all intra-dorm relationships.

Halloween Contest Raises Concerns, Sparks Student Protest At Student Council’s annual Halloween Costume Contest, three members of the Academy staff presented a costume depicting President Donald Trump’s border wall, affixed with the slogan “Make America Great Again.” The costume had not been viewed by members of Student Council—the staff had entered the contest late and noted only that their costume would be of a “wall.” The day of the costume controversy, Principal William Rawson met with the three responsible employees, who apologized to the Exeter community.

The incident caused La Alianza Latina to take action. Protesting a “lack of concern for the Latinx community on the Academy’s campus” on November 2, community members locked arms in the entryway to Grill. Numerous students and some faculty attempted to barge through the human chain.

In response, Rawson affirmed the Academy’s commitment to equity and inclusion, promising workshops for adults and students. Community Conversations, a planned workshop, was postponed indefinitely and has yet to take place.

Faculty Pass Misconduct Policy In response to the previous year’s sit-in protest, a group of administrators, faculty and students put forward a new sexual misconduct proposal, approved by a majority vote in the faculty. The proposal eliminated Principal’s Discretion, replacing it with a Misconduct Review Board. The Board, chaired by the Dean of Students and including two deans and two current or previous Community Conduct Committee members, will determine disciplinary and educational responses for perpetrators based on the findings of a third-party investigator. The Board will begin its work after the Exeter Police

Senior Meditations After a months-long process, the senior class completed their Senior Meditations—the capstone of the English program—during the fall term. While previous classes completed this work in the winter, the Academy chose to move this program to allow for more public readers. Twenty seniors were selected to deliver their meditations at Phillips Church by the Meditation Selection Committee. Those scheduled for the spring presented online due to the move to online learning. Each presented thoughtful reflections of their identity and time at the Academy.

Spring Term Cancelled, Remote Learning Begins After an initial delay to the spring term, Principal Rawson announced in a YouTube video that spring term would occur through remote learning, with a new schedule and pass/fail grading system.

Rawson’s decision came in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, which would pose risks to the student and faculty body if the school reopened. As part of the remote spring term, all classes offered asynchronous options to boost equity and inclusion. In addition, the Academy halted distinctions between excused and unexcused absences, and clubs except The Exonian were halted for a two-week period.

Prior to the cancellation of

spring term, the Academy cancelled its annual Revisit Day and pulled students from travel programs in China and Italy, early hotspots of the pandemic. The Washington Intern Program was also cancelled.

Community Responds to Economic Fallout In response to financial strains caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Academy announced a pay freeze for all faculty and staff. The decision was made to prevent any layoffs; administration additionally assured all staff that pay would continue for all regularly-worked hours through May 30.

In addition, seniors Ben Cai and Gannon McCorkle responded to the needs of students of lower economic status by establishing an Independent Exeter Relief Fund, with a fundraising goal of $10,000.

Students of such backgrounds described unique challenges to The Exonian, such as lack of proper housing and food, a need to work during school hours and financial insecurity. As of May 27, the fund has raised over $8,000.

On-Campus Graduation Cancelled In response to ongoing pandemic concerns, the Academy cancelled its planned graduation ceremony for the Class of 2020. Student diplomas will still be dated June 7, but the Academy will hold a virtual event in place of a physical gradu-

ation. “It is our strong hope that we will be able to identify a time later in the summer when seniors and their families will be able to gather in person on campus for a commencement exercise and for related senior class events,” William Rawson said. Alongside Assistant Principal Karen Lassey, the Class Officers will coordinate to produce the best event possible for the class.

The timing of the event will be dependent on the development of the health crisis, with no date set.

Exeter Responds to Black Lives Matter On May 25, 2020, George Perry Floyd, a 46-year old Black man, was murdered by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis, Minnesota, setting off national protests over racial injustice in the United States. Protests have occurred in over 300 cities, in all 50 states and in 18 countries.

In the wake of thousands of Black deaths, including Floyd’s, at the hands of police officers, protesters across the nation challenged systemic racism and injustice. The Academy received widespread criticism for its response to the unrest and its perceived failure to create a supportive and nurturing environment for Black students. Specific criticisms addressed a “business as usual” post on the Academy’s Instagram and Rawson not using the word “Black” in subsequent communications.

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Class of 2020 Gallery

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Matriculation List

This year, without input from The Exonian’s editors or the senior class, the leadership of the Academy declined to provide the Matriculation List. The Senior Class Officers can provide more information.

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Prize List THE ART PRIZES The Francke Prize in Art, established in memory of Henry Gilbert Francke Jr. of the class of 1939, and awarded to Exeter students who, because of their imagination and skill, give promise of creating beauty in architecture: JaQ K. Lai Jasper T. Ludington The Paul P. Gelles Memorial Art Scholarship Prize for outstanding work in art: Aiden J. Glover Jade L. Goulet Isabel N. Hou Justin Li Yuyang Sun Thomas D.Wang The Lt. John A. Larkin Jr. Memorial Prize in art for outstanding work in drawing and ceramics: Yuchen Cheng Amelia A. Demopoulos Morgan L. LeBrun Emma E. Upton The Ralph Bradley Prize for excellence in art: Bianca I. Lee THE LATIN PRIZES Prizes for excellence in Latin are maintained from funds given in 1925 by Samuel W. Bandler in honor of John C. Kirtland; in 1932 by William H. Rand, class of 1885, in honor of Robert F. Pennell; and in 1956 by Mrs. William J. Gabel in memory of her son, William H. Gabel of the class of 1940.

Latin 110-130: Gretl A. Baghdadi Kaylee Y. Chen Bailey J. Cooper Jingchu Zhang Latin Transition 1-2: Terence Yan Tao Chan Max M. Xu Latin 210-230: Emma Z. Chen Alexander L. Larrow Marco P. Rayner Jingchen Wang Latin 310-400: Jackson W. Carlberg Charlotte A. Lisa Latin 510-530: Connor L. Chen Samuel H. Lew Latin 511-531: Emma L. Finn Allison Kim Joseph E. Laufer Latin 611-631: Charles N. Preston Kevin K. Xu 700-Level Latin: Nosakhare P. Lawani ▪ Suan Lee From the income of the George Herbert Pollock Memorial Fund, established in 1974 in memory of George Herbert Pollock of the class of 1953, for that student who has shown the greatest interest and improvement in Latin literature: Angele I. Yang THE GREEK PRIZES Funds are provided by the Prentiss Cummings Book Prize Fund, established in 1906 by Prentiss Cummings of the class of 1860.

The Joline Prizes, established by O.D. Joline of the class of 1885, are for excellence in first- year Greek.

Greek 210-230: Grace M. Ferguson Daniel Zhang Greek 411-431: Madeline C. Huh Alexander L. Urquhart Kevin K. Xu Angelina Zhang Greek 511-531: Nosakhare P. Lawani

Charles N. Preston Greek 611-631: Sophia Cho The Hatch/Phillips Award in Latin and Greek, established in 1980 by David Edgar Baver of the class of 1942, in honor of Norman L. Hatch, Morison Professor of Latin, and Henry Phillips, Cilley Professor of Greek, is awarded each year to that graduating senior enrolled in courses in both Latin and Greek during his or her senior year who, in the judgment of the Department of Classical Languages, has shown outstanding dedication to and significant improvement in these areas of study at the Academy: Virginia S. Little The Lucy Lamont Gavit and Joseph Lamont Gavit Prizes From the income of the Lucy Lamont Gavit and the Joseph Lamont Gavit Classical Fund, given by Mr. Thomas Lamont of the Class of 1888, for the benefit of those students who commend themselves to the Faculty and Trustees for performance and promise as students of scholarly attainment in the Classics, the following awards are made: With Distinction: Erin Choi Madeline C. Huh Katherine C. Reid Matthew A. Turner With High Distinction: Erin C. Ahern Patricia E. Fitzgerald Alexander L. Urquhart Angelina Zhang The Haig Ramage Prizes Given by Mr. William Haig Ramage, of the Class of 1905, to support annual awards to students who are pursuing studies leading to the Classical Diploma and who excel in their studies. He gave as his reason the opinion that “any student becomes a better citizen if he has a broad liberal education before entering the university and specializing.” These awards are traditionally considered to be the highest recognition of attainment in the Classics at Exeter: With High Distinction: Joseph E. Laufer Suan Lee Charles N. Preston With Highest Distinction: Sophia Cho Nosakhare P. Lawani Suan Lee Kevin K. Xu THE ENGLISH PRIZES The English Prizes consist of the prizes established in 1896 by Dr. Abner L. Merrill of the class of 1838 for excellence in English Composition; in 1925 by Samuel Cony Manley of the class of 1885; in 1949 by Mr. and Mrs. Thomas S. Lamont, together with friends, in memory of their son, Thomas W. Lamont II, class of 1942; and in 2007 by Jane and Basil K. Vasiliou of the class of 1967. Each year students choose to submit their work in competition for these awards.

First-Year English: FIRST: Michelle S. Mahoney SECOND: Mason J. Gaudreau THIRD: Jonathan Jeun The Honorable Mention in FirstYear English: Nina E. Kellogg Cedric E. Moecklin

The Bensinger Shakespeare Prize for best essay on a Shakespearean topic: FIRST: Xinghan Zhu SECOND: Maggie C. Wainwright THIRD: Nicholas D. Schwarz The Lewis Sibley Poetry Prize for the most promising collection of original poems: Jiaying Cai Cheikh A. Fiteni Felix C. Yeung THE HISTORY PRIZES The Prizes for the Study of History at the Introductory Level For academic achievement: Tristen D. Crotty Clara E. Gulick Aaron Joy Cedric E. Moecklin Atticus W. Ross Clark S. Wu For attitude and approach at the Harkness table: Matilda G. Damon Joey Dong Andreas C. Lorgen Brooke H. Ottaway Charles B. Simpson Isabella Vesely The Prizes for the Study of History at the Intermediate Level For academic achievement: Adaeze V. Barrah Eleanor J. Bolker Alana Y. Reale Thomas C. Seidel Kendrah Su Shantelle Subkhanberdina For attitude and approach at the Harkness table: Lily D. Buckner Devansh B. Khadka Nicholas P. Matheos Liza E. McMahan Owen R. Pallatroni Xavier S. Ross Stella G. Shattuck Brian J. Son Alexandria N. Westray The Prizes for the Study of Economics For academic achievement: Matteo Calabresi Sanath G. Govindarajan Nayada Tantichirasakul Tonghuan Yang For attitude and approach at the Harkness table: Benjamin C. Cai Lisa Fujisawa John G. Morris Nathan Sun Gabriel L. Wong The Prizes for the Study of History at the Senior Level For academic achievement: Rosemary Y. Beck Benjamin C. Cai Aiwen L. Desai Samuel W. Farnsworth Mai N. Hoang Ayush Noori Tatum A. Schutt Audrey E. Vanderslice Samantha E. Weil Gabriel L. Wong Tonghuan Yang

individual studying American History who, through application grades, and interest contributes the most enthusiasm for the subject among students at Exeter: Alphonso P. Bradham Samuel W. Farnsworth Mai N. Hoang Tatum A. Schutt Audrey E. Vanderslice Samantha E. Weil Gabriel L. Wong THE MATHEMATICS PRIZES The Mathematics Department prizes are sustained by the William Allen Francis and George A. Wentworth Fund, the Maurice R. Scharff and the Lindsay Crawford Prize Funds. The prizes, which consist of books, are for outstanding contributions to the mathematics program, and the awards are made by vote of the Mathematics Faculty.

The Maurice R. Scharff Prizes for contributions to our Harkness math classes: William R. Ahern Seth Amofa Zoe S. Barron Sav G. Bartkovich Neil Chowdhury Matthew P. Dame William T. Durawa Emma L. Finn Lisa Fujisawa Clara E. Gulick Anderson D. Lynch Audrey D. Malila David J. Mancini Cedric E. Moecklin Anish Mudide Louis P. Mukama Ryan E. Pate Keara E. Polovick Jack P. Puchalski Meredith B. Thompson Lucy Xiao Zheheng Xiao Max M. Xu

The Lindsay Crawford Memorial Prize to the senior with the most outstanding career in mathematics this year: Sanath G. Govindarajan Benjamin P. Wright Angelina Zhang THE MODERN LANGUAGES PRIZES The Modern Language Prizes are sustained by the Annie C. Benton Memorial Fund, the Alumni Modern Language Prize Fund, the Gomez Prize, the Hugh Corby Fox Prize, the Fish French Prize Fund, the Frates Prize Fund, Independence Foundation Romance Prize and a gift in honor of Percy C. Rogers.

The Arabic Prize Marcelle M. Kelley The Chinese Prizes First-Year Chinese: Chung E. Hong Lane M. Joslin Sage C. Murthy Rupert Ramsay Second-Year Chinese: Pedro T. Coelho Amy Y. Lum Alexandria N. Westray Third-Fourth-Year Chinese: Hassane E. Fiteni Minseo Kim Aren Mizuno Olivia E. Williamson

The Vasiliou ’67 Writing Prize in Second-Year English: FIRST: Daniel Zhang SECOND: Siona Jain THIRD: Seojin Yoo

*The Sherman Hoar Prizes for excellence in American history: The winners of this prize will be announced in September.

The Vasiliou ’67 Writing Prize in Third-Year English: FIRST: JaQ K. Lai SECOND: Anne M. Brandes THIRD: Sofina M. Tillman

*The Blackmar Prize in American History, given in memory of General Wilmont W. Blackmar, class of 1864, is awarded for the year’s best work in American History: The winners of this prize will be announced in September.

The Prize in Third-Year English: FIRST: Tatum A. Schutt SECOND: Benjamin G. Gorman THIRD: Alexey Alexandrovskiy

*The Negley Prizes in American History for the year’s best essays: The winners of this prize will be announced in September.

The French Prizes First-Year French: Michelle S. Mahoney Alexa G. Murat Brooke H. Ottaway

Fourth-Year English: FIRST: Maureena T. Murphy SECOND: Jinwoo Kang THIRD: Suan Lee

The Frederick Whitman Prize is given by The Phillips Foundation in honor of Frederick Whitman, a teacher at the Academy, to that

French Transition 1 to 210: Anjali H. Frary Sinna Oumer Yasmin S. Salerno

Fifth-Year Chinese: Andrea Luo Fifth-Year Chinese Electives: Robert M. Herzig Hannah A. Lee Isa Matsubayashi Isabel E. Robbins

Second Year French: Yi Liang Lekha T. Masoudi Kosisochuku T. Onwuamaegbu Ryan P. Pettit Sava R. Thurber Jason C. Wang Aubrey S. Zhang Honglin Zhu Third-Fourth-Year French: Renee M. Bertrand Beatrice C. Burack Valentina Fernandez Savita E. Keidel Anna Rose H. Marion Seojin Yoo Fifth-Year Electives: Emmanuelle Brindamour Sophie P. Cavalcanti Chung E. Hong Chloe Malikotsis Isabella Vesely Maggie C. Wainwright The German Prizes First-Year German: Joey Dong David J. Mancini Second-Year German: Alexander T. Masoudi Third-Fourth-Year German: Piyama K. Bryant Molly V. Durawa Fifth-Year German: Rosemary Y. Beck The Italian Prize Paula Perez-Glassner The Japanese Prizes First-Year Japanese: Clara E. Gulick Grace L. Nivera Second-Year Japanese: Aiden C. Silvestri Third-Fourth-Year Japanese: Eunice Kim Coral L. Outwater Adith P. Reddi Fifth-Year Japanese Elizabeth K. Handte The Russian Prizes First-Year Russian Sophie A. Cohen Kei D. Sakano Second-Year Russian Sophie C. Fernandez Oscair S. Page Third-Fourth-Year Russian Evelyn Y. Houston Nhat Nam Nguyen The Spanish Prizes First-Year Spanish Umphaiporn Atipunumphai Tony Cai Reginald D. Harris Aaron Joy Zachary M. Quitkin Atticus W. Ross Spanish Transition-220 Michael Q. Chen Tristen D. Crotty Emilie M. Dubiel Justin A. Fedele Cameron M. Guthrie Jesalina Y. Phan Safira I. Schiowitz Andrew M. Smith Clark S. Wu Second-Year Spanish Adaeze V. Barrah Carson T. Bloom Matteo Calabresi Charles F. Coughlin Jennifer P. Finkelstein Noah R. James Sydney J. Kang Sanisha J. Mahendra-Rajah Cedric E. Moecklin Michael C. Popik Oliver Q. Riordan Xavier S. Ross Harry Sun Third-Fourth-Year Spanish Abby S. Asch Alicia B. Coble

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Oia A. Eng Frances C. Getman Zoe M. Herman Iona I. Kruger Haruka Masamura Lucas L. McEachern Stephen M. McNulty Malia L. Monge Louis P. Mukama Nahla C. Owens Thomas G. Yun Fifth-Year Spanish Genesis L. Baez Jeffrey H. Cui Caroline E. Fleming Madison E. Machado Special Prize for excellence in two or more foreign languages offered by the Modern Languages Department: Audrey E. Vanderslice THE MUSIC PRIZES The combined William G. Saltonstall, E.S. Wells Kerr Prize recognizes those seniors who have consistently contributed to the musical life of the Academy: Alphonso P. Bradham Emma M. Cerrato Audrey Choi Amelia A. Demopoulos Patricia E. Fitzgerald Mia E. Glinn Summer Hua Nathaniel C. James Emily B. Jetton Jack Y. Liu Sarah S. Newhall Ayush Noori Sam K. Park Audrey E. Vanderslice Chaitanya S. Vankireddy Maxwell Z. Wang Xinghan Zhu Edward C. Echols Jazz Prize: William H. Peeler A.A. Landers Prize recognizes those seniors who have made vital contributions to the large and small music groups on campus: Samuel J. Chang Sophia S. Chang Zhaoran Chen Sophia Cho Aiwen L. Desai Lucy F. Gilchrist Nosakhare P. Lawani Jasmine Liao Nathan Sun Liam S. Walsh Kevin K. Xu The Eli J. Loranger III Prize recognizes those seniors whose musical excellence and generosity of spirit have significantly enhanced the life of the school: Orion M. Bloomfield Elizabeth T. Dentzer Anjali W. Gupta Meili W. Gupta Thomas P. Matheos Paula Perez-Glassner Alexander Pieroni Danilo A. Thurber Gabriel L. Wong THE RELIGION PRIZES The Religion Department annually awards prizes for student achievement from three separate funds: the first at the level of preps and lowers; and the second and third at the level of uppers and seniors.

The Arthur L. Merrick Memorial Fund Prize is awarded to the prep

The Yale Cup, awarded each year by the Aurelian Honor Society of Yale University to the member of the senior class who best combines the highest standards of character and leadership with excellence in his studies and athletics: Billy Menken.

The Ruth and Paul Sadler ’23 Cup, awarded each year to that member of the senior class who best combines the highest standards of character and leadership with excellence in her studies and athletics: Beez Dentzer.

The Perry Cup, established by the class of 1945 in honor of Dr. Lewis Perry, eighth principal of the Academy, and given annually to a senior who has shown outstanding qualities of leadership and school spirit: Ayush Noori.

The Williams Cup, established in memory of George Lynde Richardson Jr. ’37, and given annually to a student who, having been in the Academy four years, has, by personal qualities, brought distinction to Phillips Exeter: Lucy Gilchrist.

The Eskie Clark Award, given annually to that scholarship student

or lower having demonstrated excellence in the study of religion: FIRST: Kaitlyn M. Flowers Aryana T. Ramos-Vazquez SECOND: Catherine C. Uwakwe Clark S. Wu The Abbie Manton Polleys Memorial Fund Prize is awarded to those students who have shown significant achievement in the curricular offerings of the Religion Department: FIRST: Sophia Cho Alexander Pieroni SECOND: Jasmine Liao Cristal A. Reyes The Nathaniel Gordon Bible Fund Prize is awarded to students who have demonstrated excellence in the study of religion.

FIRST: Benjamin C. Cai John G. Morris SECOND: Genesis L. Baez Hojun Choi THE SCIENCE PRIZES The following prizes are funded by the Fisher Fund, the E.P. Holder Fund, the D.J. Killian Fund and the Wentworth Fund.

The John and Irene MacKenty Astronomy Prize, awarded to graduating seniors who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of astronomy at Exeter: Anna Iacobucci The Fiske Memorial Prize, given in memory of Wintrop E. Fiske, an instructor in physics at the Academy from 1899 to 1938, is awarded for excellence in physical sciences: Richard Huang David T. Kim Brian H. Liu Jack Y. Liu Niko Rocak Yuyang Sun Danilo A. Thurber Selma Unver Phoebe J. Weil The David M. Bitman Prize, given in memory of David M. Bitman ’78, is awarded to students who show excellence in a wide range of science subjects: Asha L. Alla Nana Esi K. Donkor Mai N. Hoang Annabel Lee Tabor C. Roderiques Chaitanya S. Vankireddy Kevin K. Xu The Fisher Prize, established by the Fisher Foundation, is awarded to recognize excellence in advanced courses in biology, chemistry and physics: Erin C. Ahern Orion M. Bloomfield Amelia A. Demopoulos Lucy F. Gilchrist Aditya Gowlikar

in the graduating class who, through hard work and perseverance, has excelled in both athletics and scholarship in a manner exemplified

by Eskie Clark of the class of 1919: Gannon McCorckle.

The Thomas H. Cornell Award, based on a vote by the senior class, is awarded annually at graduation to that member of the graduating class who best exemplifies the Exeter spirit: Ayush Noori.

The Multicultural Leadership Prize is awarded annually to that member of the graduating class who has most significantly contributed to educating the community about, and fostering greater understanding around, topics of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, nationality, sexual orientation, ability, religion, spirituality, or other aspects of identity: Kiki Aguilar Elizabeth Kostina Genesis Reyes The Cox Medals, given by Oscar S. Cox Esq., in memory of his father, Jacob Cox, are awarded each year to

Olivia J. Lazorik Alessia N. Serafini Maxwell Z. Wang The Corning Benton and Dr. Corning Benton Jr. Science Department Prize, awarded to a student of two or more years in the Academy who, in the opinion of the Science Department faculty, shows outstanding promise as a future scientist: Penny E. Brant Evan C. Chandran Sophia S. Chang Sanath G. Govindarajan Alexander S. Kish William A. Menken Ayush Noori Benjamin P. Wright Xintong Yu Angelina Zhang

THE COMPUTER SCIENCE PRIZES Computer Science prizes are funded by an anonymous gift from a member of the class of 1975.

Computer Science Lower Classmen Awards are given to students at the junior and/or lower level who have demonstrated a propensity for and superior understanding of the computer science field: Jiaying Cai Alana Y. Reale Atticus W. Ross Jocelyn I. Sides Narmana S. Vale Computer Science Upper Classmen Awards are given to students at the upper and/ or senior level who have demonstrated a propensity for and a superior understanding of the computer science field: Umphaipun Atipunumphai Griffin W. Brown JaQ K. Lai Thomas D. Wang Benjamin P. Wright The Special Award in Computer Science is given to students who not only have demonstrated expertise in the field of computer science but also have given of themselves freely to further the goals of the Computer Science Department.

Penny E. Brant THE THEATER AND DANCE PRIZES The J. Carmen ’92 and Natalie S. ’95 Stewart Prize in dance recognizes students who exemplify the passionate spirit that Carmen and Natalie held for dance as a means of self- expression, a form of physical fitness, membership in a group in which all members are considered equal, and a vehicle for cultural awareness.

Leonard S. Chen Zhaoran Chen Serene T. De Sisso Patricia E. Fitzgerald Jade L. Goulet Stephanie B. Harris Mia Kuromaru Morgan L. LeBrun Annabel Lee Katherine C. Lee Fiona A. Madrid Kelly Mi Maureena T. Murph Natalia A. Rivera Marina Ruiz de Lobera Nikita R. Thummala

the five members of the graduating class who, having been two or more years in the Academy, have attained the highest scholastic rank: Aiwen Desai Lucy Gilchrist Mai Hoang Marcelle Kelley Ayush Noori The Faculty Prize for Academic Excellence, given to that member of the graduating class who, having been two or more years in the Academy, is recognized on the basis of scholarship as holding the first rank: Mai Hoang.

The Philip Curtis Goodwin ’25 Athletic Award Presented annually to the four-year male and female who best embody the qualities of sportsmanship and participation.

Will Coogan, Dennesha Rolle The Wyzanski Prize Given in honor of Judge Charles Wyzanski “to a student whose ethical beliefs and practices have contributed significantly to the welfare of the Academy or community.”

Selma Unver Matthew R. Wabunoha Kaleb N. Washington Khinezin T. Win Rachel H. Won The Meir Z. Ribalow ’66 Theatre Prize is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to theater: Elizabeth T. Dentzer Aiwen L. Desai Grace M. Ferguson Ella C. Fishman Jade L. Goulet Christopher D. Haworth Elizabeth M. Kostina Sarah S. Newhall Bryan S. Palaguachi Sam K. Park Paula Perez-Glassner Alexander Pieroni Nicholas D. Schwarz Caitlin S. Sibthorpe Alisha A. Simmons Emmanuel A. Vasquez Liam S. Walsh Meredyth W. Worden OTHER PRIZES The Turner Exonian Prize, given

by Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Turner, parents and friends, is given annually to students who do the best writing and/or reporting for The Exonian during the school year.

Suan Lee The Gordon Editorial Award, given by Dr. and Mrs. Gene Gordon, is awarded annually to an Exeter student who displays, through editorial journalism in publication emanating from the Academy, a passionate dedication to personal freedom, particularly freedom of conscience and its expression: Cameron H. Frary Jaekeb A. Harper The Exonian Staff Award, given by the faculty advisers and student editors of The Exonian for the year’s most innovative and unique newspaper feature over the past year: Anne M. Brandes Isa Matsubayashi Maegan N. Paul Felix C. Yeung The Debating Prizes The Charles Theodore Russell Bates Debating Prize Samuel W. Farnsworth Anjali W. Gupta Meili W. Gupta Benjamin H. Holderness Nosakhare P. Lawani Tatum A. Schutt The Academy Debating Fund Prize Cyrus A. Braden Tina Y. Li Avalon A. Marlin Madeline N. Murray Class of 1882 Debating Prizes Hassane E. Fiteni Max Tan Kilin Tang Jingchu Zhang The Glazier Speaking Prize Anya J. Tang Shrayes Upadhyayula

Matthew Wabunoha The Warren Burke Shepard ’84 Award In the spring of 1980, a boy named Warren Shepard was admitted to Exeter’s prep class for the following fall—the Class of 1984. At the time, Warren was a student at the American Community School in Halandri, Greece, where his father was stationed in the United States foreign service.

Warren Shepard never realized his dream of attending Exeter; in June 1980, he died of pulmonary hepatitis. Knowing how much Warren had looked forward to being a student at the Academy, his family and friends established at Exeter a prize to be given annually, in his name, to a student at Phillips Exeter Academy who tries hardest to realize the Exeter opportunity, as the award’s namesake would have. In addition to the award presented today, a plaque that signifies the award is and its recipients hangs in the Office of the Dean of Students.

Mai Hoang Pepper Pieroni

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The John O. Heald Debating Prize Albert M. Chu Aaron Joy The Gifford Pinchot Prize, given

by Gifford Pinchot, class of 1884.

This prize is given annually to a student who, like Gifford Pinchot, demonstrates dedication to the conservation of the nation’s natural resources.

Saskia A. Braden Lucy Sun The Scharff Prize is awarded to sons and daughters of alumni who also won prizes while they were at the Academy in the same or closely related disciplines: Asha L. Alla Elizabeth K. Handte Nicholas P. Matheos SPECIAL PRIZES The Frank A. Weil ’48 Prize for Exemplary Growth and Promise Given by Mr. Frank A. Weil ’48, this prize recognizes students who have shown through their efforts and improvement a drive and capacity for lifelong growth.

This prize seeks to emphasize that the value of an Exeter education is measured not only by a record of specific achievements but by the growth and character that is developed through “the journey taken.”

Louis P. Mukama Maureena T. Murphy Cristal A. Reyes The Harvard Book Prize Given by the Harvard Club of Boston in memory of Lt. Colonel Joseph Ganahl ’22, to an outstanding upper middler: Nahla C. Owens The Smith Book Award Given by Smith College to an upper “in recognition of outstanding academic achievement and leadership.”

Anne M. Brandes The Powell Prize Given by Frank T. Buchner ’30, in memory of his grandfather, Omar Powell, “for recognition of a student or group of students who has conceived and carried out some creative idea which has resulted in a new and useful addition or benefit to the Academy community through his or her entrepreneurship, persuasiveness, innovation or leadership.”

Anjali W. Gupta Meili W. Gupta JaQ K. Lai Lucy Sun *for their work on Matter magazine William A. Menken Avery P. Clowes *for their work on the Off-Planet Society The Gavit Cup The Gavit Cup is presented annually at Prize Day to a member of the upper-middle class selected by members of the class and the principal in recognition of outstanding character as displayed in all phases of school life.

Charlotte A. Lisa

The James A. Snead ’71 Memorial Prize This prize honors a distiguised alumnus, as it anually recognizes some of the qualities and areas of interest that were essential to him. It is given to students who have written effectively on multicultural themes; who have contributed to the evolution of a nonracist culture in the community; or who have exemplified a passion for the humanities that promises to be lifelong.

Johan Martinez Tatum Schutt David T. Swift Award Established to honor David T. Swift.

The award reads “In recognition of significant contributions as dormitory proctor, in helping to create a positive residential experience at Exeter.”

Katya Davis Sam Farnsworth Kelly Mi Ree Murphy Josh Riddick Claudia Sanchez Nathan Sun

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Highlights from the Newsroom

Exeter Police Department Denounces Hate Crimes 9/5/2019

By JEANNIE EOM, BONA HONG, FELIX YEUNG For years, Academy students have endured identity-related harassment from some town residents. Residents have shouted racial slurs from their cars, thrown cigarette butts and perpetuated other targeted acts in downtown Exeter. This summer, Exeter Police Department (EPD) Chief Stephan Poulin formally responded to these reports in an open letter in The Portsmouth Herald, designating such acts as “hate crimes.”

“The purpose of the letter was to announce outright that the Exeter Police and its citizens of all races, religions, genders, ethnicities… are a united force,” Poulin wrote. “Anyone who may be a victim or subjected to these types of crimes [has] a solid ally with the Exeter Police Department.”

The letter came after eight Exeter Summer students reported separate incidents of harassment. A Nigerian student was called the n-word while walking to Walgreens with her friends. A black pick-up truck repeatedly drove by a student playing basketball near Main Street and yelled racial slurs. Multiple students reported drivers making barking noises at them. A passenger in a vehicle threw a bang snap, a type of novelty firework, and hit a student’s leg.

Instructor in English Mercy Carbonell first heard the student’s complaints in class during a discussion on acceptance and racially charged rhetoric in today’s political climate. “I wrote of it on Facebook. Someone local sent it to Poulin. He reached out to Director of Exeter Summer [Russell

Weatherspoon] and Head of [Campus Safety Paul Gravel],” she said. “Eight students in two classes met with me, Weatherspoon, Gravel, my intern and two police.”

Carbonell’s post documented several anecdotes from her students.

“My first day in this town, my friends and I were walking to Walgreens, and three white boys in a car started calling us the n-word,” she recalled a Muslim student saying.

“Yeah, and it is creepy to see all these Confederate Flags in this town,” an African-American student replied.

In another class, the student called epithets while playing basketball recounted his experience. “At first, we just laughed and brushed it off as funny, but I know we really felt unsafe,” he said.

“What will the cops do?” a white student asked.

Carbonell raised a question of her own: “What are white parents teaching their children?”

“Incidents attacking people’s personhood have been happening since I moved here in 1993,” Carbonell said.

“This summer, most of those reported to us concerned students’ race or ethnicity. A few concerned gender.”

Because the student victims were unable to provide identifying information, no suspects were charged upon further investigation. Poulin noted that these were the first incidents reported recently to police, though previous reports from the Academy led to one arrest.

Principal William Rawson visited Poulin to thank him for his statement.

“It means a great deal when the Police Department makes clear how seriously they regard such incidents,” Rawson said. “I believe the town of Exeter stands firmly with Chief Poulin

on this matter.”

A few Exonians expressed doubt over whether the letter would make any tangible impact. “I don’t feel a whole lot safer, just because I know the makeup of the town has stayed the same,” upper Nahla Owens said.

“People may be deterred from verbalizing their racist ideologies, but I know I’ll probably still get stares while in town, and I definitely won’t walk through town alone.”

Despite the recent incidents, the EPD believes that racist behavior is not representative of the town community. “Are we finding or suggesting that there is a systematic problem or a culture of hate within our community of Exeter? Absolutely not,” Poulin wrote. “However, we can all agree that just one of these reports is too many. These interactions can be far reaching and also affects the victim’s families and friends, as well as the entire Exeter community.”

Upper Senai Robinson, who has been a victim of hate crimes, believes more substantial deterrents are necessary. “I go to school feeling unsafe and, as a result, am tasked to fix such issues myself. The larger community isn’t doing the best they could,” he said.

A number of minority students interviewed by The Exonian have been on the receiving end of hate crimes, and alumni have detailed similar incidents upon their return to campus.

Playwright Charly Evon Simpson ’04 said that she was called racial slurs multiple times during her campus visit on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day last year.

Upper Hassane Fiteni recalled being too shocked to react when a racial slur was called out at him. “There was this moment where I looked around

to see if there were any other black students, anyone at all. And I was the only one. And that’s when it hit me that those [perpetrators] intentionally wanted me to feel bad.” While Dean of Residential Life Carol Cahalane was present during the incident and conducted an investigation, Fiteni was not contacted by the EPD for further questioning and is unsure whether his case was reported to police.

According to Cahalane, all incidents that come to the Academy’s attention are immediately reported to the Police Department. “We encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses such abusive behavior to call Campus Safety or the Exeter Police as soon as possible with a report,” she said. “The more details they can share the better, but even if they only have relatively little information, we urge them to report.”

A few town residents expressed regret and frustration about the reported incidents on a Facebook community forum. “I think a lot of racism and other discrimination comes from fear, but I still don’t ‘get’ what people are afraid of,” Exeter resident Ceci Haynsworth wrote. “I guess perhaps they fear becoming a minority and losing their sense of white privilege.”

However, the community was divided on whether the recent report of hate crimes amounted to a trend.

“Having a kid that went to [Exeter] for four years, I have never heard of this happening,” Bella Phillips P’12 wrote.

Exeter resident Eric Beane felt that the problem was being overstated. “Lived here for a long time…

May have been a couple issues, but this is not a problem in the town of Exeter,” he wrote. “We should not act like it is happening all the time.”

Academy Adjusts and Reacts to New Visitation’s Policy 9/26/2019

By ERIN CHOI and LOUIS MUKAMA Though the Academy just implemented its new Visitations (V’s) policy on Monday, Sep. 16, boarders, day students and dorm faculty have expressed mixed opinions about its effects on campus life.

For the first few days of the school year, no inter-dorm visits were permitted. With the new policy in effect, visitations begin at the start of duty hours and continue until 7:55 p.m. for preps and lowers, and 8:55 p.m. for uppers and seniors on weekdays. On weekends, visitations extend from the beginning of duty hours to five minutes before check-in. Common space visits can occur without explicit permission from 9:50 a.m. to check-in everyday.

Dean of Residential Life Carol Cahalane reiterated her hope that the new policy will foster an inclusive atmosphere at the Academy. “My hope has been and remains that we create an environment on campus where students feel safe and can develop healthy relationships and have the support that they need in an equitable fashion,” she said.

Cahalane said that so far, the implementation seemed to be going smoothly. “Students seem to be living with it and giving it a fair shot,” she said.

Cahalane has reached out to Student Council for feedback regarding the policy, as well as gauging student response through constant discussion.

She noted that while there are no immediate plans to enact changes, “using this policy, we will as a community identify what is working and what is not.”

Dow House dorm head and Modern Languages Instructor Amadou Talla said that it may take students some effort to adjust to the new poli-

cy, noting that in this first week, he has seen fewer students bring same-gender friends over. “I think the new policy will take some getting-used-to,” he said. “I believe students in our dorm are less spontaneous about getting V’s with their friends from other boys’ dorms who used to just come up to their rooms without having to ask.”

Meanwhile, Religion Instructor and Ewald faculty resident Thomas Simpson said he had “a record number of requests for visitations this past Saturday evening.” He agreed that some students seemed taken aback that they had to check in their friends whom they could previously bring to their rooms without permission.

“At first, there was a little eye-rolling among some of the students about having to ask for V’s for friends who, in the past, could just come over without special permission,” he noted.

On the other hand, community members acknowledged various benefits of the policy. Math Instructor and Knight House dorm head David Huoppi felt the new policy has helped foster a more home-like environment in the dorm. “At their homes away from school, their families may have rules about when friends can come over and if that is allowed when no one is home,” he said. “The new Visitations policy lines up with this in that in-room visitations are only permitted during duty hours when the dorm faculty are home.”

Huoppi also noted that the policy promoted more time spent in common spaces, which he felt strengthened the dorm’s sense of community. “I have also noticed many more students spending time in the common room at all times of the day, which I think is a huge plus.”

Simpson, although he acknowledged the challenges of the transition, nonetheless praised the policy for promoting a more inclusive dorm environment. “What’s really welcome

about the change, from my perspective, is that we’re making strides toward real equity in the visitation process, in a way that will make students of all genders feel more genuinely at home in our residential communities,” he said.

However, other community members have questioned the purpose of the V’s policy as well as it’s effectiveness.

Prep Jayden Adams has felt inconvenienced by the visitations hours.

“It’s at the worst time possible! A lot of people have club meetings from 7 to 8 and so a lot of times people really can’t get V’s or have to choose one,” he said. “What do you do when you want to hang with a friend you don’t see during the day but have a club at the same time? It creates a real issue in terms of time and getting things done.”

Upper Avery Napier, who co-created a survey over the summer after the new policy was announced, said that many students felt that the new policy limited their ability to forge close relationships outside of their dorms. “People are also concerned that their overall happiness at Exeter will decline because of their newly limited social interactions and friendships, which in my opinion is a very important aspect of life at Exeter,” she said.

Napier added that while she had not yet found any specific suggestions for improvement in the responses, many students seemed to prefer the previous V’s policy.

Meanwhile, speaking on effectiveness, senior Josh Tang said that regardless of the policy itself, some students will always violate regulations. “The effectiveness of this new V’s policy will be as effective as the previous one. People will always find a way to circumvent and break the rules,” he said. “There is no reason to think that people won’t do the same with this V’s policy too.”

Senior Maddie Machado added

that students may feel more comfortable breaking the new addition to the policy and continue their old ways.

“One of the major unintended consequences is that older students feel ‘entitled’ to illegal V’s with same-sex friends because that’s how it’s always been,” she said. “This [relaxed] attitude towards breaking an important rule is influencing the mindset of younger students as well. I think it will take several years before getting V’s with a same-sex friend will become normalized.”

Meanwhile, senior and day student proctor Rianna Parla felt that the policy did not institute any significant changes on campus culture other than broadening the range of punishable actions. “The only thing the new V’s policy has done is cause everyone on campus to be mad at the people who made it,” she said. “Most of my friends have already gotten illegal V’s, so more people are just going to end up getting punished for something pointless.”

In addition, students have raised more specific concerns regarding the policy. For one, students have raised concerns regarding the new ban on sleepovers.

Lower Kiesse Nanor was left conflicted and feeling isolated by this change. “I’m the only black lower in my dorm, and I know that this is the case for a lot of black girls my age on campus.” Under the old policy, Nanor had sleepovers and the opportunity to connect with black friends over shared experiences but now finds fewer spaces to bond with them. “I get that there are other places where people of color can connect, and I know this is selfish, but it won’t be the same.”

Day student proctor and senior Paula Perez-Glassner agreed with Nanor, recounting how crucial sleepovers were to forming relationships during her first years at Exeter.

“My lower year I was sleeping over in

Such comments sparked disagreement. “Sorry to let you know that you are wrong—it happens all the time, not just to [Exeter] students,” another resident, Letty Bedard, replied to Beane. “It’s a problem here and shouldn’t be ignored.”

Lynne Ganley P’14 stressed varying levels of awareness in the town.

“Just because it didn’t happen to you or anyone you know doesn’t mean it isn’t happening,” she commented.

“My daughter went to PEA. It is indeed happening.”

Despite their disagreements, several community members offered suggestions to prevent future incidents. “Meaningful dialogues or just educating [about] the importance of coexistence might be worth a shot,” Exeter resident Marshal Stephen wrote. “We can definitely debunk [a] lot of myths that fuel this hatred.”

Exonians themselves hoped for a better system of reporting hate crimes.

“Maybe we [can] create somewhere, either online or in an office, that students can visit easily and anonymously to report any such occurrence,” senior Emily Gaw said. With access to data, Gaw believes the EPD would be able to better understand and address the scale of such incidents.

Rawson affirmed the importance of maintaining a good working relationship with the EPD. “We share any concerns that come to our attention with them and ask that they share any concerns with us, so that we know we are being good citizens,” he said.

The EPD hopes to foster a safer, more tolerant community by hosting bystander training with the Granite State Organizing Project and taking part in student orientation forums so that Exonians can become better acquainted with the police department as a student resource. “In Exeter, we have a vibrant and very supportive community… [I] will continue to build and flourish our trust with them,” Poulin wrote.

Campus Safety: (603)-777-4444 EPD: (603)-772-1212

my friends’ rooms almost every single weekend (in various dorms) and it really helped me become very close to those friends.”

In addition, some day students expressed that the policy did not adequately consider their unique social dynamic.

Because day students are now only permitted unrestricted visitations in their affiliate dorms, many expressed concerns that they did not have friend groups centered in one dorm. “One of the things that the new policy doesn’t take into account is that day students often don’t have concentrated friend groups within a single dorm, unlike boarders,” Machado said. “We may have friends across many different dorms that makes it hard to choose or adapt to a single affiliate dorm.”

Senior and day student proctor John Morris specified that open room visits made daily life significantly more convenient and social scene more accessible for day students.

“Day students know it takes a special friend or two to let you keep your stuff in their room,” he said. “Having a close connection with a few boarders can make you feel like you’re a part of the greater Exeter community.”

Parla noted that day student proctors were not able to choose their affiliate dorms, exasperating the problem of not being able to visit any friends’ rooms. “It seems as if day students weren’t even considered in the making of this policy, as usual,” Parla said.

Senior and day student proctor Sam Lew felt that this restriction and its negative consequences made getting illegal V’s seem more justifiable to day students. “Overall day students are struggling to find the ‘right’ group to settle, and [this] makes us feel more isolated than ever,” he said. “People constantly tell me that they break the rules consistently and have no care for it at all, and they will continue to break these rules.”

Prep Sage Murthy said that while there were flaws with the current Vs policy, she felt that she should not complain since she had not come across a better, non-heteronormative alternative. “There is no perfect policy, but I don’t want to criticize the current one since I can’t think of ways to make it better while keeping it inclusive,” she said.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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Cum Laude Society Orion Miles Bloomfield Saskia Adams Braden Penny Evelyn Brant Benjamin Chu Cai Matteo Calabresi * Evan Charles Chandran* Sophia Sison Chang Leonard Shaoxiao Chen Sophia Cho Lixiuyuan Dai Elizabeth Troy Dentzer Aiwen Lyrica Desai* Nana Esi Korantemaa Donkor* Gabriel McCormick Driscoll Mollie Rule Finnegan* Lucy Fargo Gilchrist* Benjamin Graeme Gorman Sanath Guruprasad Govindarajan Samantha Perry Gumprecht Anjali Wang Gupta* Meili Wang Gupta* Mahdi Ali Hamad

Ariyaporn Haripottawekul John G. Hawkins Mai Ngoc Xuan Hoang* Richard Huang Marcelle Madeline Kelley* David T. Kim Alexander Stephen Kish Nosakhare Praise Lawani Olivia Jane Lazorik Annabel Lee Claudia Stephanie Lee Suan Lee Embolyn Wang Li Jack Yunqiang Liu Longchao Liu Brian H. Liu* William Augustus Menken* Kelly Mi John Gerd Morris Ayush Noori* Lillian Valerie Pinciaro Ian Patton Yoji Rider

Prashant Saxena Alessia Niamh Serafini Andrea Tsz Yung So Nathan Sun Yuyang Sun* Danilo Austin Thurber Shivani Tripathi Emma Elisabeth Upton Alexander Lawrence Urquhart Audrey Elisabeth Vanderslice* Maxwell Zhang Wang Rachel Heejoo Won Benjamin P. Wright Velen Yifei Wu Ryan Alexander Xie Kevin Kai Xu Tom Tonghuan Yang Xintong Yu Angelina Zhang

* denotes Early Cum Laude distinction

Alumni Reflect on Steyer, Yang Candidacies

Andrew Yang speaks at Assembly.

10/24/2019

By ANNE BRANDES, KAYLEE CHEN, LINA HUANG and AVA YU In the upcoming presidential race, entrepreneur Andrew Yang ’92 and hedge fund manager Tom Steyer ’75 shared the fourth Democratic Debate stage with 10 other candidates. While Yang’s signature platform is the Freedom Dividend and Steyer has been adamantly pushing for the impeachment of Donald Trump, the two are united by their alma mater, Phillips Exeter.

Alumni across classes shared their experiences in politics and reflected on the candidacies of Yang and Steyer.

Ultimately, alumni returned to Exeter’s values of knowledge, goodness and non sibi—themes central to public service.

Yang is an entrepreneur who campaigns with the vision of humanity first.

His primary proposal is to implement the Freedom Dividend, “a universal basic income (UBI) for every American adult over the age of 18: $1,000 a month” in response to automation, the greatest technological shift the world has ever seen.”

On the other hand, Steyer is the former head of an investment firm and a non-profit founder. He is running large-

Courtesy of the Communications Department ly to reform the system from the top down to bring more power to the American people and, if elected, will declare a national climate emergency.

M Jonathan Garzillo ’83 reflected upon this race and believes the number of Exonian candidates may be a result of the Academy’s privilege. “Perhaps it says more about wealth and politics than the Academy in particular,” he said. “Unless one is an established political entity, it takes billions to make a run.”

Both candidates mirror their Exeter education in their campaigns, particularly the Harkness pedagogy, Angel Cordle ’89 noted. “There is still a chance we can talk about ideas,” Cordle said. “I take a little comfort that we have two candidates that value Harkness. The lessons we learned around the Harkness table, about listening to each other, respecting different viewpoints, having the courage to speak, about collaboration, are still ingrained in us Exonians thirty or more years later.”

Russell Washington ’87 admires Yang for campaigning with novel ideas. “The fact that he is pushing ideas like universal basic income that are not mainstream and pushing the leading edge of trying to get people to look differently at the issues is pretty incredible, and as a result, he has been gaining a lot

of support: his fundraising hall is now catching up to top candidates like Kamala Harris and Cory Booker.”

Joe Liu P ’20 & ’18 first met Yang at the 2nd United Chinese Americans (UCA) National Conference in Washington DC, a nationwide nonprofit and nonpartisan federation of Chinese American individuals and other Chinese American organizations.

Liu admired Yang’s perspective on the automation and technology advancements and the feasibility and morality of UBI and hosted the fundraising event for Yang’s first visit to Columbus, Ohio. “First, I share many of his democratic views and values,” he said.

“Second, I’m a Chinese American and I’m very much for Chinese Americans in this country (and in the world) to be more engaged in politics and public service for the good of their own community and the general good of all—the country, the world, the human race.”

Pang Lee ’93 met Yang in Exeter when they were in the same Chinese language class in 1992 with instructor Ming Fontaine. Lee became interested in Yang’s ideas of paying stay-at-home moms and universities compensating collegiate athletes, and acknowledges the potential of UBI to reduce economic inequality. “[Yang] was always an unconventional guy, even when we

first met on campus back in the day,” he said. “I think he is running for the right reasons, in the spirit of public service and to make a positive difference for fellow Americans. Obviously it is not lost on me that he’s the first Asian American running for POTUS and I am especially proud of this fact. But he has not made his ethnic identity a focus or an issue, and has set the right tone in my opinion.”

The position of president, some Exonians believe, aligns with Academy values, specifically the non sibi mission. “We tend to perceive politicians as self-serving, but I can attest from personal experience that the cost far exceeds any possible rewards,” Garzillo said. “The balance is far more on the non than the sibi. Irrespective of one’s cause or ideology, anyone who throws their hat in the ring is doing it for what they see as a benefit to our society or some segment of it, and I don’t see Yang or Steyer as any different.”

Even so, no Exonian has made a large positive impact in the presidency as of yet. “So far, the only President the Academy has ever produced is Franklin Pierce, one of the worst presidents ever.” Garzillo said. “For heaven’s sake, please, someone raise that average.”

Liu emphasized the importance

of non sibi and how deeply this value resonates with Exonians, new and old.

“I believe this is the true distinction and the most important reason why Exeter has produced generations after generations of leaders in almost every field of human endeavor,” he said. “For more than two centuries, Exonians have contributed greatly to the world for public good, and in doing so, they’ve done themselves good, too,” he said.

“Getting into politics and running for offices takes courage, selfishness, sacrifice, and it requires empathy, character and a desire to serve the public— running for President is the highest of all that,” Liu continued.

Though these candidates are both on the democratic ticket, Exonians across classes perceived Exeter’s political climate in different ways. “My recollection was that most students saw themselves more as independents than affiliates of any given party,” Garzillo said.

Matt Hamel ’78, on the other hand, experienced Exeter as left-leaning. “While I don’t remember a lot of demonstrations, I do remember that during presidential election years, it was always an exciting time,” he said.

“A number of candidates [Ronald Reagan] came through and spoke at assembly or number the art gallery.” However, Hamel noted the partisan climate of 2019 did not exist in the same way.

Similarly, Steve Robinson ’73 felt the student body swung liberal. “I arrived in 1969, a time of rebellion and unrest in the student community as a whole,” Robinson said. “Many of us had older siblings protesting on college campuses. The Academy and the faculty were having trouble coping with the hippie-activist culture in general.”

Post-Exeter, certain alumni are more politically active than others.

Cordle does not describe themselves as politically active but maintains opinions about certain issues. “I try to stay involved with BLM and I contribute to Yang’s campaign,” Cordle said. “But I am frustrated that we are still battling the same demons we fought so passionately during my time at the Academy. The blatant racism of the current US administration and the tremendous support for such racism leaves my classmates wondering how far we really have come.”

Others, like Garzillo, are involved in local politics. Garzillo serves as a member of the local zoning hearing board and a planning commissioner for the town. “My wife and I are very involved in local governance,” he said. “If I had to give credit to Exeter, it would be the preparation of four years of the Harkness battlefield that has made me a bit better trained than most for holding my own in-group debate.”

Being an Exeter graduate is a privileged position that mandates action, Washington concluded. “If you look at the history of our alumni, the track record is clear—part of our job is to bring knowledge and goodness to communities after Exeter,” he said. “By the time you are 30, 40, 50, you’ve got to, for crying out loud, do something good for society.”

52

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Exonians Protest at Portsmouth Climate Strike 9/26/2019

By GIANLUCA AUDIA, ANNE BRANDES and CLARK WU “Dinosaurs probably thought they had time.” “The climate is changing, why aren’t we?” “Sorry I had to skip chem—trying to save the earth.”

These colorful slogans flew above a crowd of New Hampshire state representatives, scientists and youth activists assembled to strike for climate action on Friday, Sept. 20. Among the many young advocates were 50 Exonians who skipped classes and boarded buses to the strike in Portsmouth.

On that day, across the nation and the world, students chose to miss class, instead attending climate strikes to demonstrate their fears about the imminent threats of climate change.

Three hundred miles away, a quarter of a million protesters marched through the streets of Lower Manhattan in the largest climate demonstration in history, rallying ambition before the United Nations’ Climate Action Summit.

Exeter’s participation at the Portsmouth strike was organized by Exeter Climate Lobby, an on-campus organization. With the support of Sustainability Coordinator Jason BreMiller and advisor Warren Biggins, uppers and co-heads Alicia Coble, Bea Burack and Erin McCann scheduled vans and Red Dragons to and from the protest.

Most students who attended missed multiple required appointments, and organizers asked whether or not they wished to incur unexcused absences.

For McCann, the strike was an opportunity to involve the community.

“We live inside the Exeter bubble and many clubs make a difference within the campus, but by bringing students to the protest, Exeter Climate Lobby engages in activism happening in the real world,” McCann said.

Coble believes that attending a strike at Portsmouth or elsewhere is a concrete way to enact change. “For example, there’s our March on Washington right now and in my home state of Massachusetts; a lot of my friends and family are protesting at the state house and meeting with our representatives,” she said. “It’s just really exciting to see that change happening.”

Instead of a marching protest, the climate strike in Portsmouth featured a dozen speakers from different disciplinary backgrounds speaking about the impact of climate change and action protesters could take. The Sunrise Movement, for instance, advocated for strikers to oppose and vote out Sununu, the New Hampshire governor who vetoed all renewable energy bills. Bright pink flyers criticizing Christopher Sununu for “veto[ing] our children’s future” were passed around the hissing crowd.

Influential scientific voices were present as well. Harvard professor Greg Norris explained that people must have a positive net impact on the environment. “We’ve got to shrink our footprint and increase positive change; I call these handprints,” Norris said.

“All of us can do that. Then the world is a better and cleaner place because of

you.”

For students, missing class to attend the Climate Strike was a difficult decision. Upper Isabel Carden recounted her struggles to balance academics and her passion for environmental activism. “When I was deciding whether or not I should attend the Climate Strike, it was hard,” she said. “I have never missed a class before, but I was reminded that in 20 years, I’m not going to remember the math class that I missed, I’m going to remember the strike that I went to.”

Despite this conflict of interest, many more students and faculty signed up for the strike than the coheads had initially expected. “I think we gained more interest, and then we got 50 RSVPs,” McCann said. “We were expecting 20 people to want to come, so this was just really exciting.”

Attending the protest raises student awareness about climate change, lower Elizabeth McMahan said, “I feel that going to events like this also impacts myself. I am making an effort to change for the better and to keep myself up to date with what’s happening in the world.”

Other Exonians were motivated by activist Greta Thunberg, a 16-yearold leader of the international climate movement. Thunberg stopped going to school every Friday and striked in front of the Swedish Parliament, seeing no reason to invest in her education without ensuring the future of the climate. Prep Cindy Su saw Thunberg’s decision to sacrifice school work for activism as “a powerful statement”

that would especially resonate with Exonians.

Faculty across many disciplines attended the strike with Exonians. Theater and Dance Instructor Sarah Ream described the importance of striking for the climate. “If you address this issue, you acknowledge many different problems since climate change underpins everything else—social justice, equity, our childrens’ future,” she said.

“If we don’t get this right, nothing else matters.”

Though climate change is unavoidable, as Science Instructor Elizabeth Stevens said, action must be taken as soon as possible. “It’s crucial that we do something sooner rather than later,” Stevens said. “In fact, that may already be too late, but at least if we do something, the impacts may not be quite as bad. Climate change is going to affect all of our lives for the rest of our lives and future generations.”

After the strike, students like Carden felt energized by the assembled activists. “When we first walked into the strike, everybody started clapping,” Carden said. “I instantly felt like I knew these people and that we were part of the community. While we were complete strangers, we all had this one thing that we were fighting for, which was change in climate policy. That wasn’t something I was expecting.”

Upper Dylan O’Day was especially touched by an activist who spoke about the disastrous impact of Haiti’s recent hurricanes a result of climate change, and the impact it had on her immediate family. “It felt like

H4, Health Dept. Warn Students Against Vaping 10/17/2019

By ANNE BRANDES, VERONICA CHOULGA and TINA LI “Imagine if you got three weeks of stricts for buying coffee if you weren’t over 18,” upper Emerson* said. “Just like vaping, coffee makes tons of students become frustrated and get headaches, but in keeping with mainstream culture, the Academy decided it’s okay to drink coffee, but not okay to vape, even if both are addictive. Perhaps vaping has more consequences, but perhaps it doesn’t.”

As of Oct. 8, 2019, 1,299 lung injury cases associated with e-cigarette or vaping product usage have been reported to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 49 states, the District of Columbia and one U.S. territory. 26 deaths have been confirmed in 21 states, with a 17-yearold teenager identified last week as the youngest vaping casualty thus far.

In recognition of growing concern, the CDC recently gave vaping-related lung injuries a new name: EVALI, or e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury. “At this time, FDA and CDC have not identified the cause or causes of the lung injuries among EVALI cases, and the only commonality among all cases is that patients report the use of e-cigarette, or vaping, products. No single compound or ingredient has emerged as the cause of these injuries to date, and there might be more than one cause,” the CDC’s website states.

However, “more information is needed to know whether one or more e-cigarette or vaping products, substances, or brand is responsible for the outbreak.”

The relative novelty of vapes and pertinent studies presents a daunting challenge to users and health professionals. “To me, one death is too many,” Health Department Chair Michelle Soucy said. “The cause of these deaths is not fully understood yet, and that scares me.”

In light of growing concern nationwide, student health group H4 has installed informative flyers in dormitory bathrooms about the health risks of e-cigarette usage and support systems in place for those seeking to quit, while Medical Director Katharina Lilly and Licensed Clinician Marco Thompson delivered this Tuesday’s assembly on marketing tactics utilized by e-cigarette advertisement agencies and the

four levels of addiction: “like it, want it, need it and crave it.”

However, Exonians are not wholly convinced that the perils of vaping are substantial enough to warrant urgent help, nor that solutions to the issue of student vaping are within the Academy’s purview.

In his assembly presentation, Thompson introduced a confidential support group for students struggling with addiction every Thursday during department meeting block in the church basement. “It was my goal, along with my colleague Mr. Brandon Thomas, to create a safe and confidential space for students to speak openly about their substance use concerns,” Thompson said. “From an adult perspective, I place the utmost importance on students being able to seek the assistance they need. We would be unable to do that with this group, if the space were not both safe and confidential.”

This group is not connected to the ASAP (Academy Student Assistance Program) or affiliated with the Deans.

Unlike the ASAP program, there is no requirement to inform parents of a student’s participation in this group and Deans will not be notified of attendees.

To address escalating concerns, H4 designed four different styles of posters—“one from the approach of [portraying] vaping as an epidemic, one about the business side of how tobacco companies run the vaping companies, a few with quotes from current students who vape and the fourth about resources the Academy offers to students wanting help with their addiction,” upper and H4 member Ellie Griffin explained.

“We did not want the posters to feel derogatory in any way. We just wanted to spread awareness that vaping is dangerous and that the Academy is here to help with quitting,” Griffin said.

For students and faculty involved in efforts to combat student vaping, gauging the scale of the issue on the Exeter campus has been a significant challenge. Nationally, vaping appears to be “an epidemic among high school students,” Soucy noted. However, Academy survey results indicate that Exeter rates are lower than the national average.

In the Youth Health Risk Behavior Survey administered in 2017, less than 16 percent of Exonians reported vaping 30 days prior to taking the survey. “I am not sure what we will find when we administer the survey again, but my guess is that our students do not

use at the rates of youth in other parts of the country,” Soucy said. “I think Exonians are smart and realize how the industry has manipulated a new generation to use a nicotine product that was on its way out.”

Emerson*, on the other hand, believes these figures are inaccurate and conjectured that many students do not give honest responses in school surveys for fear of repercussion. “The State of the Academy survey projected the number of students who have vaped at 10 to 15 percent, which is just not true,” Emerson* said. “In my experience, the number has to be more around 40 to 50 percent. I can just count off on my head at least 50 people who vape at the Academy, and that’s just the people I know.”

Upper and H4 member Anna Jacobowitz offered an estimate closer to 30 percent. “I definitely don’t think that [vaping] is just an Exeter phenomenon,” she said. “I think this is a prevailing part of our age group nationally, and Exeter is no exception.”

Griffin attributed the prevalence of on-campus vaping to misinformation and insufficient knowledge about the potential consequences of using vape products. “There are many students who vape on campus, and I think they take the lack of long-term research on the effects of vaping as justification for not seeking out help or acknowledging the problem,” she said.

Emerson* claimed that many of the studies conducted on vaping thus far have been inconclusive. “I question whether [researchers] have isolated vaping products that one can buy in the store, or if they are referencing all the vaping products one can buy,” Emerson* said. “If you buy pods from online, they are often contaminated with other chemicals or products. You should only really hit products that you can buy in a store, and it’s not clear whether the studies take this into account.”

Upper Randall* agreed with Emerson*, comparing and contrasting vapes against other substances that are allegedly more dangerous. “The posters around campus are not going to affect my use, because [vaping] is still safer than most other substances and the kids who did die from it were excessive users,” Randall* said. “As long as my use doesn’t get out of control, I’m not in danger of any illness.”

Students and faculty agree that vaping has become more prevalent among Exonians as of late. “Definite-

ly between 2015 and 2018, there was a big jump in [vaping] because of the invention of Juuls and sleeker products that are easier to hide,” Randall* said.

According to Director of Counseling and Psychological Services SzuHui Lee, this upward trend has been apparent to health center staff. “I would say that in the last two years, there’s been an increase of students talking about their usage,” Lee said. “While not everyone is struggling with this, it certainly is on the minds of a lot of students—about their own use, worries about a friend’s use, how to refuse offerings, etc.”

Upper Taehoon Lee, who believes that approximately 25 to 30 percent of the student body vapes, noted that a student is more likely to vape if they are around others who participate in the same activity. “It’s interesting because a lot of people are completely oblivious of the fact that people vape and think ‘oh, nobody vapes in my dorm,’ when in fact, more people vape than they think,” he said. “It definitely depends on who you’re around.”

Emerson*, on the other hand, does not believe vaping is limited to specific social circles. ‘That’s the funny thing,” he said. “I don’t think it’s [only] prevalent in specific niches. Even though there are some people who you would assume [vape] more than others, it’s spread out, which contributes to why it’s so prevalent.”

Prep Barbara* says she began vaping in October 2017, before arriving at Exeter. “I was with my friends at a Halloween party and we left the party to go to a graveyard … One of my friend’s older brothers had gotten her [a vape], and they split the cost amongst the three of them. They were all really excited that they had one and they were all posting their tricks, blowing Os or whatever they could do, so then I tried it,” she recalled.

Others, like upper Clyde*, picked up the habit at Exeter. “At first I thought, ‘wow, this is lame. Then, I started to do it at parties, when it came up. I used to use my close friend’s who vaped with them, but I got my own Juul last spring.

That spring, I used it way more than I should have, to the point where it made me pass out,” he said.

Clyde* soon found himself addicted. “I wanted to stop, so I tried to sell [the vape] and failed. Over the summer, I started smoking cigarettes again, and when I got back here, I got some Juul pods because they were convenient. I struggle with alcoholism and it’s been

an awakening to me,” O’Day said. “I realized that it is personally affecting people around me.”

Though the strike was a success, some students, such as upper Joseph Chen, had mixed feelings regarding Exeter’s level of support prior to the event. “I do think that Exeter should spread more awareness,” Chen said.

He proposed that the school “let students know that they have these options instead of keeping it confined to some students.”

Other members of the Exeter community noted that the female to male ratio was skewed. “I do think that the higher concentration of females in environmental activism is a national and global trend,” Biology Instructor Sydnee Goddard said.

Burack added that Exeter Climate Lobby’s female representation may have also contributed. “I think that— at least for our club—it’s important to recognize that all four of our coheads are all female,” she said. “That might’ve impacted the gender of individuals who signed up at club night and for the protest.”

Despite the imbalance in demographics, Exeter Climate Lobby advisor Warren Biggins views the youth protest as the next generation taking the future into their own hands. “The climate strike means that young people take climate change and the consequences of our collective inaction to address it seriously,” he said. “It also means that young people realize the urgency of the situation and are going to be demanding that their governments, corporations and institutions take aggressive action.”

Reflecting upon the protest, McCann concluded that the environmental movement relies on the determination of the unified. “People are very willing to invest their time, and they really do care about their future: you just need a spark, a collective,” she said. “Sometimes that’s social media, sometimes a conversation. Perhaps really hard, so nicotine is something I can still hold on to and use in that way because it’s not as bad. Even though it’s way more addictive, it’s not as destructive to my lifestyle,” he said.

The Academy has taken several steps to combat vaping, Soucy noted.

“I think our school is doing a good job at talking about this issue in health classes, at assemblies, in advisory groups, and we are making it clear that these devices and use of any nicotine is prohibited on our campus,” she said. “There has also been an effort to inform faculty about these devices and the kinds of products that are out there.”

“Additionally, the health center will help students who are users and/or addicted to nicotine. Whether that help comes from a health professional and/ or in the form of coming to the new support group that Mr. Thompson and Mr. Thomas are running … the process is confidential,” Soucy continued. “We want students to be healthy. It is not our goal in the health center to get anyone in trouble.”

Some students worry that this issue may be beyond the Academy’s control.

“There are people who will experiment with vape and other substances—it’s pretty common for teenagers,” Jacobowitz said. “I’m not sure what the administration can do.”

Bella Alvarez ’19 voiced that Exeter adults lack a sufficient understanding of how Exonians are introduced to vaping. “One thing that is humorous to me is the way that adults [depict] ‘peer pressure’ as a means of influencing students into vaping—I’ve never found myself locked in a room with someone holding a Juul in front of me demanding that I hit it,” Alvarez said. “The subtleties of peer pressure are much more nuanced and if the administration wants to stop vaping, they [need to] present scientific evidence that illustrates the harmful effects of ‘Juuling’ and allow for some sort of ‘amnesty’ program.”

Griffin hopes that spreading word of non-disciplinary response options will encourage more students to seek help. “I think the Academy should keep raising awareness of the dangers of vaping and emphasizing that asking for help will not land you in disciplinary trouble and that your parents do not necessarily have to be notified,” she said.

Upper and H4 member Haruka Masamura encouraged her peers to utilize the abundance of available resources and actively confront their addictions. “I’ve heard that ‘Juuling’ is almost like a cup of coffee everyday for working adults: some people need it just to get through the day,” Masamura said. “However, with other resources like counselors on campus, I hope that students can find the root problem that made them first go into vaping, and from there, be able to quit vaping en-

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Students Protest Latinx Alienation at PEA

Students protest at Grill.

11/7/2019

By ANNE BRANDES, ERIN CHOI and TUCKER GIBBS Upon entering the Academy Center to purchase their morning coffee on Friday, Nov. 1, students and faculty were met by a line of student protesters linking arms in front of Grill, calling attention to “the lack of concern for the Latinx community on the Academy’s campus,” according to a distributed statement. Passersby decided whether to leave the vicinity, engage with protesters, watch from afar, enter Grill through the back entrance or, in some cases, break through the line of protest.

The protest was organized in the aftermath of the annual Halloween costume contest in Grainger Auditorium, hosted by the Student Council (StuCo) Recreation (Rec) Committee during Department Meeting on the previous day. At the end of the contest, three Grill staff members walked on stage, wearing a costume of a wall with the slogan “Make America Great Again” written across the brick pattern.

Several students in the hall shared pictures or videos of the wall costume on social media accounts.

Later on Thursday, a cardboard poster was posted outside Grill with an apology acknowledging hurt caused by the costume.

In a joint statement to The Exonian, La Alianza Latina (LAL)—Exeter’s Latinx affinity group—and the Afro-Latinx Exonian Society (ALES) explained the impact of the costume on their community. “On Thursday, an anti-immigrant, anti-Mexican, and anti-Latinx symbol was placed on a public platform. The clear oversight on the day of the costume contest hurt many students and reinforced the alienation Latinx and other students of color feel on campus.”

On Thursday evening, members of LAL and ALES met to process the implications of the wall costume.

LAL, framing the costume not as a standalone incident, but one conspicuous example of the pervasive marginalization of the Latinx community on campus, decided to organize a protest.

That night, members disseminated slogans including “Build movements, not walls” and other calls for collective action on various social media platforms.

Organizers of the protest clarified that the aim of their response was not to condemn individual Grill workers.

“This protest was ignited by the costume but is not directed at [G]rill employees. This protest is about the lack of concern for the Latinx community on campus,” read the statement distributed during the protest.

The statement specified four demands: “Transparent, thorough and frequent cultural competency training for all adults on campus; a response from the Academy reinforcing our school values and principles; an explicit policy clarifying the boundaries of political speech by faculty and staff;

JaQ Lai/The Exonian continued, impactful conversations on our community values and how we can maintain them.”

As Grill filled within a few minutes of Assembly Break, chaos and confusion ensued as the line of protesters blurred with others traveling inside and outside of the store. Some, including students and adults, joined the line, or openly voiced opposition to the protest, or attempted to break through the line, or used the back door into Grill to purchase their breakfast items.

At the time of the protest, the administration had not yet issued a statement or clarification on recent events, and many had not read the protestors’ written statement. Hence, some community members still appeared to be confused about the cause of the commotion.

LAL extended an offer to Asian Voices (AV), an affinity group for Asian students, to join the organization effort for the protest. However, AV coheads and seniors Isabella Ahmad, David Kim and Mia Kuromaru decided at the time not to endorse the protest due to a lack of clarity on the specifics of the protest. “Mia, David and I agreed with the agenda the LAL co-heads put together, but I didn’t know at the time that the four-point call for action they outlined was in response to pervasive xenophobic sentiments on campus, not solely the depiction of Trump’s wall on Halloween. I didn’t know until I went to the ALES discussion the next day,” Ahmad said.

BYSTANDER PERSPECTIVES Some, including senior Noel Gomez, felt that a silent protest was not an effective course of action. “I don’t think the protest did very much about the situation,” he said. “I feel like it would have been way more effective to start a discussion.”

Ahmad reflected on her first impression of the protest. “My initial reaction to hearing about the costume on Thursday night was wondering what its intent was rather than its impact, but I think that was a product of my privilege as a first generation American—I’m a person of color, but I’m not an immigrant or Latina and so I probably don’t see myself in the victims of the atrocities America commits at the border,” she said. “On the other hand, when anti-immigrant sentiments rise, all people of color are affected. There are undocumented Asians in America, and ICE raids and immigration policy affect Asians, too. While I personally thought the costume was in poor taste but not condemning, I can’t speak for the entire Asian community because there are Asian Exonians who were harmed by the image of the wall.”

Others described the protest as a disproportionate response to the costume incident, citing the perception that the Grill employees’ intentions did not seem malicious.

“I feel like the staff should have been aware that the costume wasn’t a good idea, but backlashing against the staff, even though they say ‘Have

a nice day’ every time you buy something and clearly want the best for you, seems a bit over the top,” upper Adam Tuchler said. “But I also understand that it is important to inform staff of what is appropriate and what isn’t appropriate.”

In an email to The Exonian, Principal William Rawson elaborated on the nuance of the situation. “Though apparently not intended in this case, the costume could be predicted, based on other popular usage of wall imagery, to be experienced and understood by many in our community as conveying an exclusionary message and an attack on personhood – contrary to our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” he said.

FACULTY PERSPECTIVES Religion Instructor Jennifer Marx Asch expressed disappointment at the apparent lack of compassion among many Exonians in the face of the protest. “I was struck that the overriding concern was people getting their coffee or hobos and not taking a moment to see and hear what the protesters were upset about,” she said.

Religion Instructor Hannah Hofheinz acknowledged the interference of some students and faculty who made deliberate attempts to break through the protest line. “I was really dismayed and saddened to hear this. I think that physicality speaks a lot…We should pause and think about when it’s okay to bodily interject through other people,” Hofheinz said. “On the other hand, it also matters that some adults, perhaps by virtue of their authority as adults on campus, made their way past a group of protesting students or said things to protestors—or other students—that felt aggressive.”

Marx Asch noted that empathizing with others’ experiences, especially in moments of hurt and vulnerability, should be first and foremost. “As a community, if we don’t pick up on those signals of our peers being in distress or trying to say something, even in a silent or non-verbal way, we’re not seeing and hearing each other,” she said. “And that makes me really concerned.”

On Friday evening, six hours after the protest, Principal William Rawson sent out an email to all Academy employees and students—the first school-wide communication since the Halloween contest. Describing the wall costume as “inappropriate,” “offensive,” and “contrary to our values as a community,” Rawson acknowledged that it left many Exonians “feeling unsafe and unwelcome at a school that professes a commitment to inclusivity.”

In the email, he apologized for the incident, reaffirmed Exeter’s values of diversity and inclusion and restated LAL’s four demands articulated at the protest.

Some, like upper Sarah Kennedy, expressed concern for Principal Rawson’s statement, interpreting backlash against the costume as a condemnation

of conservative political views. “I was really disturbed by Principal Rawson’s response because the way that email was phrased suggests that supporting Donald Trump was against our community values, which is not something that an administration should be saying because I know there are Trump supporters on campus,” she said.

However, Physical Education Instructor and Exonian Encounter advisor Toyin Augustus voiced that the wall imagery represents more than a purely political stance. “The wall also symbolizes this level of us-versusthem exclusionary politics that translates into the rhetoric about ‘sh*th*le’ countries,” she said. “The suggestion is that it’s only certain kinds of people who are welcome here.”

Augustus continued, “If you support Trump because you support the exclusion of other countries’ citizens into the U.S., then I think that exclusionary policy is what the school doesn’t condone. Your politics could be in direct conflict with the school’s values. The school doesn’t have to take a political stance to take a value stance.”

Rawson explained to The Exonian that the costume was problematic not because of its political affiliation, but because of the targeting of specific demographics associated with its imagery and slogan. “Though apparently not intended in this case, the costume could be predicted, based on other popular usage of wall imagery, to be experienced and understood by many in our community as conveying an exclusionary message and an attack on personhood—contrary to our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” he said.

Rawson affirmed to The Exonian that promoting inclusive and diverse political discourse is an important part of Exeter’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) mission. “As an academic institution in a democracy, with a national election coming up next year, we are aware of the need to talk about boundaries between permissible and impermissible speech for adults and students. I have said before that a healthy educational institution, like a healthy democracy, must be equally committed to diversity and free speech. The full value of one is not realized without a full commitment to the other,” he said.

STUDENT COUNCIL TAKES RESPONSIBILITY This Tuesday, Student Council (StuCo) gathered in Grainger Auditorium to clarify circumstances leading up to the Halloween contest and to facilitate roundtable discussions among its 75 elected members and other participants, processing its aftermath.

Involved members of the community, including LAL adviser Querida De La Stukes, shared words on the protest and its impact.

The StuCo Rec Committee coheads Cooper Walshe and Maegan Paul began the meeting by acknowl-

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edging missteps in the contest signup process. While all prospective participants had been requested to submit an online description of their costume by Oct. 29 and respond to StuCo’s subsequent confirmation email, the Grill employees’ group entry, listed under Grill manager Scott Jeffco’s name, only included the word “wall” and was not accompanied by a follow-up confirmation email. Additionally, the Grill employees’ late arrival caused them to forgo StuCo’s formal vetting process on the day.

The StuCo faculty advisors— Mathematics Instructor Laura Marshall and Science Instructor Anne Rankin—confirmed the Rec Committee’s account and apologized for the pain the costume had caused.

“We were very uncomfortable when we saw the costume. For a variety of reasons, we thought that the costume was not a part of the contest and so, though uncomfortable, we refocused on the tasks required to run the event,” Rankin shared at the meeting. “In retrospect, we wish that we had reacted to our discomfort by engaging the people in the costume in a conversation to ask our questions and share our concerns.”

Grill Manager Scott Jeffco similarly expressed regret in a statement to The Exonian. “We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused the students and community. We posted the apology signs after learning about the pain we had caused,” he said. “We believe these events are reflective of the need for further education for our team and our community.”

Going forward, StuCo’s Committee on Community, Equity and Inclusion (CCED) will be involved in conversations with the Rec Committee about monitoring standards at future StuCo events, starting with this Friday’s E/a Pep Rally.

MOVING FORWARD—FUTURE PROGRAMMING On Wednesday, Nov. 6, Rawson sent a second all-school email divulging steps the administration plans to take. Next week, all community adults will begin discussions clarifying boundaries for political expression among faculty and staff, in addition to reexamining Exeter’s cultural competency training.

Students will also participate in mandatory programming focused on empathy and listening skills, starting next term on Dec. 9. The Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) will also offer optional programming centered around diversity, identity, and inclusion.

The last initiative specified in Rawson’s email is a mandatory professional development opportunity on Jan. 6 for all employees. The PEA adult community will gather for several DEI-oriented discussions before that date.

Rawson emphasized that compassion is integral to community conversation in a statement to The Exonian.

“Because we come to Exeter with unique backgrounds, identities, and experiences, we do not all experience speech the same way,” he said. “This is where the skills described in our DEI vision statement, of engaging across differences with empathy and respect, become so important.”

Some members of the faculty believe that events such as the protest demonstrate the way the Academy community processes controversial issues. “This incident follows a pattern on campus,” Hofheinz said. “It reveals exactly where we are. We have difficulty talking to one another about politics. We struggle to talk to one another about race. We labor to talk to one another about the depth of our own experiences. Yet we desperately need to do so, and a good number of students are pushing for this hard and important work.”

Republican Club co-head and senior Pepper Pieroni noted the challenge of objective, balanced political discussion in the context of personal experiences and heated emotions.

“While there is a connection between person and policy, the conversations are much more difficult to have when there is emotion loaded on both sides,” he said. “The conversation is suddenly tilted—once someone announces they are hurt, it limits the amount of empathetic and constructive conversations that can occur.”

StuCo President and senior Ayush Noori noted that the events of the past week are symptomatic of the broader political divide afoot in the United States and beyond.

“This series of events is a function of the world we live in, which is a world that is contentious, challenging, hurtful, and often lacks respect,” Noori said. “But I would hope that it is not representative of Phillips Exeter and it is certainly not a reflection of the Exeter we strive to be.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Faculty Discuss Grade Inequities and Inflation

11/7/2019

By BONA HONG, NEHA NEDUMARAN, CLARK WU and FELIX YEUNG While Exeter has long been known for its high academic standards, students often raise questions about the consistency and equity of departmental grading practices. To better understand how students are assessed at Exeter, The Exonian examined grading practices across departments and trends in grading over time.

The Academy does not have a written philosophy on grading. “I believe this is a worthwhile task and goal. Part of that philosophy should be about equity and communication,” Director of Studies Scott Saltman said. “We should also be digging into what we believe to be appropriate and equitable assessment of Harkness—I know that is an area of student concern.”

Data on grading is collected for internal use. “The Academy collects data on grades simply because that is a good record-keeping practice,” Saltman said.

“We need to anticipate how someone in the future might want to sort and examine that data.” Saltman declined to share school-wide grading data with The Exonian.

“This fall, the faculty began a discussion of assessment practices, focusing on how assessments should be used to improve student learning and the benefits of giving feedback to students that is both evaluative and instructive,” Saltman said. “We also discussed the importance of maintaining clear expectations for student work, particularly as students move from one teacher to another in sequential courses.”

However, standardizing grade distributions across the board is not a goal in this process. “Such a practice can be constraining and can lead to inequity— imagine a teacher being told to give a

certain number of [lower grades], even if the students are particularly strong and deserving of [higher grades],” Saltman said.

Though there are collective efforts to improve grading, each department and faculty member has great latitude in grading practices. “There are inherent differences in the types of work that different departments assess,” Saltman added. “As a result of this, I don’t believe a standard school-wide grading scale would result in either a more equitable experience for students or more consistency between departments’ grade distributions.”

While the Science Department has a standardized grading scale, teachers still have a high degree of freedom.

“We allow our teachers to determine how they will assess their students: both the quantity and types of assessments,” Science Department Chair Alison Hobbie said. “Faculty who teach in the same discipline often have conversations about how they assess student work, to promote conversations about what is important in an assessment and, to some degree, to provide some commonality in grading philosophy.”

By contrast, quantitative grading is difficult in humanities disciplines. “The kind of work we do is wonderfully, inherently subjective. I don’t know how you measure it—it would be suspicious if somebody said you could,” Chair of the Theater Department Rob Richards said. “I think we grade what we teach: In many ways, it has to do with the human experience, participation and transformation.”

In humanities courses, said English Department Chair Nathaniel Hawkins said, there are ways to create consistency. “We do group grading exercises and talk routinely about the skills we hope to teach and the elements of good writing in every genre we emphasize,” Hawkins said.

Clarity in grading may also be re-

inforced by clear expectations. “I have a set of technical, organizational and content expectations for writing assignments; I use these to assess,” Instructor in English Becky Moore said. “Along with the grade, I make notes and final comments on the assignments.”

Some departments that use written assessments set common goals. “The History Department has repeatedly visited the question of grading both essays and in-class discussion. Each faculty member enjoys some autonomy in their classroom, but the goals of assessment are largely the same: basic grammar and syntax, clear expression of ideas, demonstrated engagement with scholarship and primary materials,” Department Chair Kent McConnell said.

In many subjects, participation also factors heavily. “I determine grades based on class participation and assessments (mostly essays, but occasionally an in-class assessment is part of the calculation). Class participation can be anywhere from 25 to 50 percent of the total grade; it depends on the class,” History Instructor Betty Luther-Hillman said. “I tend to weight class participation more heavily for seniors because I assume they’ve learned ‘how to Harkness’ by the time they get to senior year.”

In some departments, assessments tend to be formative in nature. “Many activities in the Music Department (ensembles and lessons) aren’t graded with letter grades. Lessons and ensembles are feedback-rich environments where formative assessment is happening at almost every meeting,” Chair of the Music Department Kristofer Johnson said. “Those experiences are given a narrative comment at the end of term.”

Most departments use assessments as more than evaluations. “Assessments should help the learning. They should be crafted in such a way that they themselves are learning activities,” Religion Department Chair Hannah Hofheinz

Sze, O’Byrne Elected as New Trustee Leaders 10/31/2019

By LINA HUANG, TUCKER GIBBS and MAEGAN PAUL Morgan Sze ’83 and Deidre O’Byrne ’84 will serve as President and Vice President of the Board of Trustees, succeeding current President Tony Downer ’75 and Vice President Wole Coaxum ’88 on June 30, 2020. Downer announced the decision in an email to all Academy students and faculty this Tuesday.

Downer emphasized the important role Trustee leaders play in overseeing Academy operations and defining its broader institutional direction. “[Sze and O’Byrne] will play a critical role as the school journeys into a promising future which pairs our foundational values with creative initiatives to assure the relevance, leadership and unmatched quality of an Exeter education,” he said.

Principal William Rawson reflected on the great dedication and expertise Sze and O’Byrne will bring to their respective positions, saying, “They bring considerable wisdom and experience to their duties as trustees, as well as a deep commitment to the mission of the school … I am confident they will pro-

vide excellent leadership.”

While Downer and Coaxum’s terms were limited to three years at the time of their appointment in 2017, the lengths of O’Byrne and Sze’s tenures have not yet been determined. Rawson noted that while most Trustees serve in official board positions for two or three years, bylaws allow for President and Vice President tenures to be extended by a maximum of three years. O’Byrne is currently scheduled to depart from the Board of Trustees in June 2024, Sze in June 2022.

In Sze’s seven years on the board and O’Byrne’s five, the two have already undertaken many initiatives to engage with the PEA community and participate in strategic planning. “I’ve been fortunate to have learned from our leadership among the Trustees and on campus … in a variety of roles,” Sze said. “I believe the mutual respect, shared values and diversity of experience will be helpful as I take on my new role.”

As President, Sze will have three primary responsibilities. In addition to supporting the Principal and ensuring the efficacy of Trustee projects, Sze will strive to ensure the Academy’s operational wellbeing while upholding its

fundamental principles. “I believe we have the opportunity to take the Academy forward to define a mission that embodies the timeless values of our Deed of Gift and maximizes the impact our students and institution will have on the world of tomorrow,” he said.

Sze recognized the Academy’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) statement, gender-neutral dormitory pilot and efforts to reduce its carbon footprint as salient examples of how the Exeter community has recently embodied its values of goodness and service.

O’Byrne articulated her intentions to engage with the Exeter community on a more proximate level in her role as Vice President. “I hope to help the school continue to move forward and always strive for excellence,” O’Byrne said. “I am excited to be on campus more frequently. Some of the highlights for me are the opportunities to meet students, see them perform, watch them compete and converse during dorm duty.”

O’Byrne shares Sze’s strong commitment to DEI, which she describes as the fostering of “a diverse and inclusive community in which each person has the tools to flourish.”

In particular, O’Byrne looks for-

said. “They are not mere judgements.”

Chair of the Modern Languages Department Evelyn Christoph explained that although teachers put in their best effort to grade equitably, there is still room for improvement. “There are still questions being raised on whether there are disparities in how assessments are graded. We are working seriously on questions of grading and equitable grading practices,” she said.

Even within a department, standardized grading scales are not always the best method of creating consistency.

“Different types of assignments require different approaches to grading, and different teachers give different types of assignments,” Hofheinz said. “We always talk about best practices.”

However, some students pointed out that some courses tend to be more subjective than others, giving those who excel in some fields an advantage.

“For courses like English or Modern Languages, assessments are usually based on writing, which are really subjective,” upper Yulian Ye said. “That’s why I personally feel more challenged in the humanities courses and languages than, say, math or science.”

Still, discrepancies in grading can be attributed to the type of student each department draws. “One reason for discrepancies is that … the English Department are required to teach all students in the school—whether the students see English as a particular strength or not,” Moore said. “In contrast, some other departments suggest that since they teach only those students for whom the subject is a particular passion or strength, that the performance and following assessment will skew to the excellent, rather than the good or average.”

Some instructors felt that students could learn from the variations in grading style. “I think students have a lot to learn from different teachers’ approaches to writing. There’s no one ‘correct’ writing style for historical analysis, so students need to learn what style is most successful for them,” Luther-Hillman said. “But, at a fundamental level, all history teachers want students to engage with texts, use factual evidence to support their points, and show an understanding of the history topics they’re learning.”

Despite the variation in grading style, students felt that, due to the term system, average grades would even out.

“If you have a teacher that’s considered ‘hard’ by many students, it’s hard in that moment, obviously,” senior Smaiyl Makyshov said. “And it may be a tough time. But it is what it is.”

Other students felt that their peers tended to blame teachers for poor grades. “For the most part, I think teachers are fair … It’s really easy to blame your own failures on the teacher,” lower Juliette Ortiz said. “When you’re learning something new and learning how to learn, it’s hard. If you’re not getting it right away, that’s normal.”

In addition to questions on consistency, concerns on grade inflation have been raised on campus. “In certain circles, it’s recognized that grade inflation is a thing. We’ve fallen out of the ‘learn or get out’ model that was started by Principal Amen, that endured until the seventies or eighties,” upper Charlie Preston said. “When we talk about early cum, we talk about the cutoff—we say that it’s going to be higher for our grade than others. More and more people are getting grades that are above a 10.”

Moore similarly felt that a shift had occurred. “The faculty receives a sum-

mary of all the grades given for any term by individual teacher and department; when I began here, the English Department Chair wanted a term department average of 8.5. These days, it has begun to approach 9.0,” she said.

“One concern is that some students and families have much less ability to hear that their performance earns any assessment in English below a B+. Too many of them—parents and students—can only seem to equate academic identity with one letter: A.” Moore felt that this cultural shift has changed her approach to grading. “Instead of arguing with students and families over a grade, I would rather spend my time helping a student learn the material,” she said. “Teachers have little incentive besides their own integrity to affirm that grades of C-,C, C+, B- and B indicate good, creditable work done, and more skill and material to learn.”

McConnell characterized grade inflation as a present and concerning trend. “My evidence is anecdotal, but over the twenty-plus years of my teaching at both [the Academy] and the collegiate level, grades have been inflated for all sorts of reasons,” he said. “There are other factors beyond epistemological considerations that play into grading and grade inflation that are not good for students and their educational pursuits.

This is not a student problem, but an institutional one and one of our culture in America as a whole.”

McConnell stressed that his stance was not a blanket endorsement of previous grading methods, given studies on knowledge acquisition that should be taken into account during grading.

Hofheinz noted that grade inflation—or grade condensing, as they put it—may actually cause greater stress for students. “The counterintuitive part is that when we lose real differentiation in grades … when grades get condensed, when it feels like everyone needs to get an A- or B+, student anxiety goes up, learning outcomes go down. It ends up being a much harder situation for everyone,” they said.

Hofheinz felt that grades may even hinder learning. “Grades take too much attention. Students invest grades with so much emotion and so much personal identification—as if it’s who you are as an identity,” they said. “In our department, we are far more interested in the learning, in the questions and in facilitating classroom experience as students move toward the goal of better understanding themselves and the world. That often is not the same matter as grade.”

Similarly, Richards noted that learning to stumble is a key part of growing up. “Somebody said, ‘As a parent, if you don’t teach your kids disappointment, you’re doing them a disservice,’” he said. “I had to learn that the hard way, but I am a believer in that.”

While grading should not be a determinant in student perception of themselves, they are key parts of the academic process. Thus, the faculty have made meaningful strides towards consistency and equity. “It’s part of our ongoing conversations—we talk about grading in a variety of ways, as a whole department and as individuals,” Hofheinz said.

Saltman echoed Hofheinz’s thoughts. “We have asked the faculty and departments to consider and discuss their values and their expectations,” Saltman said. “We believe that by starting the conversation in that area, we will develop more consistency in grading practices.”

ward to celebrating 50 years of co-education at the Academy next year.

“Exeter should remain the lodestar for anyone seeking a community of excellence committed to inclusion in all we do,” she said.

Sze arrived at Exeter as a prep in Merrill Hall in 1979, going on to participate in WPEA and the Ham Radio Club, serving as co-Editor-in-Chief of PEAN, an editor for The Exonian and taking part in the Washington Intern Program. “Exeter taught me the values and independent thinking that have played such a formative role in my own life and my family’s lives,” Sze said.

Meanwhile, O’Byrne arrived the following year as a prep in Soule Hall, actively serving as a member of ESSO, a proctor in Dunbar and co-captain of the women’s crew team. Looking back, she especially values the lessons she learned through Harkness in listening to understand others’ perspectives and experiences. “I will always be grateful for the education I received here and feel very fortunate that I have had the opportunity in the years since graduation to try, in different ways, to give back,” she said.

Since 2009, Sze has been active in various Academy committees including Investment, Budget and Finance, Buildings and Grounds, IT and the Committee on Trustees. He acknowledged the significant progress the Academy has made on many fronts in the last decade. “I’m glad to see that the Academy has become more welcoming, supportive and diverse, which is a real credit to everyone on campus and those leaders who have come before us,” he said. “That has made coming

back to serve the Academy a pleasure.”

In 2010, O’Byrne was appointed Director of the General Alumni Association (GAA) and named GAA Vice President in 2014. She has also been a member of Institutional Advancement, the Committee on Trustees and the Interim Principal Advisory Committee, and has served as chair of Audit and Risk, the Governance Review Task Force and the Student and Employee Life Committee.

Looking ahead, both Sze and O’Byrne are excited for the chance to positively impact Exeter’s future. “I feel very humbled to have the opportunity to serve Exeter in this way,” O’Byrne said. “I hope to help the school continue to move forward and always strive for excellence.”

In the upcoming months, Downer will help Sze and O’Byrne transition into their new positions. He expressed high hopes for the future leadership of the Board of Trustees. “Our school is most fortunate to have these two exceptionally devoted, experienced and capable graduates to lead our trustees as the Exeter community moves forward into its next chapter,” Downer wrote in his school-wide email.

Looking forward to a new chapter of Academy leadership, Rawson reflected on his experience working with Downer and Coaxum these past three years and expressed gratitude for their service to PEA. “Mr. Downer and Mr. Coaxum have been terrific partners and have supported me in every way possible from my first day on the job,” Rawson said. “I will miss their friendship as much as their wise counsel.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Academy Elects New Student Council Board 2/28/2020

By ANNE BRANDES, GIANLUCA AUDIA, AMY LUM, MINSEO KIM, EVAN GONZALEZ and DANIEL ZHANG In a surprising turn of events last Friday, Student Council (StuCo) announced a dead-even tie between presidential candidates Charlotte Lisa and Senai Robinson. According to the StuCo advisers, Dean of Academic Affairs Laura Marshall and Science Instructor Anne Rankin, 363 votes, including abstentions, were filed via 360 electronic ballots and 3 absentee ballots.

After discussion between the two candidates, they decided to lead together under a Co-Presidency system. Lisa and Robinson will join the 2020-2021 StuCo Executive board along with Vice President elect upper Seth Amofa and Co-Secretary elects upper Phil Horrigan and lower Siona Jain.

CO-PRESIDENCY The last Co-Presidents to assume the office of Stuco Presidents were Co-Presidents Jackson Parrell ’18 and Menat Bahnasy ’18 of the 2017-2018 Executive Board.

After a rigged election, the Student Council appointed all students in the run-off election to the Executive Board.

According to Marshall, the 2017-18 StuCo raised the question of whether or not they wished to keep the Co-President structure for future boards. Ultimately, they voted against Co-Presidents and advised only one Student Council president after the 2017-2018 board, returning back to its original structure.

Horrigan believes that this election cycle indicates a larger problem. “My candidate statement from the very beginning was root-

ed in the assumption that students have a lack of autonomy in the Student Council,” he said. “The lack of transparency both in results of the election and the appointment of Co-Presidents confirm my platform.”

Marshall explained that the decision to offer Co-Presidents arose from different circumstances than the 2017-2018 election, and the Constitution did not contain any information about the proper response to a tie. Lisa and Robinson were given the options of accepting or declining the position. If they both accepted the presidency, a Co-President system would be established. “If it’s not dictated in the constitution, the Executive board and the Elections Committee have to decide,” Marshall said.

When told about the tie, Robinson noted that he wanted to privately deliberate with Lisa before coming to a decision. “For me even to take on any leadership role, I wanted to consider what’s best for the students, what’s best for, in this case, me and Charlotte,” he said.

Marshall also explained that the decision to establish Co-Presidents “was not made by the advisers.”

Multiple students are aware of the voter turnout— 363 votes including abstentions, 360 of which were filed electronically and 3 filed as absentee ballots. Lai, Robinson and Lisa were made aware of the vote count during this Tuesday’s Student Council meeting.

As outlined in the Student Council Constitution, only two elections are to take place—a primary and a run-off. After a re-vote due to technical difficulties in the primary election, a fourth election was considered, but it was determined that it did not make sense to re-run the exact same election, according to Marshall. “They each received the same number of votes,” Marshall said. “It would not have made sense to do another

run off between the two of them, because this election was already a run off between the two of them.”

Transparency However, many students raised concerns of transparency, noting how they were not aware of StuCo’s reasoning for offering a Co-Presidency in response to the tie. “I don’t know why we have Co-Presidents and nobody has told me why,” lower Shrayes Upadhyuyula said. “I don’t know if there’s anything in the Constitution, or if people just decided that there should be Co-Presidents.”

Lower Janessa Vargas was surprised when she first heard of the new Co-President system. “It’s not that I have a problem with it, but it’s that I didn’t vote for Co-Presidents.”

Upper Oliver Hess was concerned about the efficiency of Co-Presidents. “My biggest fear is that their competing ideas would inhibit action from happening,” he said. “There were some distinct differences that I took into account while voting. Both of them will inevitably contradict each other. I don’t think this system would be efficient in passing the legislation that the students are counting on.”

While students are allowed to know that the election had a 363 voter turnout, this figure was not announced publicly by StuCo. Students are not allowed to know the distribution of the votes of the results, as per the Constitution. Upadhyuyula explained that his concerns would be assuaged by the public release of results. “The results haven’t been released and I don’t understand why they haven’t,” he said. “I would like to know the percentage breakdown of the votes and how many votes have been actually tallied. I’m interested in knowing the voter turnout because it indicates how much of the student body is represented by StuCo.” Hess also felt that the public

release of results would establish needed trust between the students and StuCo. “I think with the history of the election committee, considering that there was already a problem this election cycle, I feel that results very much should be public so that we can be sure that this is what happened,” Hess said.

“I feel like there could be more confidence in the election committee, but at the moment, that confidence doesn’t exist. I don’t think that not releasing the results is aiding the confidence and trust of the students.”

Some students were confused whether or not the results were a dead tie. “I thought there was a margin of error that they considered to be a tie. I wonder if it was actually a dead tie or something they considered to be a tie,” lower Tommy Seidel said. “It would be better to be more clear about results so that the students know if it was exactly a dead tie.”

OTHER DISCREPANCIES Students have directed criticisms regarding transparency against other parts of the election process.

Vice President Candidate and upper Sonny Fiteni noted that his rival, Amofa, was not disqualified for failing to submit a candidate statement. “I was just surprised that they chose to ignore this old rule. I just tried to run my race in a clean way,” he said. “This is not a critique of any candidate, I just think things get a little murky when the rules aren’t very clear or consistent year to year. It’d be a lot simpler if everything was set in stone and the rules they put in the email were in the Constitution.”

Upper Emmanuel Tran noted similar experiences. After he was disqualified from running for the election, he was not told why he was disqualified. “I find it difficult to trust an election system that I have experienced as untransparent,” Tran said.

Marshall explained that the signature requirement was mandated by the Constitution. “The Constitution dictates that candidates must get the certain amount of signatures required and the election committee has been very consistent year over year about enforcing

PEA Employees’ Political Donations Examined 1/31/2020

By TUCKER GIBBS, MINSEO KIM and MARINA AVILOVA Due to its early primary parties, New Hampshire has long been a popular state for political candidates. This year, New Hampshire citizens will vote for the Democratic and Republican Parties’ presidential on Tuesday, Feb. 11. Like most New Hampshire residents, Academy teachers navigate their own political identities. Frequently, these identities manifest in the form of donations, and at times, the intersection of their political beliefs with teaching.

New Hampshire voters are said to have 20 times the influence than later voting states, a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research reported. With the 2020 presidential election in sight, political discourse is frequent in both the town of Exeter and at PEA. Student discussion about politics often takes place in the classroom, leading students to wonder what impact political perspectives have when they enter the classroom environment and how they influence education at Exeter.

The Federal Elections Commission keeps a database of individual political donations, both to political organizations and candidates themselves. Data obtained by The Exonian from this database shows 97 political donations from 19 Academy employees between January 1, 2019 and present. In all, there are approximately 250 faculty members at Exeter.

All 97 donations faculty made were to candidates, organizations and institutions affiliated

with the Democratic Party. The FEC is required by law to publish the names and employers of anyone who donates to a political candidate.

According to the FEC database, 46.39% of donations came from faculty of the English Department, the most represented department of PEA in donations by almost 25%. The next most represented department was the Music Department, comprising 21.65% of the donations. Other departments that had teachers who donated include the Theatre, History and Classics departments. There have also been donations from staff in Standardized Testing, Information Technology, the Children’s Center, the College Counseling Office, Exeter Summer and administrators. Only 4.12% of donations made overall were from faculty in the Mathematics Department, and none came from the faculty in the Science Department.

There were a wide range of recipient candidates and organizations on this donations list. Among the candidates (many of whom received donations in the time frame of their 2020 presidential election campaigns), Tulsi Gabbard, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders were the most popular, comprising 18.52%, 18.52% and 14.82% respectively.

Kamala Harris has suspended her campaign at the time of publication.

Additional donations have gone to organizations supporting the Democratic Party, such as the Real Justice Political Action Committee (PAC), Color of Change PAC and the two Congressional Hill committees: the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Staff members donated different amounts of money to organizations and candidates—some ranging as low as $1, one as high as $100. The Exonian found that the most frequent amount donated was between $41 and $50, comprising 18.6% of donations made. The average donation amount was $26.45.

There are various levels of political participation amongst school faculty and students. Those who tend to be politically active often do so through donations, attending political events and volunteering. “‌I‌ ‌donate‌ ‌money‌ ‌to‌ ‌my‌ ‌party‌, ‌and‌ ‌I‌ ‌try‌ ‌to‌ ‌support‌ their candidates. ‌I’ve‌ ‌given‌ ‌money‌ ‌to‌ ‌two‌ ‌candidates‌ ‌in‌ ‌seven‌ ‌different‌ ‌states‌ ‌this‌ ‌year‌ alone,” English Instructor Lundy ‌ Smith said. “I‌ ‌send‌ ‌money‌ ‌to‌ ‌people‌ ‌that‌ ‌I‌ ‌think need ‌my‌ ‌support ‌and‌ ‌are‌ ‌doing‌ ‌the‌ ‌best‌ ‌thing‌ ‌for‌ ‌our‌ ‌country.‌”

Other instructors advise or support political clubs such as the Young Democratic Socialists, Democrat Club, Republican Club and the Exeter Political Union. “I volunteered to drive students to a rally in Exeter Exeter High School last month,” Classics Department Chair Matthew Hartnett said. “And the candidate that I drove the students to happened to be one I was sympathetic with, but I would hope and like to think that I would be just as willing to take kids to a candidate that wasn’t one that I particularly support.”

While many teachers are politically active, many also do not see the need to share their political views in the classroom or feel it might alienate students. “I don’t hide that from students… I have a bumper sticker on my car, so it wouldn’t be hard to find out where

I stand on things, but I don’t announce it in the classroom for the most part,” History Instructor William Jordan said. “Every once in a while, it comes out, for whatever reason. Last fall, I revealed it because there was a purpose for me to tell the students what I thought.”

Many are in agreement about the place that political discussion and texts have in humanities classes. “I think what we should be trying to do is to foster open and informed discussion as much as possible,” Music Instructor Rohan Smith said. “I think it’s essential that people of [high school] age, who are just coming out into the world, so to speak, in many ways, and making decisions about life absolutely should be exposed to every possible kind of political discussion.”

“I do not think, as teachers, we should be steering students in a particular political direction,” Hartnett said. “I think our job as educators should be to inculcate critical thinking and facilitate students to have a robust dialogue in which both sides or more than one side of an issue can be presented, articulated and defended and leave it up to individual students to decide where they come down on different issues.”

“It’s important to have a forum for dialogue [at Exeter] and make sure that it is actually dialogue and not just a platform for propaganda,” Music Instructor Charles Jennison said.

Some teachers have policies against political debates in class.

“Current events and politics necessarily come up in some religion courses, and they would be addressed, but not as a debate between the actual positions students hold,” Dean of Summer School Russell

55

those rules,” she said. “That rule is consistently applied.”

She also explained that while the signature rule was included in the Constitution, the requirement for a candidate statement was discretionary based on the Election Committee heads. “In different years, that infraction is treated differently. It depends on what the election committee decides that given year. Their primary concern is to make sure the election is fair.”

LOOKING FORWARD Despite concerns about the election’s operation, the newly elected StuCo Executive Board is excited to begin their tenure.

Amofa will look to enact a key tenet of his platform, the creation of an intrascholastic system of fun athletic competitions between groups of dorms and houses. “It’s meant to encourage more community and foster more friendships across dorms,” Amofa said.

Co-Secretary Jain will emphasize the values of representation and expanding the body of voters in order to efficiently effect change. She ran on a campaign which outlined plans for “optional club representatives in StuCo and a monthly forum between students, Principal Rawson and administration.”

Fellow Co-Secretary Horrigan will seek to make StuCo a more transparent organization. “I really want to make the finances public because it is the people’s money.

If StuCo does represent the people, then they [the finances] should be public,” Horrigan said.

In fact, Horrigan mentioned, a new structure for StuCo should be considered to effectively represent the student voice. “I ran for this position as a member of FS party, a group which proposes seven operators without executive power to lead Student Council and to spur change through protest,” he said.

“Clearly, this system of government is not working for us.”

Lisa expressed excitement for the potential of the presidential partnership. “We’re each going to be bringing in the work ethic that we would if alone as president.

We’re not going to be splitting the work, we’re going to be bringing twice as much work.”

Weatherspoon said.

In some of the teachers’ classes, politics do not come into instruction. “Only If there’s some big event in the world, or maybe sometimes a speaker, who’s spoken at assembly, people might be talking about it,” Smith said.

In other departments such as history, it is seen as integral to the course. “Right now, I’m teaching American history. In the middle term, which I think is one of the most important parts of that course, is the development of political parties and political ideology,” Jordan said. “I think it’s really important that we look carefully at that and see how [political events] happen, and how [they] evolve.”

Some students have experienced teachers who have brought their political views into the classroom outside of History courses. “[My Health teacher] canceled class so that they could protest the grill workers. Now, if there’s ever a conservative protest, then she wouldn’t have given that class off,” prep Rohan Modi said. “If you want to give class off so the student can protest, that’s fine, but she has to make it the standard that ‘If you protest, whatever side, then I won’t dick you for it. But if she’s only doing it for one protest for one side, then that’s really unfair to the students who don’t believe in what she’s protesting against or in what she’s protesting for.”

Other students praise how Academy faculty handle political discussions in the classroom. “In my experience, it’s mainly been, if they have political views, they’re completely backed up by facts, and they’re not just like throwing stuff at us and telling us you have to agree with me,” lower Lekha Masoudi said. “Their political views are not always evident.”

“Should teachers tell students their own political views? Should they advocate for certain political viewpoints?” Smith asked. “In general, I would say no, I think they should not… But we can’t participate in a political world unless we’re informed.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

PEA to Investigate Ties to Slavery 2/14/2020

By MOKSHA AKIL and TINA HUANG To date, the Academy has not investigated its historical ties to slavery, including founder John Phillips’ ownership of two enslaved persons.

On Feb. 1, Principal Bill Rawson sent an email to the student body announcing his appointment of History Instructor Cameron Brickhouse, Head of Archives and Special Collections Magee Lawhorn and History Department Chair Kent McConnell to a steering committee on how to conduct such an investigation. Advised by Director of Equity and Inclusion Stephanie Bramlett and trustee Claudine Gay ’88, the three committee members will propose recommendations to the administration.

“While the initial focus will be on connections between our school and the institution of slavery, the steering committee is encouraged to think broadly and develop recommendations for such other studies as the committee believes should be undertaken to understand the history and legacy of our school,” Rawson wrote.

Rawson noted his desire for student involvement. “The intent is to have an inclusive process that will engage the entire community,” he wrote.

“Everyone who has an interest is invited to share ideas with the steering committee.”

While the steering committee’s recommendations will inform the first

in-depth examination, other published works have touched on the topic of slavery. In “The Phillips Exeter: A History,” Laurence M. Crosbie’s wrote an account of Phillips’ slaves.

The steering committee will primarily focus on the logistical side of the initiative. “Normally, steering committees aren’t the ones that actually do something about initiatives,” Lawhorn said. “They’re just there to plan and think what could possibly be some of the outcomes and some of the committees or task forces that sort of run some of these programs, whether it’s coursework [or] fundraising.”

McConnell explained that the importance of addressing the Academy’s history of slavery. “To recount the story of people who were intentionally excluded from the written past is a formidable methodological task requiring persistence in research, the ability to put together fragments of the historical record into a larger powerful narrative and triangulating primary sources in ways that give voice to the voiceless,” he said.

This reexamination of Exeter’s history works is part of a larger movement in major educational institutions. “I think the Principal is pretty clear, which is to try to follow in the footsteps of other prestigious institutions… and to sort of reevaluate their connection to slavery or just their connection to peoples that were treated,” Lawhorn said.

McConnell was first contacted about the project by David Weber, a former instructor at the Academy

who works with many local organizations regarding issues of social justice. “[He] asked me to consider working with him and others on exploring the issue of John Phillips connection to slavery,” McConnell said. “Shortly thereafter, Principal Rawson contacted me about my interest in pursuing such a history. During the winter term, I met with Principal Rawson again to formalize a small committee that will head the project.”

Lawhorn noted the ongoing nature of the endeavor. “It’s sort of like co-education, right? It always comes back.

But it’s something that we’re always integrating into our courses.”

Principally, the steering committee will reach out to sources outside of the school’s archives for their research.

“Because this touches upon Exeter and New Hampshire, [we will] probably [go to] historical societies as well,” Lawhorn said. “I wouldn’t limit us to just using the archives. It’s going to be something where we’re gonna have to reach out to other sources.”

Lawhorn stressed that the opportunities for student involvement are varied. “That can be [a] classes or someone’s senior project,” Lawhorn said. “[The initiative] can play out in a number of ways.”

Members of the Exeter community raised questions about the timing of the investigation. “I definitely think it’s a good thing, but I think they should have done something like this by now,” lower Tommy Seidel said.

“The email was a little vague, and there was no definitive action stated

Exonians Learn About King’s “Nightmare” 1/23/2020

By MOKSHA AKIL, EVAN GONZALEZ and AVA YU Ibram X. Kendi’s powerful keynote speech in Love Gym kicked off the annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. (MLK) Day. Kendi impressed the unknown sides of Martin Luther King Jr. and the differentiation between non-racists and antiracists on the Exeter community. The day, which celebrated Dr. King’s legacy in a series of workshops, built on the MLK Committee’s theme of “Changing the Narrative.”

This year’s theme centered around the idea of remembering King’s true legacy and exposing students to the often obscured parts of his identity— particularly his radicalism later in life. “He did a lot more than ‘I Have A Dream.’ It’s my hope that students learn more about him,” English Instructor and co-chair of MLK Committee Courtney Marshall said. “The students can learn about the many facets of his life. That’s the narrative that I see changing that we get a more complex narrative surrounding King.”

During his keynote, Kendi spoke about King’s “nightmare” of inaction

and compliance to a racist society. “Dr. Kendi was able to present to the entire school the way in which the narratives around MLK, the evolution of slavery, and the role of an antiracist must be changed,” upper and MLK Committee member Noah James said.

Marshall especially hopes that students will learn more about the speeches unheard of from King. “One of the cool things about MLK day is getting to hear about some of the speeches that we might not have heard about,” she said. “We can hear about his fights against over-militarization and fighting for economic justice.”

The theme, changing narratives, originated from the committee’s belief that “every person has some kind of narrative,” according to MLK Committee member and senior Sam Weil.

Weil noted that during the Preview Assembly, the committee members attempted to emphasize this theme by highlighting different narratives, such as beauty standards, representation and mass incarceration.

James elaborated on this idea.

“This year’s theme of ‘Changing the Narrative’ was meant to make students consider the narrative they’ve heard about Martin Luther King Jr. and who has narrated that story,” he said. “In

a wider sense, the theme encouraged workshops about taking action, about pursuing truth and dedicating oneself to a movement.”

MLK committee members felt Kendi addressed such ideas in his keynote well. “Ibram X. Kendi is a prime example of someone who is changing the very large narrative around the way we treat racism in America,” Weil said. “He has done this by writing the book ‘How To Be an Antiracist’ that so many people have read and vocalizing his beliefs at speaking engagements like our MLK Day.” Many workshops attempted to provide a more varied view of King’s life. In the workshop Asian American and Black Coalitions, speaker Maddie Schumacher had everyone read King’s speech titled Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence. In this speech, the ideas King presents are far more radical than the ones that he is most famous for; he openly attacks the government’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and contemplates how he could possibly promote non-violence when his own government primarily used violence to solve problems abroad.

“We should not cleanse what we think MLK’s legacy is … he began to call out the government, imperialist

[in the email].”

Prep Priya Nwakanma shared similar sentiments. “I think it should have been done years ago, probably, but I’m never going to say it’s a bad thing to be doing it now,” she said. “Like at least they’re trying at this point.”

Additionally, students hoped that the research would focus on the stories of slavery. “It’s good to get research on how the school played a role [in slavery],” lower Diwura Adesanya said.

“Then, they can repair the damages.

[But] you also never really hear [other kinds] of stories, how [slaves] were affected by it. It’s mostly about the slave owners and what they did, so maybe trying to find the perspectives of the slaves in there, too.

Upper Nahla Owens noted that the value of the search will be rooted in the action taken after the history is outlined. “I think it’d be an interesting conversation to have,” she said. “To see to what extent are we able to kind of not necessarily undo what was done in the past but repair some of the damage that has been done.”

Additionally, some students believe that the research should focus more on the stories of slaves related to the Academy. “It’s good to get research on how the school played a role [in slavery],” said lower Diwura Adesanya. “Then they can repair the damages. [But] you also never really hear [other kinds] of stories, how [slaves] were affected by it. It’s mostly about the slave owners and what they did, so maybe trying to find the perspectives of the slaves in there, too.

History Instructor Aykut Kilinc looked forward to an informed discussion. “What would we do if in fact the origins of this institution relied on slave labor or if somehow slavery is part of this institution?” he said. “I think we should let the documents talk.”

Others hope that this initiative will lead to more education about slavery, specifically slavery in Exeter. “I think really the reason why it’s important to understand slavery is not only to acknowledge it for the people who suffered in the past but to move forward and make a better future,” Owens said. “[We should] acknowledge the ways that this system has carried over into the future and the ways that it still impacts us today. So I feel like people should have a more rounded understanding of the impacts of implications of slavery today.”

Seidel hoped that education would follow this investigation. “[I think they should] educate people more on this topic instead of just saying that they’re going to look into it… People know that there is history in Exeter that is not good, but maybe they don’t know enough.”

The research completed will explore a largely unacknowledged issue in the Academy’s history. “I think previously the Academy just assumed that it didn’t have slaves,” Lawhorn said.

“When we read history, we’re always assuming that people who do certain good things wouldn’t have done some of these negative things as well. We’ve been making a lot of assumptions, and

structures and incarceration structures that were at play,” Schumacher said.

“He called for us to band together, to reject the idea that borders are supposed to separate us and that we should unify as an oppressed people across the world—not even of just the US!” Schumacher expanded upon the idea of unification, claiming that coming together is necessary to affect change. “I think that there is a natural reaction to build groups within people who are like you—that’s what I do in my workplace,” Schumacher said. “However, the fight that APIs are doing in immigration, for example, is not different at all from the fights that Latinx organizations are doing.

We’re talking about the same thing … DACA, immigrants in schools and them having rights.”

Senior David Gonzalez attended the workshop “Building Houses Upon Sand: Coming to Terms with the Scientific Field’s Role in the Justification of Slavery.” He and many others found they left with a broadened viewpoint of the history of Social Darwinism. “It gave me a more advanced and knowledgeable perspective on the role of science and racism, and in that I got a bit more of an appreciation for what we know and the importance of keeping mind of exactly the ramifications that your scientific process and hypothesis could have,” David said.

Weil attended the workshop “Raising our Voices: Women in Pursuit of Resilience, Resistance, and Persistence.” “The group talked about the ways in which we wanted to change narratives in our community,” she said. “I think Janine Fondon did a re-

ally good job of getting people active, staying accountable, discussing, and having a passionate conversation.”

Weil also said that mandatory workshop “Half and Half Workshop: Food and Liberation” had a true impact on the student body. “Exonians can get desensitized about issues that they may hear about on campus, and a prime example is mass-incarceration and direct correlation to race. So when Kurt Evans said, ‘I grew up in a culture that made me feel like since I am a black man I’m gonna go to jail at some point, that is something that will definitely happen,’ I felt that his words really impacted students, and made them step out of ignoring the speaker to hear what he had to say,” she said.

Chef Kurt Evans, one of the two panelists on the Half and Half Workshop, described his workshop as a conversation on his desire to help those who were previously incarcerated, knowing it could have easily been himself. “My ‘End Mass Incarceration’ dinners are used to bring awareness to the prison system, through food,” said Evans. “...through these dinners, we’ve been able to raise one hundred thousand dollars for various organizations dealing with mass incarceration…,” he said.

Kendi’s keynote surmised the greatest task for students now as being active in the face of injustice and oppression. “It’s critical to ensure that every person is expressing antiracist ideas instead of racist ideas,” Kendi concluded. “When they see racial inequity, I want them to figure out ‘what can I do, each day, to support the struggle against those equities’ whether that’s joining an organization,

Campus Safety Warns Students of Record Thefts 2/28/2020

By TINA HUANG, MARCO KO and CLARK WU From Canada Goose coats and laptops to dorm ice cream, theft is on the rise at the Academy.

“The number of reported thefts are obviously trending upwards,” Director of Campus Safety Paul Gravel said. According to Campus Safety data, dorm thefts reached a new high of 30 reported cases between September 2019 and February 2020. Already, this year’s thefts have surpassed the 23 and 29 total cases in the two previous school years, respectively.

Notably, these reported cases do not reflect the actual number of dorm theft cases—the actual number is anticipated to be significantly higher. According to Gravel, students mostly communicate with the Cam-

pus Safety office only when the loss exceeds a value of $500.

The thefts mostly plague dormitory communities at Exeter, although Grill and the Exeter Bookstore have seen thefts this year as well. Reports indicate a variety of stolen items, from technology to food in communal dorm refrigerators. Gravel noted that each theft leads to an increasingly less welcoming boarding atmosphere.

Concrete solutions continue to evade students and faculty.

The variation in intent between cases of theft further complicates this issue: while some students simply borrow and never remember to return, others deliberately steal from the post office, dorm room or postal services such as Amazon.

Senior and Bancroft resident Keaghan Tierney commented on how prominent thefts have been throughout her time at the school.

“For the three years I’ve been here,

there’s been stuff stolen every single year,” she said. “Every year, we get together and talk about it, and the deans come in and threaten us, and it never works.”

Sometimes, locking away belongings is not enough. Josh Riddick, a senior in Peabody Hall, has had money stolen from a locked closet in his dorm basement. “Know that you can’t assume that things are safe,” he said.

However, breached trust can be difficult to avoid in a dorm where theft may be common. “Stealing makes people more aware of who they’re looking at,” prep and Hoyt resident Nur Almajali said. “I feel like there will be hostility between people because you don’t know who’s doing it.”

Many feel that more conversation between dorm members should be necessary before putting blame on certain people. “If you’re pointing fingers, you need to have conversations with that person to begin with,” Tier-

ney said. “If you’re not resolving that issue and it’s leading to you blaming that person for something that they might not have done, you need to figure that out yourselves. It’s a very severe thing to be blaming people for, so you don’t want to blame the wrong person and have it catch wind from the deans and it becomes a big thing.”

English Instructor and Webster Dorm Head Alex Myers agreed. “This hasn’t happened for a long time, but when one or two incidents have occured and students start to say ‘I think it’s so and so who does it,’ that’s dangerous,” he said. “You never know who steals, and it’s usually never the obvious culprit. People don’t always steal because they need the money.”

To prevent dorm theft, Gravel emphasized the importance of door-locking. “Theft is a crime of opportunity.

Somebody sees something, they want that thing, they convince themselves that they deserve that thing and they

take it,” he said. “If you don’t give them an opportunity, you’re not going to be a victim. You must eliminate the opportunity by locking your door.” If students have lost their room keys, Gravel emphasized that the Campus Safety office will make a new key free of charge.

Students also believe in this simple but effective procedure. “Keeping things at home instead of bringing stuff to campus is a good idea,” Riddick said.

Myers endorsed the door-locking procedure. “I think the only way to prevent dorm stealing is to lock the door,” he said. “I know that when I speak with boys at Webster about it, they tell me ‘Well, this is a trusting environment.’ But, they also tell me that people go through their things when they’re not there.”

Gravel pointed out the importance of communication when combating issues such as dorm theft. “When you realize you’ve lost something, backtrack your steps. Get a hold of the dorm head. Report the missing item to Campus Safety,” he said. “Our second shift officers are great about going around and finding things, and we’ll hold an investigation if the value lost is high or if there seems to be a pattern of theft. We’re a high school community. Let’s look out for each other.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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Holiday Performances See Changes 12/19/2019

By MOKSHA AKIL, KAYLEE CHEN, TINA LI and ANGELE YANG The Music Department will not host its annual Holiday Concert this year, citing concerns over inclusivity and the resources allotted for concert preparation. Historically, the performance has been scheduled for the weekend preceding winter break. Music Instructor Eric Sinclair’s Holiday Assembly, typically the last before break, will also not take place.

According to Music Department Chair Kristofer Johnson, the concert’s timing in December, when various religious and spiritual denominations celebrate holidays, raised concerns over the concert’s majority-Christian repertoire. “Quite a bit of the music at the holiday concert was sacred [to Christian faith],” he said. “By locating [the Holiday Concert] in December, it takes on different meanings. A student who is of any other faith tradition can feel really othered and alienated by the fact that their school is endorsing this [specific faith], even if it’s coded.”

Johnson explained that, while nobody was forced to participate, the concert’s religious affiliations and lack of an explicit opt-in/opt-out choice raised concerns. “It’s not truly voluntary for the students in the ensembles to take part in it,” Johnson said. “We would never compel a kid to do it if they didn’t want to. But it was never framed as: ‘Here is an event that has a tie to some spiritual traditions, and you can choose to take part in it or not.’”

Principal Bill Rawson affirmed the Johnson’s reasoning, explaining that students should not have to make a

choice to perform based on their faith.

“Reasons included concern about burden on students during a very difficult time in the school calendar, the fact that almost no students other than performers attended the off campus event and a feeling that an event as important as this one should be held at a time and in a manner that is equally inviting for all performing students,” he said.

“Making it optional for performers is not sufficient—a marquee event should not be held in a way that forces some performers to make a choice.”

Interim Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Heidi Heath said the process for the decision was collaborative between both Religious Services and the Music Department. “Mr. Johnson from music and I began collaborating last spring to explore a different model of programming,” she said. “For a number of reasons, it made sense to move to a different programmatic model—primarily, the time and energy required of our students at an already busy time of the year and the school’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work.”

Johnson further cited concerns over financing and time. “We spend an enormous amount of time and energy and money to produce it,” he said.

“It’s a time that’s really, really difficult for students because of all of the projects they have going on.”

After discussion with students, the Music Department chose to wait a year before returning to deliberation on a concert for the season. “We voted as a group not to do [an alternate plan],” he said. “[We will] wait a year to see what could come up [as a way to] help my colleagues feel like we [are] doing something really meaningful [and] inclusive.”

Music Instructor and Symphony

Orchestra Conductor Rohan Smith provided the following statement to The Exonian.

“I honor the importance of inclusion in our community and believe that our school is taking many important and positive steps in this regard.

While I fully respect the intention behind the cancellation of the Holiday Concert, I personally regret this decision. The nature of music, of singing and playing, is that of reaching out, of invitation and of sharing. It is the opposite of exclusion of any kind. We have an incredible well of goodwill in our music community. The Holiday Concert has always been an event full of this goodwill, eclectic and inviting in its sharing of traditions. By removing it, we disappoint a very large number of people in the extended community who derive joy from celebrating the season through music. I hope that, in the future, we will find a way to restore this tradition in a way that respects all in our community.”

Though he was unable to comment on the reason for its discontinuation, Sinclair provided some information on the tradition of his Holiday Assembly. “The Holiday Assembly was a time for the entire Exeter community—students, staff and faculty—to gather in the Assembly Hall during the last Assembly before Christmas break and sing together,” he said. “As the song leader, I would present a program of mostly well-known secular songs that I thought would be easy and fun for everyone to join in on.” Songs performed previously include “There Are (Songs To Be Sung),” “Deck The Halls,” “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer,” “Santa Calaus Is Coming To Town” and “My Dreydl.”

Students in ensembles that have performed in years past, including

Concert Choir, Symphony Orchestra, and Concert Band, were divided on the decision. “I think that celebrating the holidays is important, and the Holiday Concert is a tradition at Exeter,” senior Ayush Noori, a singer in Concert Choir, said. “That being said, it’s equally important to respect the fact that people may not feel comfortable with explicit religious expression by the school. So that’s a hard balance to find.”

For some new students, the decision felt like a missed opportunity. “I can’t really say much because I’m a prep, and I don’t really know what the Holiday Concert would’ve been like, but I feel like any performance is a great experience for everyone,” prep Isabella Vesely. “A Holiday Concert could have been a great opportunity to have fun playing festive music with others and to get to know people better.”

Johnson acknowledged student disappointment concerning the lack of a Holiday Concert this year. “It wasn’t that they wanted to be doing holiday music in December, but they liked doing more popular music and doing something non sibi in the community,” he said. “They liked that it was something really off the beaten track of what they usually do for ensemble concerts.”

Rawson explained that additional opportunities to perform would be present throughout December. “Mr. Johnson and Rev. Heath also collaborated on new and expanded offerings in Phillips Church, including the new Holiday Sing that was a smash success, the Candlelight Service that saw a significant increase in attendance and the Hanukkah celebration that will occur after the winter break,” he said.

However, instrumentalists have not

performed during winter term thus far, and the Faculty Appreciation Concert and Carol Sing are restricted to some student-led a cappella groups. Though a poll was sent to Exeter instrumentalists to perform at the Candlelight Service, not enough interest was shown.

Johnson clarified that while Candlelight Service was an explicitly Christian service, the Holiday Concert was more ambiguous and popular by nature, making it “something that we have to scrutinize.”

The Music Department received suggestions about possible future concerts. “We’ve heard that message and the idea that we could do a pop concert or a video game music concert or a film music concert or something really different, but it would be fundamentally inclusive.” Johnson said.

Students in ensembles engaged in discussions with Rawson and Johnson about the decision. “We ended up meeting with a number of student instrumentalists that just wanted to speak to me and to [Rawson] right before the end of the fall term,” Johnson said. “The conversation was excellent. I think the students quickly came around to: ‘These are the things we really loved about doing this event.’”

Overall, Johnson’s initiatives and decisions were influenced by the goals of school leaders. “I am cued by our Trustees, the leadership of the school and by my students to try to think critically about issues of equity and inclusion,” Johnson said. “This is the sphere in which I work, and it was impossible for me to ignore [the Holiday Concert] and not raise questions.” While some lament the loss of an Academy tradition, Johnson is eager to produce a more inclusive musical experience for students at Exeter.

Reverend Heath To Leave Post Next Year

Reverend Heidi Heath leads Evening Prayer.

2/28/2020

By LINA HUANG, MAXINE PARK and CLARK WU After four years of serving as Interim Director of Religious and Spiritual Life, the Academy has chosen not to reappoint the Rev. Heidilee Heath for the coming school year, according to Heath.

As one of the chairs of the Search Committee for the director position, Assistant Principal Karen Lassey explained that the extensive search began last winter, with finalist interviews conducted this January.

“Through a series of phone and video interviews and after much deliberation, the committee decided on finalists who will visit campus early in the spring term to meet with the community,” she said. “I have appreciated working with Rev. Heath immensely over the last few years.

She has brought much to this community and we are better for having the opportunity to know and work with her.”

According to Heath, four years ago during the hiring process, she “went through an extensive interview meeting with many members of the Academy in both one-on-one meetings and group settings,” she said. “I was then invited back for the following three years as the Academy discerned the future of this role [Interim Director].”

Heath could not provide any additional information regarding the following stages of the new director hiring process. “I can only say that the search is taking the committee in a different direction, and they chose not to include me in the finalist pool

for this role,” she said.

Senior Helen Xiu first met Heath her prep year through Christian Fellowship. “Rev. has always provided good guidance to Christian Fellowship and has helped me develop my perspective on various parts of the Bible,” she said. “I think her understanding of the text is something that I will take with me as I grow in my faith, and I am going to miss her guidance as I graduate.”

Senior Andrea So met Heath at Amen, where So appreciated Heath’s warmth and outreach. “Rev is so generous, funny as hell, and full of light—there’s no other way to put it. She’s very approachable even to complete strangers. When you speak to her, you get the feeling that you’re truly being heard,” she said. “My favorite part about her is probably her infinite capacity for love. She puts so much of it out into Exeter, and we are truly a better community because of her.”

So said she will miss the unique perspective Heath brings to Exeter.

“There’s no other faculty on campus I feel completely comfortable discussing queer struggles with besides her, and I’m so angry that future Exonians may not experience that understanding now because she’s leaving. Being not straight at Exeter is hard enough. So many people love her, and for good reason,” So said.

Senior Alisha Simmons also appreciated Heath’s identity as an LGBTQ+ campus minister. “Coming in as a new lower from a notso-open high school in the South, I hadn’t seen that much LGBTQ+ representation in my everyday life,” she said. “Just knowing that the campus minister was queer, married with a

spouse and completely open about it affected me so deeply and made me feel more welcome as a queer student than anything else ever did.”

Simmons believes Heath connected her to her own sense of faith and religion. “I’ve always had a difficult relationship with religion for many reasons, but especially coming from the South, religion and queer identity never seemed like it could ever mix,” she said. “But she is a representation of that mixture and living in harmony of the two.”

Senior Ben Gorman expressed how Heath’s presence on campus gave him confidence in his identity.

“I’m definitely going to miss how much she legitimizes being queer for me and many others just by being on campus and being as influential as she is,” he said. “Exeter constantly surprises me in how comforting and human it can be sometimes, and I think a large portion of that humanity and compassion comes from what Rev. Heidi does on campus.”

Simmons also valued Heath’s supportive nature—she remembered when she received a note in P.O. from Heath. “It got to me late, as it was meant to be received at the end of lower spring, but it was exactly what I needed at the time. The note was short but heartfelt, an expression of support and a reassurance that if I needed an adult on campus, she would always be there,” she said. “Never before had I felt as seen and noticed by a faculty member before.”

When speaking of her career at Exeter, Heath especially appreciated the impact students had on her.

“Hands down my favorite part of this work has been all of you, the

students,” she said. “The opportunity to create caring community together, explore religious and spiritual identity, hold your stories, laugh together and engage difficult questions has been such a gift.”

Instructor Mercy Carbonell expressed how Heidi’s impact and support extended to the faculty as well. “Sometimes, all I want is to know she is across a room, over a brick building or two, because being queer as an adult at PEA has been, since I began my career here in 1993, a lonelier place than I have allowed myself to feel,” she said.

“And I know some of our students have often felt that loneliness, have opened the church doors and sought Rev. Heidi in her office, seen her smile, accepted an invitation that they may not even have known how much they needed, sat down in one of her chairs and begun to tell their truth to her, for she gives always the present tense of being and receiving.”

Heath’s care and commitment to helping the school appeared also after the sexual assault sit-in for students, according to Simmons. “The way that she stood up for us that day and validated our experiences after such a grueling experience of feeling invalidated was just yet another way that she’s been able to help students feel seen and loved,” she said. “‘I see you,’ she said to us, and my friend broke down into tears.

Because it’s hard to feel that way on this campus as a marginalized identity. It’s hard to feel that way as a queer woman of color, as a sexual assault survivor, as a low-income student. And she’s always been there for me and so many others to help

JaQ Lai/The Exonian us feel seen and remind us that we matter here.”

“I can’t imagine getting through these past three years without her constant support and assurance,” Simmons said. “She’s so supportive to others in all of their endeavors, and really wants to know who you are. Her Instagram page is a constant stream of motivative and supportive posts, and seeing them makes me smile on days that it feels difficult to.”

Xiu recognized that Heath’s impact on campus will be missed by many communities. “The religious community, the LGBTQ+ community, her dorm and many more all treasure her presence on campus,” she said. “It is very rare that a person can unify so many people in love.”

Gorman hoped that the new Director will offer the intersectionality and queer representation that Heath has brought to campus. “It just makes me really sad how few queer faculty we have on campus and how little they’re appreciated. I hope the new Director of Religious and Spiritual Life will be as intersectional, but that seems unlikely,” he said.

“Rev. really is one in a million.”

Heath recognized her unique role and legacy in the community and thanked Exeter for providing this opportunity. “There is no role quite like this one on campus. This is the first time Exeter has had someone with explicit training as a chaplain, in advanced spiritual care and counseling, and in interfaith work in this role,” she said. “I am the first woman and the first queer person to serve as the head of Religious and Spiritual Life. That is an honor I will carry with me for a long time.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Admissions Office Reports 79.5% Yield for 2020-2021 School Year 4/19/2020

By MOKSHA AKIL, DAVID CHEN and CINDY SU On March 10, Students from around the world received acceptance to the Academy. Accepted students had until April 10, a full month, to decide whether or not to join the Exeter community.

This year, Exeter reported a high yield rate of 79.5%, falling in line with the yield trend of the last three years. Though the actual admission rate stayed at around 15.5%, more students decided to “say yes to Exeter” this year.

Part of the reason for this high yield rate is simply how attractive Exeter is to prospective students, explained Dean of Enrollment William Leahy. “The yield rate this year… is a wonderful testament regarding how families view Exeter relative to their other school choices and their desire to join this remarkable community,” Leahy said.

Especially due the coronavirus pandemic, this high enrollment rate will grant Exeter some flexibility to reach ideal numbers for the 2020-2021 school year, Leahy noted. “We always build an enrollment model that allows us to absorb the normal summer attrition that occurs when there are a few new and/or returning students

who choose not to enroll in September,” Leahy said. “This year, at both the secondary and collegiate level, admission offices are accounting for the possibility of higher summer attrition due to the ongoing impacts of COVID-19, so we anticipate being quite close to our actual opening of school total enrollment target come September.”

A total of 2,831 applicants sought to attend the Academy, up from 2,700 applicants in 2019.

Across all classes, 348 new students will attend Exeter in the 2020-21 school year. As the numbers stand now, 211 students will comprise the Class of 2024, 75 new students will join the Class of 2023, 30 new students will join the Class of 2022 and 32 new students will join the Class of 2021, including post-graduates.

Incoming students hail from 35 different states and 24 different countries. International students make up 7.5% of the incoming group, a 0.7 percent point drop from last year. Of this percentage, incoming prep Nhan Phan will be one of the first students in two years to be accepted into the Academy from Vietnam. “I kind of feel honored and yet at the same time a bit nervous in a way, to be one of the few representatives coming from a small country in Southeast Asia,” he said. Ph an

applied to boarding schools because he was “looking for knowledge that can better suit [him] in the future, rather than generic curriculums taught by Vietnamese schools.”

Out of the 348 new students, 41% of these new students identify as non-white; 46% of the students identify as female; 53% identify as male and 1% as self-identifying. Nearly half of this year’s admitted students—47%—will receive financial aid.

Incoming students learned about the Academy in a variety of ways. Olga Ananina, an incoming prep from Brooklyn, New York, shared her experience with the Prep 9 program, which helps African American and Latinx students apply to boarding schools in New England. Ananina described the program as rigorous but worthwhile. “I have done many all-nighters, been low on sleep and still had to work hard. It is a very difficult program, but I love Prep 9—all the work is worth it,” Ananina said.

Exeter Summer School was a vital draw to the Academy for incoming prep Lauren Kim, a Korean-American student currently residing in Singapore. Exeter Summer provides students the chance to experience Exeter’s community and academic resources for five weeks including

residential life. “I believe it will provide me with the advantage of early acclimation to campus…

It’ll be easier for me to integrate into the Exeter environment and navigate around campus (along with the town),” Kim said.

New lower Elina Yang’s interest in the Academy also stemmed from her experience at Exeter Summer last year. While she is excited to start at Exeter, she noted some daunting aspects of boarding school. “I’m most nervous about adjusting to classes and other academic aspects of boarding life,” Yang said.

Aaron Park, incoming prep, will be repeating his prep year for the full four year experience of Exeter. “I want to switch schools to broaden my frame of reference.

I was shocked by how many different classes Exeter had to offer… I wasn’t offered anything like microbiology or religion courses,” Park said. “I think that, by having a high school experience beforehand, it will be easier for me to adjust to Exeter’s workload and use my time efficiently.”

Students with pre-existing Exeter connections—such as siblings of current Exonians and children of faculty—also had their share of good news. Current prep Blake Simpson and incoming prep Will Simpson are excited to attend the same school again. “As Blake’s

brother, it’s been super cool to think about being at the same school as him, and I’ve met some of his friends, and they’re also really cool,” Will Simpson said.

Simpson believes his experience on campus serves as a starting point for further exploration of what Exeter has to offer. “I’ve been around this community and campus for as long as I can remember, and I finally get to be really immersed in the community and figure out what it’s like to be on the inside of the whole thing,” he said.

Incoming prep Jonathan Chen, brother of senior Lenny Chen, visited campus twice to see his brother during Family Weekend.

During these visits, he discovered that the connection between students “felt like family.”

Chen also enjoyed the Harkness pedagogy, which seemed to offer more to him than his current school. “I’m a very outgoing person, and I always want to discuss and talk through questions in class, but I can’t because my school teaches mostly through a standard teaching style,” he said.

These students will soon begin their experience at the Academy, challenging themselves and learning new teaching styles. As they experience residential and academic life at Exeter, they will make this community their own.

Faculty Hiring Process Examined In Light of Religious and Spiritual Director Search 4/16/2020

By OTTO DO, MAXINE PARK and ANYA TANG As the Academy proceeds with its online spring term, hiring committees have turned to Zoom calls with prospective candidates in lieu of traditional on-campus visits. In the most notable example of this system, students and staff logged onto four digital Zoom conferences to provide their input remotely in the continuing search for the Academy’s next Director of Religious and Spiritual Life between April 2 and 7.

The hiring process for faculty remains largely unchanged despite the COVID-19 outbreak. Faculty seek to evaluate each candidate’s potential contributions to the campus with a set of certain criteria for each department, although those involved in the hiring process vary by department. The final selection process involves the Dean of Faculty Ellen Wolff, Director of Equity and Inclusion Stephanie Bramlett and Athletic Director David Hudson, who weigh candidates on additional criteria within their purview. Typically, the Academy provides opportunities for prospective candidates to visit campus.

For teaching faculty, the academic departments typically lead the hiring process. However, according to Principal William Rawson, the Dean of Students meets all candidates and the Principal makes the final decision.

The Principal’s involvement, however, may vary based on several factors. “Whether we are hiring internally for a position such as Dean of Students or externally for a position such as Director of Athletics, for most senior positions of a similar nature I am heavily involved in all aspects of the process, meet all candidates and make the final decision,” Rawson said. “Depending on the situation, I might rely heavily on a search committee, as I did with the search for a new Athletic Director.”

Several considerations are reviewed during the hiring process. “[This includes] the needs of the department, the needs of the school, the qualifications of the candidates, their commitment to the mission and values of the school and their interest in [being] a part of a residential school community,” Rawson said.

In dismissals of faculty, the Principal typically would be involved, Rawson noted. He added that dismissed faculty usually do not receive sever-

ance pay.

While decision processes for most positions are restricted to administration and faculty, the Academy has tried to engage students in the current search for the new Director of Spiritual and Religious Life. Candidates Deanna Shorb, Mininder Kaur, Tyler Schwaller and Bonnie-Jeanne Casey were selected as finalists by a hiring committee led by Vice Principal Karen Lassey during the winter term.

In a series of meetings from April 2-7, students met and asked the four finalists questions over a group Zoom call. Prior to each meeting, Lassey sent the entire student body documents with each candidate’s curriculum vitae and cover letter by email.

Students who attended the Zoom group meetings were provided a survey where they could offer feedback and evaluate each candidate’s interpersonal and leadership skills, adaptability and relevant experience on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 meaning “Below Requirements” and 5 meaning “Exceptional / Outstanding”.

“I thought [the sessions] were effective since faculty created a space for the students to lead the questions while they listened in,” prep Fabriciana De Soriano said. “I felt honored to offer input on the candidates for the hiring process. I hope that my participation is a service to my fellow Exonians.”

As students are not on campus, the Academy attempted to schedule the meetings at a broadly-convenient time. “We realize that this may be challenging for some of you, depending on the time zone,” Lassey wrote in an all-school email. “If you are unable to attend and meet the candidates but would like to provide more general input on their candidacies, please feel free to reach out to Lauren Caldwell by email.”

Some student religious leaders were invited to meet with the candidates in smaller group settings. “Our organization was provided the opportunity to meet with candidates on their respective days to have a discussion about what they could offer to Exeter as a religious leader,” lower and Hindu Society co-head Milan Gandhi said. “I felt that I was aptly and appropriately involved, but I wished that the Hiring Committee had sent a form to ask which candidate we liked best in addition to the form that they gave.”

However, students from other organizations desired to be more closely involved throughout the search process.

“Although I understand that certain opportunities were presented for the

entire student body to provide input, I wish that our religious organizations were more intentionally consulted at the beginning of the process,” upper and co-head of Christian Fellowship Sarah Huang said.

“In many ways, the [Director of Spiritual and Religious Life] impacts our communities the most. As religious boarding school students, many of us face unique difficulties in practicing our religions as we lose access to our places of worship at home, as well as our communities of faith,” Huang said.

Some students noted Interim Director of Religious Service Reverend Heidilee Heath’s legacy and the hole that will be left by her departure. “I cannot stress enough how safe and welcomed it made me feel to walk onto a campus with a married, queer femme Chaplain as a new lower coming from a not-so-accepting high school,” senior Alisha Simmons said. “I’ve struggled so much with accepting my identity, pushing religion and spirituality away in the process and almost being afraid of churches. However, because of her, Phillips Church became one of my safe spaces on campus, and that’s something I never thought would ever happen.” Given Heath’s record during her tenure, Simmons questioned why Heath was not included among the final candidates.

Others wondered if her successor would embody the role as she did. “I don’t know if our next Religious and Spiritual Life Director will live up to the example Reverend Heath has left behind,” upper and Catholic Exonians co-head Stephen McNulty added. “I’d say that all four candidates seem capable, and some left a particular impact on me, but they will have a tough, tough job ahead of them.”

Students hope that the new Director will continue Reverend Heidi’s work with inclusion and intersectionality on campus. “I am looking for a Religious Director who will actively support all faiths, embody the morals and values of the Academy and brings positive energy to campus to connect with and make all students feel welcome,” De Soriano said.

Director of Equity and Inclusion Dr. Stephanie Bramlett has worked closely with Dean of Faculty Ellen Wolff and Director of Human Resources Rachel Henry to develop diverse candidate pools. “We added cultural competency as a key accountability in every job description, and we encourage departments to do a hiring workshop where they learn about eq-

uitable hiring practices,” Bramlett said.

“We ask [candidates] to define cultural competency, tell us about experiences when they have demonstrated cultural competency, give them case study situations and ask them to respond and tell us examples of when their cultural competency has been challenged.”

For academic departments looking to hire, the process begins with an open and formal search. According to Mathematics Department Chair Gwyneth Coogan, the department posts “a job opening announcement in many places including our own website, the [National Association of Independent Schools] website, Carney Sandoe, the Jobs Board at the [American Mathematical Society,” among others.

In these posts, the Math Department describes “the work that goes into teaching math at a boarding school,” as well as department qualifications and the school’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. Interested candidates send a “resume and cover letter for a six-person committee to review,” Coogan said.

After a round of questioning, the department selects a group of finalists, who are invited to visit campus. “Since we had at least three jobs for next year, we invited seven people to campus,” Coogan said. Selected candidates stay overnight in Exeter to go to dorm duty in two dorms and have breakfast with the department’s hiring committee.

From there, they visit four or five classes and meet with the whole math department. In most cases, prospective instructors meet with Wolff, Dean of Students Brooks Moriarty and Bramlett. Additionally, candidates with athletic experience meet with Hudson.

After the candidates visit, the Department makes a recommendation to Wolff.

Candidate criteria go beyond qualities expected from their respective departments and often evaluate aspects such as community involvement or sports coaching experience. According to Art Department Chair Carla Collins, the Art Department looks at qualities such as the “number of years and type of teaching experience, cultural competency, skills, passion for working with teenagers, knowledge in diverse art mediums that we need teachers to teach, teaching experience at the high school level, education in art history and contemporary art, interests in [advising] clubs, serving on committees and coaching sports.”

The Classics Department approaches hiring candidates differently.

“We don’t have a checklist of essential

criteria. We look at each candidate’s overall record and try to think about ways in which they can advance the mission of the department and the Academy,” Classics Department Chair Matthew Hartnett said. “They have to know Latin, of course. Beyond that, we look for traits and qualities that seem well suited to the lively and sometimes unpredictable nature of a Harkness class and the campus as whole.”

The Academy’s hiring process for its Principal operates differently, involving Exeter’s trustees. “The Trustees hire only one person at the Academy, and that person is the Principal,” President of Trustees John “Tony” Downer said. “The Academy’s bylaws confer that responsibility upon the Trustees, and the Principal is the only member of the Academy community who reports directly and exclusively to the Trustees.”

Similarly, new staff positions at the Academy must also be approved by the trustees. “In the event that the hire is for a newly-created position, because every new position has a material and long lasting impact on the Academy’s budget, the trustees must approve the administration’s request to create the new position,” Downer said. “In this case, the trustees do not opine on or approve who gets hired, but rather, the trustees’ approval to hire someone for the new created position is required.”

Most importantly, trustees are involved in maintaining diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the Academy’s hiring process. “The trustees work with the Principal to ensure that, in the hiring process, the Academy’s priority on the core value of diversity, equity and inclusion is fully felt and fully taken into consideration any time anyone is hired,” Downer said. “Progress in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion does not simply happen by itself. It requires attention, intention and deliberate focus, and we work with the Principal to make sure that the community is aware of the importance of this goal.”

Even as students and staff are adapting to the online spring term, the Academy’s hiring process has changed to involving community feedback in their hiring process, something students are grateful for. “Obviously Zoom is not perfect,” McNulty said. “But it’s still a chance to get to meet [the candidates], and I’m still grateful for it.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

After 105 Years, Ioka to No Longer Be a Theater 4/25/2020

By ANDREA LUO, ANYA TANG and CLARK WU Since 1915, the Ioka Theater has stood at the heart of downtown Exeter, drawing townspeople to its many screenings. After its closure in 2008, the Ioka’s fate remained uncertain until a recent acquisition by IOKA Properties, LLC. IOKA Properties Co-Managers David A. Cowie and Jay Caswell confirmed to The Exonian that, after 105 years, the Ioka will no longer operate as a theater.

The Ioka evoked nostalgia in many town denizens. Former Chairman of the Exeter Board of Selectmen Joe Pace recalled growing up with the Ioka. “The Ioka Theater was where the

boys and girls of Exeter and her surrounding towns grew up,” Pace said.

To Pace, the theater was a place of firsts: “First time at the movies.”

“First date.”

“First kiss.”

“First time throwing M&Ms onto the lower audience from the first row of the balcony.”

Over the years, the theater endeared itself to Exeter alumni. Sarah Lee ’06 recalled that, as boarding school students, she and her peers were often denied the same social opportunities as their friends back home. “I loved the Ioka theater. It was one of the few things that we could do for ‘outings’ as young teenagers where you sort of felt like a ‘normal’ teen, if you know what I mean,” Lee said.

The Ioka also became a special place for many long-standing Academy faculty. “Though it was a tired space, it was charming. I remember seeing the lobby, with its tall counter and stools—like in an old-timey soda shop. On or behind the counter was a big popcorn maker and other snacks,” Spanish Instructor Ellen Glassner recalled. “The theater, itself, with its one extra-large screen, very high ceiling, rows and rows of old, velvet covered seats (is my memory embellishing the furnishings?), was a nostalgic artifact.”

As with Pace, the Ioka housed many memories for Lee. “I had my first high school ‘date’ at the Ioka. I believe the movie we watched was Kill Bill.” Lee said. “Needless to say, I have very fond memories of the theatre. It was a way for us to get off campus and feel like we could do something different for a change.”

To many, the Ioka served as a formative town monument that sent a message: Exeter valued a vibrant downtown. “The Ioka is one of those rare places that transcends brick and beam and becomes part of the beating heart of a community. It serves as backdrop and companion for so many of our younger days,” Pace said. “We saw, and more importantly participated in, live shows and concerts. We grew up in a town with a theater… We grew up in a town that valued the arts and valued history, amidst a world that tries every day to shove such quaint and profitless concepts to the side.

We grew up in a town with a theater, and our children, and grandchildren, should too.”

NEW OWNERS, NEW IOKA However, on March 31, everything changed. Listed for $750,000 by Ruffner Real Estate, the property was sold to IOKA Properties for $450,000.

According to public corporate listings, IOKA Properties is a limited liability company established in Newburyport, Massachusetts, by co-man-

agers Cowie and Caswell. Cowie has owned Thistle Properties and Plum Island, similar limited liability companies, while Caswell currently heads Caswell Development.

IOKA Properties is a relatively new company, created on March 17 for the purchase of the theater. “The formation of IOKA Properties, LLC, provides a vehicle for us to own and operate the entity as a standalone business,” Cowie said. “We chose the name of the new LLC in part to acknowledge the property’s historic use and for local name recognition.”

Contrary to efforts by the Ioka’s previous owner, IOKA Properties does not intend to restore the property as a movie theater. “We enthusiastically support adaptive reuse of historic buildings like the former IOKA

Mayer failed to pay back his creditors.

As stated by the Exeter Historical Society’s records, by the time authorities arrived to deliver bankruptcy papers and demand repayment, Mayer had already fled.

According to James Rathbone, the theater’s first manager, Mayer held a contest amongst employees to select a proper name for the theater before his departure. Jessie Griffith, the cashier, recommended the name “Ioka,” a Squamscott word meaning “Indian playground.” She won the contest, and Mayer promised her a lifetime pass to the theater—though she never received the prize.

On November 1, 1915, the theater opened to a showing of The Birth of a Nation, directed by D. W. Griffith.

The film was highly controversial,

Theater. Historic buildings cannot always continue to serve the function for which they were built, but they still have much to offer communities and society as a whole,” Cowie said.

“With proper planning, they can be updated for new sustainable uses that also address accessibility, safety, security, technology needs and the like, while preserving landmark recognition and a level of craftsmanship and architectural styles not seen in new buildings.” Conceptual renderings for a renovated Ioka Theater do not feature the theater’s iconic marquee.

Past advocates for the Ioka Theater voiced concerns about the preservation of the theater’s historical structure. “If the building is altered significantly on the front, no matter what the future uses, I’d be very disappointed, as I think others in the community would [be] too,” Carol Walker Aten, who assisted previous refurbishment efforts, said.

Exeter Selectwoman and Exeter Theater Company member Julie Gilman also recognized that adaptive reuse may be necessary. She pointed to Station 19, the former Exeter fire station, and Otis, a former jeweler’s, as relatively successful projects of historical preservation in the community.

“Water Street is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. Not the IOKA by itself but as a District in whole,” Gilman said.

Gilman additionally raised many questions the new owners will inevitably need to answer. “What tax revenue will it bring? Will it bring more people downtown? If so will it be a big number? It’s considered a ‘jewel’ of the downtown, will it still be?”

However, according to some members of the community, reuse of the theater would require major redevelopment. “The building itself has been fallow so long that I don’t know what is still salvageable inside,” Pace said. “There are probably herculean investments needed to bring it to any sort of viability.”

Before taking any form of action on the property, IOKA Properties plans to work with town officials to figure out what would be best for the building. “We are genuinely excited about our vision for the adaptive reuse of the former theater building, but we first want to meet with town officials for an introduction of IOKA Properties, LLC, and to gain their initial feedback and guidance,” Cowie said.

adapted from a story originally titled The Clansman that presented the Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force. The debut was advertised in Exeter by having two men ride through the town streets in white Klansmen gowns.

In those days, musicians accompanied the silent films under old gas lamps and behind stained curtains.

In 1917, the creditors of the Ioka sold the theater to a “Newburyport Man” suspected to be Ralph Pratt, owner of the Exeter Opera House, for $20,200.

The rapid development of American cinema compelled the Ioka to adapt. From 1922 to 1936, a series of new installments kept the Ioka a popular jewel in town: Mazda lamps in the projectors that eliminated the flickering screen, a $25,000 Aeolian organ, “talkie” films and “floating comfort” seating.

As with any small-town theater, however, the eventual rise of American television culture after the Great Depression caused the Ioka to lose thousands of customers per week.

Inconsistent management since the 1960s struck another blow to the financial health of the theater.

In July, 1963, according to Exeter Historical Society records, Fred J. Schaake of Barn Realty purchased the theater from Mulcahy Trust, heirs of the Ralph Pratt estate. From 1965 to 1972, the theater was leased to Edward Callahan, a 20th Century Fox film distributor. Callahan closed the theater due to accumulating repair fees.

Schaake reclaimed the IOKA, but it remained vacant for two years until Ron Cloutier, Andy Bickford and Jim Blanco refurbished and reopened the theater in 1975 with new seats, paint, curtains and a sound system.

In 1980, the government forced

A HISTORY OF THE “PLAYGROUND” The tale of the Ioka begins with Edward D. Mayer, the New Yorker son of two German immigrants, who moved to Exeter in 1911. A lawyer and traffic court judge, he spotted a prospect in the land next to the town hall. Mayer decided to build a theater and persuaded townspeople to invest in his new project.

Financially overextended, Mayer accumulated much debt. Prior to the theater’s first opening, due to unsuccessful behind-the-scenes operation,

a tax sale of the Ioka due to tax debt.

The property stayed on the market for 2 months, until the managers and creditors repurchased the theater with newly earned, or perhaps loaned, funds.

By late 1989, owner Schaake deemed the theater unprofitable and announced plans to sell. Slated to go to auction with a minimum bid of $500,000, the IOKA was assessed at $298,000. Schaake stated that, if no buyer was found, he would develop the theater into a “suite hotel,” unless a community group came forward to purchase the building.

This spurred the town’s very first preservation effort, a non-profit organization, “Friends of the IOKA,” created by Blanco. The group sought to reinvigorate the theater and bring in new facilities and performers, but the community made no real, concrete effort to enact their lofty goals.

The Ioka remained on the market until 1995, when Blanco purchased the theater outright. He also converted the lower floor of the theater into an Art Deco-styled club with a smaller screening room named “Club Ioka.” In 2004, Blanco sold the IOKA to Roger Detzler.

According to Detzler, Blanco designed “Club Ioka” the perfect place for a party. At one point, the space contained a swimming pool and featured night club energy. Detzler rented this location for private parties, especially to large local businesses such as Timberland or Osram Sylvania, which used the club for company parties.

On Christmas Eve, 2008, the Ioka played its last movie, It’s a Wonderful Life, before Roger Detzler lost his theater occupancy permit due to a lack of sprinklers.

Following this closure, Pace initiated the town’s second effort to save the Ioka. “Rather than see it converted into condos or demolished, I posted on social media that it would be interesting to see the Ioka bought by a community group and reimagined as a public space, a venue and conduit for the arts,” he said.

“The idea drew many like-minded people, and together, we formed the Exeter Theater Company, a non-profit organization that studied how we might go about acquiring and managing the building.”

As the efforts unraveled in March, 2009, Emmy and Peabody award-winning producer Marc Murai joined the venture. A tour of the theater with Detzler sparked his interest in acquiring the Ioka. Murai’s connections brought the team “workable partnerships with arts entrepreneurs,” Pace recalled.

Murai launch a campaign to revitalize the theater as a center for digital and performing arts. His vision saw an open theater in the daytime, serving as a venue for performances, concerts and movies. At night, an underground area would be used for classes and concerts. This plan promised to restore the Ioka as a destination in Exeter and would create up to 25 jobs.

In two weeks, Murai’s campaign raised more than $10,000 and involved 2,000 individuals on Facebook.

However, Murai’s initial plan hinged on in-state investors. Despite the local interest, investors denied the offer, unconvinced that a $750,000 purchase would amount to significant gains. The focus soon turned to out-of-state investors, though those plans too fell through.

The theater remained on the market until 2011, when Alan Lewis of Kensington Exeter, LLC purchased the Ioka at a bank foreclosure auc-

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tion for $600,000.

After the purchase, Lewis entered negotiations with the Exeter Theater Company to preserve the Ioka’s original function. The Company’s strategy, as outlined in their 2013 business plan, highlighted “great shows with good food and drink.”

The group emphasized a community-oriented approach. In addition to regularly scheduled screenings and events, the Ioka would also be “available to the public for lectures, classes, workshops, local arts and musical entertainment.”

Aten, an artist and key Company member, spoke on the group’s vision of the revamped theater. “The IOKA was going to be a two-level theater with the addition of updated digital equipment, sound, and seats, etc. We toured other operating theaters and got the idea to add a bar on the balcony (The Carbon Arc Lounge),” she said. “The team liked the idea of an ‘arthouse’ theater with combined live music, film and small theater productions.”

Gilman elaborated on the Company’s efforts and struggles behind the scenes. “When the Company first approached the owner, there was discussion of a long-term lowcost lease… [Requirements] were met. But the line in the sand kept moving and communication with the owner was difficult,” she said.

When Lewis raised the required donation minimum for more serious negotiations, the Company “reached a plateau,” Gilman recalled. “While residents of the greater Exeter area contributed small amounts to a big project, donors who may have contributed large amounts of money were reluctant to commit to a nonprofit in which the property owner was not equally committed,” she said.

The Company “returned the donations when the proposal fell through,” Gilman recalled.

The history of the beleaguered Ioka is shrouded with controversy and hardship—what once began as a local entertainment center turned into an economic and cultural heart of downtown Exeter. Though it will no longer be a theater, the fate of the Ioka remains uncertain.

Town Director of Economic Development Darren Winhsm expressed his confidence that the Ioka would prosper under new ownership. “Owing to its history, central location and size, whatever the Ioka becomes will be an economic driver for the Town and its impact on local businesses, I assume, will be positive and possibly profound,” Winham said.

Pace lamented the town’s loss of a cultural relic. “Ask any of the downtown merchants and restaurateurs if an active, functioning theater on Water Street would have a positive financial impact on their bottom line,” he said. “A thriving entertainment business, one fully embraced by the community, has unlimited potential to be a magnet for local tourist and outing dollars. History, economy, art—these are very real and legitimate reasons that the community should find a way to protect the Ioka.”

Despite their disappointment, some residents looked forward with hope. “My first reaction is disappointment that the [Ioka’s] use will not be a theater,” Gilman said. “But, I do understand the cost of that function both in upgrades and operations going forward. I am encouraged that the owners recognize that adaptive reuse is important for the integrity of an historic downtown.”

The townspeople of Exeter await new plans for the beloved theater, conscious of its role both in the history and future of the town. “I believe the IOKA should be preserved. Not as a museum piece, as a fly in amber from some prehistoric time,” Pace said. “But as a dynamic, vibrant participant in the cultural soul of New Hampshire’s best small town.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Climate Action Day Adapts to Virtual Term, Budget Constraints 4/24/2020

By OTTO DO, LINA HUANG and AVA YU Because of the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Climate Action Day (CAD) will proceed through an online platform with optional, asynchronous activities for community members.

This virtual programming replaces an on-campus CAD which, due to funding constraints, would have looked slightly different from the events of years past.

This year’s CAD was to be a fullday, in-person event with more excursions than previous years. All students, except preps, would have traveled off-campus this year. “Preps were to stay on campus and learn the basics of how to be sustainable on campus and some of the elements of the campus that are currently sustainably designed,” Committee Member and Science Instructor Sydney Goddard said.

Furthermore, more grade-wide activities would have taken place. In the original plan, lowers would visit local farms, uppers would participate in environmental service projects and seniors would travel to nearby marine habitats.

The plans for more interactive, rather than guest speaker oriented activities, were arranged in light of new funding constraints, according to Committee co-chair and English Instructor Jason BreMiller. “Historically, all environmental programing has been supported by a particular fund which contains less available funding this year than it has in the past—simply because it has been

drawn down through use,” he said. Bremiller noted that no cuts were made to the fund, and that Climate Action Day does not actually have an annual budget.

“The CAD Committee has sought to establish a dedicated CAD fund, but has been unsuccessful in those efforts,” Bremiller said. “The irony here, of course, is that a day devoted to conversations around sustainability does not currently include a sustainable financial model. The Committee hopes that the Academy will explore further funding possibilities in order to meet this need.”

Despite these funding constraints and the short time frame to retool their program, the committee opted to transfer their activism online. “[We distributed] communication to the community that seeks to acknowledge the importance of the day, and of the 50th celebration of Earth Day, that provides both resources and suggestions for engagement from afar,” BreMiller said. “[The event] will not be nearly as powerful as what we had planned, but hopefully something meaningful as we cast our hopes toward the next time we can all gather together here on campus,” Bremiller said.

This virtual program exists on a newly-created website. “We’re going to have links to different Zoom calls that you can join throughout the week of Earth Day,” upper and Committee member Bea Burack said. “To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we will organize a collection of articles, books and podcasts for people to engage with. Additionally, we will

encourage students to join climate-action-oriented campus organizations, as some of them will continue their work during the summer.”

Videos of speakers who would have presented at Exeter will be included on the website, Committee member and upper Anneliese Cowles added.

“We hope that students will find an online event or article that intrigues them and take the time to explore it,” Committee member and upper Erin McCann said.

Upper Alicia Gopal noted her appreciation of the CAD Committee’s adapted program. “Obviously, climate change isn’t the number one issue on everyone’s mind right now. But that doesn’t mean we should sit still, and it’s important at a time like this to give people the tools they need to stay informed so we can be prepared to take more action in the future. What the committee has planned will do exactly that,” Gopal said.

Since Earth Day’s inception in 2015, the Academy has celebrated Climate Action Day to emphasize Exeter’s commitment to environmental education. “CAD is a vital expression of the Academy’s recognition of the significance of climate change and the challenges it poses to our community and the rest of the world,” CAD committee member Warren Biggins said.

The day serves as a powerful reminder of the Academy’s responsibilities in the fight against climate change. “[Despite] the trustees having listed sustainability as one of their strategic planning focuses, our student body

doesn’t match that focus,” Cowles said.

“Almost everyone on campus is aware of climate change, but many students do not make a significant effort to make tangible changes to their lives to fight it, either because they don’t know how or because it would require them to make sacrifices to their comfort and lifestyle.”

“We mark this day not as akin to celebrating a holiday, an honoring, or certainly just an out from school, but to underline the magnitude that this single day is but one [in] 365 that require such focus, critical inquiry and attention, shared involvement in dealing with, as the eco-philosopher Timothy Morton has termed… global warming, a “hyper-object” whose dimensions and impact are so vast (and dangerous) that we can barely grasp its full nature and ramifications,” committee member and Music Instructor Dr. Jon Sakata said.

Much of the power of CAD lies in its variation to Exonians’ routines. “[This day is an] annual intervention into how our daily mental, social, political-environmental patterns, practices [and] rhythms are brought into sharp relief with how the enmeshed relations of planetary life re-contextualize and bring critical lenses to our past, current and future (in)actions, aptitudes and ineptitudes, but also transformative capacities and caring in spite of the menagerie of excuses for why things cannot change or don’t change quickly enough,” Sakata said.

Goddard encouraged students to engage with climate action beyond the Academy’s plans. “I invite my colleagues and the greater PEA communi-

New Courses Added for 2020-2021 Academic Year

4/8/2020

By KAYLEE CHEN, LINA HUANG and AVA YU The Academy recently released the 2020-2021 Courses of Instruction (COI) booklet. This year’s edition features changes to history course sequencing and the addition of eight new courses. The Health Department’s contentious four-year requirement will also be instituted next year, after a one-year delay.

In the History Department, course sequencing has been modified to draw distinctions between different levels of courses. “The proposal recently adopted by our department and the larger faculty will require incoming four-year students to take each level of history offered by the department,” History De-

partment Chair Kent McConnell said.

“Most students are already following this path, but we wanted to make sure this was the course of action taken by all students (there are some variations depending upon what grade you enter PEA) so that we can better coordinate our assessments and course content.”

The Art Department will introduce ART690: Capstone Intensive Studio to their course offerings next year. The course expands on ART500 by emphasizing publication and research on contemporary art history and theory.

Students taking the course will work on individual projects, present a final show and create an edition of a collaborative artist book.

“We hope to cater to students who may have never taken an art class before, as well as to sophisticated artists that are creating above college-level

masterpieces,” Art Department Chair Carla Collins said. “All courses are taught by practicing artists that understand students’ need to explore, create and build skills. We hope to provide a lot more flexibility and artistic freedom for student artists in the 400-600 level classes.”

The Art Department has also opted to begin excluding art fees from the booklet, citing the need to provide an equitable experience for students. “We look at an art fee similar to buying a Biology textbook, where financial aid treats the art fees just like they do for books,” Collins said.

In the English Department, courses ENG590: Bookmaking as Feminist Archival Practice: Reinscribing Histories, ENG539: Fences, Tattoos and Streetcars: Introduction to Dramatic Literature and ENG540: Her Story, His Story:

Plath, Hughes and the Two Ariels have been added. All three courses are offered in either senior winter (ENG590 and ENG539) or spring (ENG540).

The French Department has also added FRE590: Francophone Digital Media, a course which focuses on current events portrayed through digital media.

MUS050: Emerging Media Composers Collective has been added to the Music Department, an evening ensemble meeting two nights a week.

Students will present live or recorded works of digital music or related media for this course.

The Academy is also offering a new Exeter Innovation course, EXI535: Asian American History and Literature.

The course will be taught by English Instructor Wei-Ling Woo and History Instructor Hannah Lim. According to

ty to do climate action projects and or assignments,” Goddard said. “I have created several assignments for the week of our climate action day as well as an environmental service project for my students to do with others in their household.”

With lockdowns around the world sharply cutting global emissions, humanity’s race to solve climate change has found new hope. However, Cowles noted, the climate is still in a precarious predicament. “We are at a very unique time where we are barely feeling the effects of global warming right now…

If we don’t act, those who come after us won’t have the ability to combat climate change or [even] enjoy the same world that we have now,” she said. “No generation has sufficiently acted before us, and we are the last generation that can reasonably hope to prevent substantial damage to our planet.”

For Goddard, CAD is an opportunity like no other to energize Exonians and protect the environment. “I want students to feel some power and hope in the face of this existential threat. I hope that education about climate change and action to counter it will help them feel they can make a difference,” Goddard said.

Cowles agreed that students have a role and responsibility in the fight against climate change. “Exeter has taught us to be leaders rather than followers and to give rather than take.

Now is our chance to prove that we have learned from our time at Exeter and make a stand.”

the course description, the course “aims to help students appreciate Asian American history as a social process by learning about the emergence of the social movement.”

The Asian affinity group Asian Voices (AV) advocated for the introduction of an Asian-American based course in years past. “I think this class will provide students who are… wanting to learn about the Asian American experience a comprehensive way to do so,” senior and AV co-head David Kim said. “In previous years, this kind of course was not listed for Asian Americans like myself, and it’s a shame I can’t take it. If I had the opportunity to learn about the Asian American experience around a Harkness table, I would enroll immediately... [The club] had high hopes for it.”

Upon hearing the news, many alumni noted their joy to see the course finally added to the COI. “Exeter having an Asian American course has been a long time coming. Asian-American have one of the largest, yet overlooked presences on campus,” AV co-founder Nick Song ‘18 said. “Having a specific course dedicated to studying history and culture helps legitimize the community on campus. I remember taking Mr. Caldwell’s course on Viet Thanh Nguyen, and it was amazing to be in a classroom setting full of other people interested in Asian-America.”

Course changes, except for Exeter Innovation courses, are made when new courses are proposed and voted on by the full faculty, after an initial vote by the Department Heads. Prerequisite changes are made similarly, except Department Heads may ask for a full faculty vote if the change might significantly affect other departments.

The COI’s class nomenclature was also changed, and students are now primarily designated by grade level. “This is partly out of the confusion generated by our non-standard nomenclature for the classes, as this book is read by incoming students and parents,” Director of Studies Scott Saltman said. “Additionally, ‘prep’ has taken on some derogatory meaning and we didn’t think we should promote that by keeping it in this document.”

In addition, Senior Projects will not be offered in the fall term due to the coronavirus pandemic. An announcement regarding this change was made to all uppers on April 8 by Dean of Academic Affairs Laura Marshall. This is a temporary change not included in the COI booklet.

“You should begin thinking about whether you are interested in proposing a senior project for the winter or spring terms. Winter term proposals will be due around the end of September,” Marshall added. “Some of you have talked with your college counselors about doing a senior project. Please continue these conversations with your college counselors and advisers, as it can still be a part of your overall portfolio that you present to colleges.”

Saltman hoped that the new COI would reflect the interests and values of the Exeter community. “We should be thinking about what is important to us and what is important for our very capable and motivated high school students to be learning,” he said.

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Departing Faculty

Filip Sain, Mathematics Sami Atif, Mathematics and Administration Heidi Heath, Religious Services Querida De La Stukes, Office of Multicultural Affairs Courtney Sender, George Bennett Fellow

Rich Aaronian, Science Khadijah Campbell, Religious Services Xitai Chen, Mathematics Jean Farnum, Physical Ed. Michael Golay, History Hobart Hardej, Mathematics Connie Morse, Lamont Health

and Wellness Amy Schwartz, History Cary Wendell, Theater and Dance Lee Young, Admissions Joe Wolfson, Mathematics Cameron Brickhouse, History Ross Brodsky, Science

when someone reported hearing

to someone’s life, and to do what

workshops , with 70-80 com- doing the best we can and that Courtesy of the Communications Department

about something called “Google” , which could be useful to see if a student plagiarized. Little did we imagine the outsized, complex presence the internet ( and technology in general) would become.

I gained an additional vantage point of life as a PEA parent when my only child, Andrew McCaffrey was in the class of ‘03. I had great fun getting to know Andrew’s friends and teammates and was one of the class advisors while he was here.

He was very gracious about being the son of a counselor on campus.

Exeter is truly doing its best to grow and learn amidst the ever changing landscape of our day- learning from some difficult times as well as working hard to strengthen and address issues of DEI, work/life/balance and the impact and role of technology.

I have witnessed the increased focus and support of the whole student over the years, with recognition of the importance of life outside of the classroom in a more intentional curricular and programmatic way.

What I have found unchanged in these 23 years are the solid work ethic, the integrity and the collective desire to be our best selves as an educational community.

PEA has been supportive of my professional development, be it on Mind/Body connection, mindfulness, various mental health topics– and invested in my growth to attend a variety of conferences, close by and afar. I have also had the opportunity to travel abroad to Korea, Japan,India, and Ireland with colleagues and sometimes with students as well. What powerful learning took place on these trips, much which has helped to better inform my work back on campus.

Overall, PEA has reaffirmed much of what I hold true of my own values: to be kind, to be a good neighbor, to bear witness

we can to make a difference in whatever capacity we are serving.

mitted and caring students, was a far cry from the size of typical “Harkness” discussions on campus but we were creative with our time and built a sense of community within our group.

I also liked how SL gave me a different way to be involved on campus and to get to know students outside of the clinical realm. It has been a gift to have had the opportunity to be involved so closely with these caring students over the years.

I leave it in Liz Hurley and Jo Mautz’s very able and skilled hands to shape it as they deem fit. They will do a wonderful job!

Connie Morse

When and how did your time at the Academy begin?

Prior to starting at PEA in 1997, I was a therapist in a private group practice in Exeter and prior to that had worked for seven years as a medical social worker at Exeter Hospital. After spending my first 17 years in a suburb of Chicago, my family moved to Newfields, NH in 1972 in the summer before I began college. I have mostly been based in NH ever since then.

How was your acclimation to the community? Who/what helped you make the transition?

As a newcomer to the PEA community I was warmly welcomed and skillfully mentored by the Health Center team, led

by Dr. Myra Citrin and my immediate dept. chair, Jeanne Stern, LICSW, my colleagues for over 20 of my 23 years . Our department was small at the time.

We were a busy team of three clinicians and now I am leaving a fabulous team of 5 fulltime clinicians and a department that has expanded its scope and services over the years to meet the increased demand and need for services. In addition to the health team, I have also always felt connected to the larger PEA community and have appreciated getting to know faculty and staff throughout the years.

How would you describe your experience at the Academy, as a whole? How would you describe the Exeter community?

PEA is such a remarkable place and my years have been like a history book of both change and steadiness –in 23 years, much is bound to have happened.! Here are some of random ‘snapshots’ of my tenure here: When I first started in 1997, I used to leave notes in students’ PO boxes about meeting with them. There were no phones in the rooms and certainly no cell phones.

I remember a faculty meeting

Who are the people/programs/ places at Exeter that have defined your experience?

The resiliency of PEA colleagues, families and students has inspired me, reflected in their personal and private stories of courage, persistence and the power of love and hope. I have been honored to have been let into the lives of so many adolescents over the years, to have borne witness to some deep pain, trauma, sadness, loss, worry as well as much pride, happiness and growth. I have seen up close the resiliency of the human spirit, of these remarkable teenagers finding the ability to rebound from difficult circumstances as well as the significant number of adults, on and off campus who care deeply to lend a net of support to the student along the way.

I also could not have done my job without a great sense of support and help from my wonderful colleagues, both within and outside of the Health Center with whom I have consulted and relied upon throughout my tenure. Our dept. is very much a team and this collaboration is critical and energizing. The work we do can be challenging at times and I have been grateful that I have always had company and consultation when needed.

Perhaps the Program that most defined my Exeter experience has been Student Listeners.

It was a privilege to coordinate and run Student Listeners for all 23 years, sharing it with Liz Hurley these last three years. I had inherited the Program from the late and wonderful Patty Schwartz who started it in the early-mid 90s and I enjoyed building on her original vision.

I had a learning curve along the way, never having had any formal teaching education prior to this. Monday evening training

What are some of the biggest lessons you learned from your time at Exeter?

That we all can get through difficult times more than we believe we can. How fast time flies- that much growth and development happen in these 4 years. True wealth is the richness of spirit, connection and support. not one’s pedigree or bank account. Our mind and belief system have a big impact on how we function and there is much that can be done to turn that around. That there is always someone who cares to help, regardless of how it may feel at the time. I have been humbled by students’ stories of resilience, hardship, tenacity and courage.

I have tried to learn from the rough moments and to build on my experience over the years. I have also tried to practice what I preach... The students, as cliche as it sounds, in many cases, have been my teachers, and a source of inspiration, and growth for me as well. I have tried to become more cognizant of my privilege, of my blind spots, of my unintended biases or assumptions. I have also appreciated the chance to work collaboratively with parents and to help strengthen the understanding and communication among family members. I believe that we humans are also

we all do well to greet each other with empathy and compassion rather than judgment and distance. I frequently met with students who were unaware of their own great potential, strength and worth. It is a priceless and imperative journey to know and value one’s own voice. When good people put their heads together, much more creative energy, ideas and resources come to the table. we are better together than we are separately.

What’s next? How will you take what you learned at the Academy with you?

I feel very blessed to have a rich and full life, filled with close connections with my large, extended family and friends . My next stage offers me the priceless commodity of time with these loved ones ( and hopefully a lot of travel once we are able to do so!). I am the very proud Nana of 2 little girls who live in Seattle with Andrew and his wife, Lauren. Although I am grateful to be able to read and sing to them over the web now, I eagerly await the chance to do it in real life with one or both of them nestled in my lap and to be loving part of their lives as they grow. Additionally I want to do more of what I love -cook, hike, meditate, and volunteer in ways that give my life meaning. Of course I will make time to come back to campus for some of the 7:00 pm concerts, meditations, and events that sometimes I was too tired to fit in when I was working full time!

I am grateful. Honored.

Ready. Excited and yet, I also know that I will miss PEA in so many ways! It has been a great ride. Thank you, PEA and thanks to all of the wonderful adolescents I have had the privilege to get to know over these years and the wonderful adults who also helped to make it possible. Warm regards to all.

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Jean Chase Farnum

Courtesy of the Communications Department My arrival at Exeter in 1981 came after five years of teaching and coaching on the collegiate level. Although I am a New Hampshire native, I had rarely visited

the seacoast area. I was drawn to Phillips Exeter because of the quality of teaching and the passion students showed for their academ-

ics and extracurricular activities. I found their motivation and energy inspiring.

I remember being shown an Academy apartment as part of my visiting tour. Living in the dorm was to be a new adventure for me.

In a sense, the campus reminded me of a small compact version of a collegiate campus complete with extensive teaching and athletic facilities rivaling many collegiate institutions. The way the Academy “worked” was a completely new and sometimes daunting challenge – so different from my collegiate teaching experiences. Dean of Faculty Stephen Smith was very accommodating when I arrived - especially with all the newbie questions that I had during my initial years. Being one of Exeter’s first few female faculty members, I was like a new prep in a totally unique learning environment.

As soon as I moved onto campus my first visitor was Roger Nekton who, at the time, was the senior member of our department.

I remember being impressed that

he biked in from his distant off campus home just to welcome me.

I was especially thankful for his kind gesture. Along with teaching and coaching with Roger over the years I have a great respect for all our past and current professional coaching physical educators and staff in my department and facility.

They are my second family. They truly love what they do.

The Exeter community is just that – a true community. Some of my fondest memories come from the daily contact of having meals with not only the students but also faculty families. Residing in Wheelwright, Dutch House and Main Street North during my dormitory years, Wetherall Dining Hall became a favorite place for my family to spend our meals.

My two sons, Chase and Cole ’02, quickly adapted to their new status as “Fac Brats” along with resident children of that time period. I arrived with 12 other new faculty members that summer. Now, I am the last of “my class” to leave. I can emphasize with the graduating class of 2020 having their senior spring term upended by CoVid 19. For me, my final spring term at Exeter has been altered in a his-

Courtesy of the Communications Department

Joseph Wolfson When and how did your time at the Academy begin?

1987. I ended up living in Washington, D.C. teaching at Georgetown Day School, and both my wife and I wanted to leave Washington, so I applied to a bunch of schools. Actually that isn’t what I did, I applied to an agency, they sent my application to a bunch of different schools. Exeter was one of them, Exeter called me up, I came up and visited and they offered me a job, so that was it.

I had no idea what I was doing.

I had never been in a boarding school. I had no idea what to expect. I really didn’t know anything about Exeter, even though it’s “famous.” It wasn’t “famous” to me.

How was your acclimation to the community? Who/what helped you make the transition?

It wasn’t easy. It wasn’t easy at all. It might be easier for you guys who live in a dormitory, but I wasn’t living in a dorm, so I didn’t have that connection, which is okay because dealing with that while also being a replacement. This isn’t the South—people are kinda friendly in the south, but New England isn’t known for their warm, welcoming climate. Not that people are nasty, but it was not easy getting acclimated.

The classroom was good.

Even then, I had to feel my way around. What was useful for me was visiting a bunch of different classes and realizing there wasn’t one way to do this

Harkness thing. It just takes a while, like your first several dozen classes. There were people, the people in the Math Department were great and nice, so dealing with them was easy and helpful.

How would you describe your experience at the Academy, as a whole?

33 years, my friend, that’s a long time. I [could have] written several books. I will say that meeting the students that I have met over the years has been really rewarding. And working with the other people in my department has been educational, illuminating, humbling. And coaching volleyball has been fun.

As a whole, it’s just impossible. It’s too big. It was different than what I expected, I expected it to be a lot more snooty, but I found the kids cooperative, friendly—competitive in their own way, but also friendly. I rather enjoyed the experience, particularly the classroom and the volleyball, just an extension of the classroom. And also the yearbook, I worked on the yearbook for many years.

Who are the people/programs/ places at Exeter that have defined your experience?

Well, the Math Department.

The volleyball coaches. And the PEAN. What’s one of your favorite Academy stories?

Coaching two undefeated volleyball teams. We almost had an undefeated team back in 2002 when Salty [Director of Studies Scott Saltman] and I were doing Varsity. We were 14 and under, doing a regular season in the first two playoff games and lost the finals to Hotchkiss 3-2.

Although, one defining thing was in 1992, that was the first year we played competitive Varsity Volleyball, but we didn’t have a team; we just had a club. And we had played Andover JV and beat them pretty easily. And then [we] asked if their varsity was doing anything on E/a day, and the coach said no, so I said, “Well, we’ll come down and play down at Andover.” And we beat them 3-1. We were the only team to win that day, of all the Exeter days, so that was pretty cool.

And the following year we had a Varsity Volleyball team. Yay! When I came, there was no volleyball at all. And I had coached back in Washington, so I was disappointed, so when Coach Saltman came in ‘90 or ‘91… That is certainly a favorite thing.

Another favorite thing was PEAN Assembly. We started that back in ‘92, and what I am proud of about that is the only occasion for students to formally acknowledge retiring faculty, so I will leave it at that.

There are plenty others.

What’s the biggest lesson you learned from your time at Ex-

eter?

That’s funny—I was just emailing this guy I went to graduate school with back in the 60s, maybe before you were born, maybe before your parents were born. In any case, talking about how much we know and the lesson from me was just learning some humility, learning how little I really do know. And things about mathematics, it’s clear I knew and learned I don’t really know it that well. It’s hard stuff. So that’s the big lesson and not an easy one for me. I don’t like to be humble, but I don’t find that easy. I’m still learning.

What’s next? How will you take what you learned at the Academy with you?

In terms of specifics, [I’m] kind of nowhere, still. I mean, this COVID thing isn’t helping. I’ve thought about making some writing courses up at [the University of New Hampshire’s] online program. I think I will pursue that, but then the question is where are we going to live. Are we going to stay here, living in our home at Exeter?

We have one child. We have a daughter ‘02, who’s living in Oakland, California, and she just had her first baby, so will we move out there? That’s another possibility.

What will I do out there?

Who knows? Right now, I am just enjoying not doing much, reading, doing [New York Times] puzzles, still tutoring one student. So I am still around here, of course, coming to watch volleyball games if they exist. Hopefully, there will be something in the fall.

Who knows if there is even

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toric way that I could never have imagined.

I’ve also found the Exeter community to be evolving and constantly challenging. So many variables come into play with a residential community. Over the many years I must admit I don’t think I was ever bored. With each challenge came great learning for which I am ever grateful. Each area - from the dormitory to the teaching and coaching - presented its own set of challenges. In spite of these challenges I have been blessed to have had wonderful students and colleagues who continued to inspire me each and every year. Exeter has been a very big influence upon my life and will continue to inspire me in the years to come.

Although I don’t know exactly what “life after Exeter” will bring, I am certain that I will stay connected with the many students, faculty and staff who have become such an important part of my life.

Phillips Exeter has always been – and will always will be – my second home. A quote from Dr. Seuss says it all. “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.”

school in the fall? So there’s no clearly defined map yet.

It’s nice being able to exercise every day. I will keep that up if I want to stay in shape.

I don’t have my mask on now, but I wear it when I go out.

Wish I had a deeper answer, but I don’t.

What is the most impactful thing you are taking away from Exeter as you are retiring?

The relationships with people I know, people I work with, students mostly. Couple of faculty friends, who are still my friends, so that is not a big shift, we still get together. And the other thing is if I have had an impact, a useful impact on students—I hope I have, at least for some people. That’s something I will always treasure.

If I am around, I will come to reunions, just to reconnect.

See what kids like you are doing in their fifteen years out of Exeter. That’s fun. So I think that’s it. But I may have very different views five years from now. Just like you’ll have different views five years out. I suspect I will as well. Hopefully, I am still alive, I’ll see what I can do about that. I’m turning 77 in October.

You’ll be there soon in another 60 years. Give or take. I want to keep the heart beating.

Stay away from COVID-19, assuming I can’t catch it Zooming.

Are you content with the impact you have left on the campus?

I think I have done my stint.

I’ve done my 33 years. Well, I could still be effective if I decided to stick around for a few more years. But it’s ok not to set the alarm clock. It’s okay to never go to a faculty meeting again. It’s even okay to not teach at this point. It’s time to move on.

So I’m not thrilled, like “Yes! I can’t wait to get away,” but I’m happy enough for whatever’s next, and if it ends up being a doting grandfather, then that’s what it’ll be. My daughter has a wife instead of a husband, so little Coco has two Mommies, and [my daughter-in law,] Terry, doesn’t have a father, she just has a mother, so I am the only guy in the family.

Terry also has a sister. Julia is our only child... Right now, it’s all long-distance, and stuff like this. We mostly Messenger every day.

So, we shall see! Catch me in five years, or send someone to me in five years! such an important part of my life. Phillips Exeter has always been – and will always will be – my second home. A quote from Dr. Seuss says it all. “Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment, until it becomes a memory.”

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JUNE 7, 2020 How would you describe the accident community?

It changes from year to year.

Students come here and you get to know them pretty well and then in June of their senior year, they graduate and go and then there’s a new influx of people into the community. So, I mean there are a lot of things that carry over. There’s a culture here, there’s accident jargon, but the community is constantly changing. I think that’s one of the things I really liked about it, the movement and the constant refreshing of people and ideas as the students come into the school and into your classroom.

Michael Golay

Courtesy of the Communications Department When and how did your time with the Academy begin?

I started in the spring of 2000 with two sections of what was then history 333. It’s now history 430, sorry. And I had published a book the previous fall and the history department invited me to lunch to talk about the book. And then a week or two later the department chair asked me if I’d like to teach three 33, which as you probably know, it was a research course for the students to do a big research paper. So

I said yes. Um, I sat in on a couple of classes to see how things went. I’d never taught in high school before. I hadn’t taught anywhere since graduate school. But I thought I would give it a try. I’ve been here ever since.

How has your acclimation to the community and so who or what helped you make the transition to Exeter?

Well, we moved here in 1997 my wife, she’s retired now, she was director of communications. So we moved up

there and I already knew quite a few people here so it was a pretty good transition.

How would you describe your experience at the Academy as a whole?

Well, I’ve had three discrete careers in my life. I was a journalist for a long time and I wrote independently for about a decade and, and since 2000 I’ve taught here and this has been the most rewarding of the three careers, it’s been a really terrific experience.

Who are the people, programs or places at Exeter that have defined your experience?

Well, I would say it’s mostly the students, from 2000 on and I taught part time here for my first four years and then became full time. And have been affiliated with McConnell hall ever since. And I think that those students, advisees, other people in the dorm, students I’ve had over the years have really defined that experience for me. They’re the purpose of the school and the heart of it.

When I think of Phillips Exeter Academy, I think of the students I’ve known over the years.

What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your time at Exeter?

I don’t know if I’ve learned any particular lessons. From years of being in newspapers, I learned how to listen and to ask questions and to try to understand what people were telling me so that’s a quality that is essential here in Harkness teaching. And I’ve certainly refined that over the years.

I think I’ve become a better thinker, a better listener. As a consequence of my 20 years here. I think it’s made me intellectually more curious and more alive and that’s a result of the kind of students this place attracts. And I’m very grateful for that, but that’s what I’ll miss the most. I think the students and the intellectual life of the place, the liveliness of the place in the classroom now.

What’s next for you? How will you take what you’ve learned from Exeter onwards?

I don’t know. I’ve written a number of books so I might write a book. I’ve actually toyed with going back to graduate school. I left a PhD program years ago to go into newspapers and I might try to go back and finish a PhD. I’m not sure exactly how long it would take me to do that, but I’ve been treated with the idea this is not the best time to be looking into this because of the Corona. That’s a possibility too. I just don’t know. I’m going to take the summer off and think about it.

Courtesy of Lee Young

Lee Young

My starting salary was $12,000 We did six interviews a day I learned the ropes from Jack and Rick No wonder I wanted to stay

Making connections with families Is when I feel most alive There is no better feeling Meeting a kid you know will just thrive

I first became interested in the Academy It was the fall of ‘78 After visiting my friend Laura Schwartz in the huge library I realized this place was really great

Guiding words from Anja Greer Were to find kids who love learning Seeking kids with grit and character I learned from Susan Herney

I always think of admissions As 1 part science 2 parts art My hope for Exeter admissions is that We take noncognitives to heart

I decided to submit an application Wore my only skirt on interview day I hand wrote my letter to Mr. Hitzrot With scores so low, I thought ‘no way’

I never desired an advanced degree Because I was always learning from the best Keeping up with the pace of Exeter There was and is never time to rest

What we all value the most in life Are those things we cannot measure While academic ability is important One’s humanity is what we should most treasure

Luckily full pay day girls were in need Isn’t that the case still today?

I later learned Rhua Stakely was my advocate Convincing others I would be okay

I am eternally grateful For all Exeter has given to me My kids grew up on a safe campus And we ate in the dining hall for free

While I hope Exeter is pleased It took a chance and admitted me It is my gratitude toward Exeter That I want you all to see

Exeter taught me how to learn and study College was easy within reason I doubled majored in psych and soc And played a sport every season

I never had to endure a commute And I could work out every day Tuition remission made it possible For Laura to attend New Hampton and Jimmy PEA

I’ve worked at Exeter for a generation now And it is time to make a move Educational consulting awaits I think the transition will be smooth

In the spring of ‘86 How fortuitous for me Exeter needed an admissions officer And a hockey coach for the girls’ varsity

If I think about the years and numbers I’ve lived thru 6 principals in sum I’ve worked for 7 admission directors And about 7000 interviews done

With Billy by my side We are excited about the future we face But no doubt in my heart Exeter holds a very dear space

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Courtesy of the Communications Department

Xitai Chen

I am grateful to PEA for having given me the opportunity to be a part of the community and to work with our wonderful students. I enjoyed every moment when I was with them in my classrooms, at volleyball courts, in the dorms, and on the zoom

Filip Sain

Courtesy of the Communications Department For the last few months I have thought a lot about Greg Lukianoff, who spoke at the Academy in December about the book he wrote with Jonathan Haidt, The Closing of the American Mind.

Lukianoff is a lawyer and Haidt is a psychologist, and I think

the combination of their perspectives is more than the sum of their parts. I first learned of Haidt almost fifteen years ago, due to his work on how people of goodwill can disagree so much.

Lukianoff and Haidt borrow the term “antifragility” from

Nassim Nicholas Taleb. Teacups are fragile because they will break if dropped, while plastic cups are resilient because they won’t. But being dropped certainly won’t strengthen either of them. Antifragility is neither fragility nor resilience; antifragile

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screens.

I want to thank to my fellow teachers in Math Department, for their cooperation, understanding, and support throughout twenty-two years here. I would also like to express my appreciation to my other col-

leagues, and staff for their support and friendship during my stay here.

During these trying times, I am sure that the Exeter family will find a way to carry our mission through this challenge and emerge stronger than ever.

systems become stronger through being challenged and stressed.

Lukianoff and Haidt list bones, immune systems, and children as examples of antifragility. I’d like to think middle-aged adults can be antifragile too. Being challenged by students and colleagues is a big reason that I feel like I have grown and learned as much during my years at Exeter as I did during my own high school years.

My suburban Ohio public high school civics class, a graduation requirement taught by the football coach, had such vigorous debates that I remember some of them thirty years later.

Lukianoff and Haidt say that around the year 2013 such horizon-widening discussions started to become increasingly fraught on America’s campuses. They recommend remedies both ancient and modern, drawing on the religions that Haidt had begun his career studying, as well as the cognitive-behavioral therapy that Lukianoff underwent some years ago and mentioned in his Exeter talk. While I don’t follow any of these in any systematic way, I have found that these precepts offer sound advice for improving

dialogue, whether with others or with my own thoughts.

But over the course of my life I have done enough mathematics to know that finding my own sign errors is sometimes very difficult. Lukianoff and Haidt thus also emphasize the importance of institutionalized disconfirmation, whereby others do us the favor of finding the flaws in our arguments, and we return the favor in turn. Recognizing confirmation bias is a collective endeavor. But what if everyone shares the same confirmation bias? The book quotes Ruth Simmons, the first black president of an Ivy League university: “One’s voice goes stronger in encounters with opposing views…. The collision of views and ideologies is in the DNA of the academic enterprise.

We do not need any collision avoidance technology here.”

An epigraph of Lukianoff and Haidt’s book is “Prepare the child for the road, not the road for the child.” I am a lot further along in my life than you are, but even so I feel reinforced by my time at Exeter. I hope you do too.

May you have the antifragility to handle any road.

Richard Aaronian

Courtesy of the Communications Department When Anne Brandes asked me to write a reflection for the Exonian as I retire after 49 years teaching biology at Exeter, you might understand why my response was not an immediate “Sure, that won’t be a problem.”

How could I possibly describe the effect being a teacher at Exeter has had on me? I won’t try, but I can describe how my Exeter career began and some memories that will resonate with me long after I leave the Harkness table and lab bench in Room 204 in Phelps Science Center.

It started with a 3x5-inch note card posted in the Zoology Department at the University of New Hampshire advertising a biology position at the Academy. Little did I know how my life would be affected by that notecard. Peg and I came to Exeter in 1971 knowing

next to nothing about boarding schools and imagining we would probably be here for just a few years. But here we are, 49 years later.

I think about the things that have brought me joy at PEA. They include teaching both of our sons, Eric and Sam, who chose (willingly) to take Ornithology; teaching biology side by side with Eric for three years as he filled in for colleagues on sabbatical; and introducing Marine Biology and Ornithology to our biology curriculum.

Many Exonians I taught during those 49 years or coached on JV hockey teams over the course of 26 years have become close friends. Together we weathered many changes on campus.

Peg and I arrived as coeducation was slowly being implemented,

and next year we’ll enjoy the 50th anniversary of that change. The women who came in those early years of coeducation were among the most resilient, talented, creative Exonians I have known.

Since most of our years of dormitory life were in Amen and Bancroft Halls, Peg and I watched them grow and worked with them as they dealt with so many challenges.

But now to 2020. During these uncertain times, the phrase “We are all in this together” has become a mantra. I’m so very proud to be an honorary member of the Classes of ’76, ’78 and ’97, and I also feel a deep connection to your class. After all, we’re leaving (virtually!!) Exeter together.

The depth of this connection became so clear to me one recent

afternoon on a walk as I was listening to bird songs (this will not surprise many of you). The Class of 2020 and I really are in this together as we both experience changes: you will graduate and I will retire. We are both moving on. What we both have missed this term is the human connection in class, on the athletic fields, on the stage, in the dormitory, on the paths.

I know how much you wish to be here with your friends and experience Senior Week and graduation on June 7. I miss being out on field trips with my Ornithology students and sharing their excitement as they see their first Baltimore Oriole, Red-tailed Hawk or Yellow Warbler and with my preps in Biology as they understand that a gene from a jellyfish can be inserted into bacteria.

And, although the final faculty meeting is long and everyone is tired after a long year, I will miss seeing my colleagues in person at that gathering.

So we are in this together in so many ways, but we will get through it. And although what happens this fall is still uncertain, we will get through it and move on to new experiences.

My only advice is to pay attention to whatever is today’s equivalent of the old 3x5-inch note card. You never know where it will lead.

Congratulations on your graduation. I will miss you and hope to see you before too long.

Be well, Rich Aaronian

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Senior Reflections

Ergs Don’t Float

By ALEXANDER URQUHART Dear Concept2 Ergometer, I remember the day I first met you, on a humid afternoon in February 2017. You were tucked away with your friends above the basketball court, laughing at the preps playing pickup. I approached you timidly and plopped on your seat — even then, it was uncomfortable. Your face stared coldly towards me; all these numbers scrambled like strands of hair covering your eyes. I picked up your handle and began to pull.

Not even a minute had passed before my lungs cried out in pain, before my panting drowned out your howling flywheel. But I was proud. The big number on your face, resting right where your nose would be, had dropped from 2:00 to 1:59.

I stayed away from you during that spring crew season. You and your friends mocked me as I walked to push my popsicle stick in. You had no pity for the twoseat of Exeter’s lowest boat. Unfortunately, it was impossible to avoid you. Whenever the tide of the Squamscott was low, Coach

Chisolm made us erg for twenty minutes. I drove my legs down and swung my spine like a pendulum, counting down the meters in my head. Your face told me to stop caring. I knew my split was the worst out of all the preps, but I never caved into that urge to stop.

All I wanted to do was prove you wrong.

I committed myself to winter crew training during lower year — two grueling hours a day with the varsity boys. I stood out like an ugly duckling among those 6’5, 200-lb meat-wagons. Yet I appreciated how you inspired the team. Whenever any rower challenged you, everyone else would crowd around and encourage him through the last thousand meters. We yelled at him to “HOLD THAT SPLIT!” and “UP THE RATE!”. We grabbed the attention of everyone on the basketball courts as our shouts drowned out that rower’s cries; at last, he slammed the handle down, beat his chest, and collapsed on the cement floor of the erg bay. None of us cared about how long that piece took; all that mattered was finishing the workout. That was

the secret to beating you.

You kept torturing me through the rest of lower year. Maybe I would be trapped in a prison of steady-state rowing, tethered to the real world by Roman History podcasts. Sometimes, you’d make your punishments more brutal. One specific workout — the “Exeter”, a blank-x-500 meter, 1 minute rest — dragged me to Brutus’ circle of hell. But I rose up boats as I completed more of your challenges. At the end of sophomore year, I helped power B3 to a bronze medal at the 2018 NEIRAs. One year after being benched for my final race, I held a varsity letter in my hands.

I now saw you as a necessary evil, rather than a mortal enemy.

You were the cure to alleviating my worries — if I got cut from a boat, you were there to embrace me with open arms. I even let you move in with me last Thanksgiving. Though you didn’t pay me rent, you made up for it by strengthening my cardio. No one else appreciated you like I did.

You carried me right through upper year, helping me fight for a stroke of B2, for a silver medal at

NEIRAs, and — at last — for the coveted captainship. Prep Alex never imagined that he would be a varsity athlete, much less a captain. I never imagined myself stroking the Hammy down the Charles, flying by hundreds of thousands of spectators as the Boston skyline glittered before my eyes. I never thought I’d lead the boys through a grueling winter season, with you right by my side as executioner. No matter how hard you made us fight, I knew your challenges would be worth it. We were underdogs this year, sure, but who cared what everyone thought? That NEIRA gold belonged to Exeter.

Today would have been our race against Kent, down on Lake Waramaug in CT. Only fifteen minutes from my house. I remember winning two years ago with B3, by just 0.3 seconds, while my entire family watched from the shoreline. This was supposed to be another defining win. A race that told every other school Exeter was here to stay. I don’t care how lucky I am to be safe — it sucks. To know that I’ll never row on the Squamscott again, or do pull-ups on the door before practice, or sneak off to Stillwells after three hours of seat-racing. At least you’re at home with me. You give me a reason to keep working every day and act like life is still

normal.

Whenever I want to stop training, I remember the feeling of that one piece. It was our first 5k erg test of the fall, and PJ and I were lined up alone in 225 Water St. As the lactic acid pooled in my legs, I stared at the meters slowly ticking away, my body locked into each stroke. Coach Moore cheered us on, but my mind was telling me to stop the pain. Throw that handle away, Alex. Who cares if you can’t finish? Then you spoke to me. You told me that the only way to make it end was to go faster. As I hit the final 1k, the entire team climbed upstairs to carry us through the finish. I collapsed on the ground, feet still strapped in, 3 minutes and 38 seconds later.

I could barely inhale the asbestos-filled air, much less move a single muscle without screaming in pain. Yet all I could sense was accomplishment. That’s the kind of feeling that keeps us rowers going: the pure joy of knowing you had nothing left to give, but somehow held on through the finish line. We may be a masochistic cult that prays to Oakleys and Fat Ergos, but you are our unifying factor. Without you, I don’t know where the hell I’d be.

Thank you, Urquhart

What Those Departing Seniors Knew

By AUDREY VANDERSLICE I’ve read every single Senior Reflection that has come out in Graduation issues since my prep year. So when I sat down to write my own, I was determined to come up with an entirely new angle from which to write on the Exeter experience, some eye-opening insight on what we’ve encountered and overcome in the last four years.

I remember exactly what it was like for me to read senior reflections as a prep. The style and content of each may have differed, but they all radiated a degree of self-awareness, confidence and contentment that seemed wholly unattainable. I saw those Senior Reflections as inspiring roadmaps to guide where I might end up academically and personally by the time I wrote one of my own.

As I navigated my way through

these four years, that were filled with both stumbles and smiles, I wondered if I’d ever become as self-assured and evolved as those awe-inspiring seniors who gave us the farewell gift of these reflections before scattering themselves throughout the world.

Now, in May of my senior year, I feel like I’m finally here.

I’ve reached the supposed panacea, and part of me is a little shocked. But I finally understand why those seniors exuded such contentment. It’s not that they were cockily certain as to who they are and exactly where they’re going—it’s just that they’re at peace with the fact that there are no definitive, permanent answers to those questions we’re all continually striving to answer.

After hours staring at a blank Word document, I realized that my mission to come up with the

most unique and original reflection ever was a little misguided.

Because the reality is that I really do feel the same way all of those seniors did while trying to put their parting words to Exeter on paper. My rather inauthentic attempt at writing something new almost got in the way of the honest-to-goodness-if-a-bitcliché truths: For the first and maybe the last time, I do feel like I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. I will never forget Exeter and everything we created in our time here.

And I think that’s just beautiful. As we graduate in the absolute wildest and previously unimaginable circumstances—a raging global pandemic, “murder hornets,” UFOs, and probably several other surreal phenomena by the time this is published—I find solace in knowing that while we didn’t share the spring on campus we had planned, we

gained a shared consciousness from our “Exeter experience” that cannot be undermined. For a brief but seminal period of our lives, we all came together in a small town in New Hampshire to delight in each other’s wonderful minds and talents and to love one another so fully. As unique as each of our individual personalities, interests and goals are, I’d like to believe we’re all departing with the same jumble of emotions: a combination of profound affection, preemptive nostalgia over our past, excitement about the future, and pride in what we’ve built together.

I know from speaking with alumni that there’s a lot of Exeter that we may forget over the years—praying for the right assembly check, St. Anthony’s runs during department meetings, rushing back from Fox Run mall to make 10 p.m. checkin—but I’m confident we’ll have

internalized every detail. We’ll each get to carry bits and pieces of Exeter in our memory and our conscience, the subtle and the significant. So, even if the details grow blurry in the years and decades to come, I’d like to believe that they’ll still be hovering in our memories and subconsciousness, influencing the people we become.

If there is one thing, though, that I know and that I hope never fades, it’s this indescribable feeling of completeness that has marked our lives at Exeter. It’s what makes me so sure that, as we move forward into further uncertainty, Exeter has given us and all the students who departed before us the friendships and knowledge to continue evolving into the people we aspire to become. So thank you, Exeter, and thank you, Class of 2020, for completing me in places I didn’t know existed.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

By ALISHA SIMMONS

Always a Home

In the winter of my lower year, I remember having a discussion in my Cultural Anthropology class about what “home” means. A lot of the seniors in the class were talking about how they naturally called their dorm “home” as lowerclassmen, because Exeter felt like home to them. As they grew older, it started feeling more like school as they began to imagine their futures and the world outside of this place. A sense of slowly disconnecting from your sentimental ties to the school. A bird leaving its nest. A butterfly emerging out of its cocoon. I didn’t really get it at the time. I regularly referred to Lamont Hall as home, I had friends who I considered family, and above all, I was on top of the world—ecstatic—to finally be living the dream I had wanted for so long.

For me, my Exeter story started in the 4th grade. I had gone on a tour of a boarding school that my mother wanted one of my sisters to consider, and I immediately fell in love. I was a bit of a nerd, of course. I loved school, and just the idea of being able to live there, to never have to leave, made me overjoyed. I knew that it was what I wanted to do, and I told my mom right then and there—at the age of eight-years-old—that I was going to go to boarding school.

My sister never ended up going, but I spent my middle school years doing hours of research and reading every book set in a boarding school that I could find. And then I found Exeter. I come from a not-so-good school district in Atlanta, and from a single-parent low income immigrant household. A school like Exeter would have never been on my radar if I didn’t search high and low for it. I applied in the eighth grade, got waitlisted, and then applied again and got in. I knew that I had to be here.

The media has hyped up high school for our entire lives. It’s depicted as the most important, most formative, and sometimes even the best years of our lives.

I think that’s a bit unrealistic. I think that if we leave this place,

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go about our lives, and then still reflect on these years as the best years of our lives, we’ve done it wrong. Because Exeter shouldn’t be the best. It isn’t. Exeter is here to prepare us to do better.

To teach us about ourselves, to teach us how to be resilient, to fight back against adversity, to challenge ourselves, to understand others, to be empathetic, to teach us how to spread our wings so that later, we can fly.

I’m graduating from this place a completely different person than I was when I came in. In all of the best ways. Exeter is hard. Exeter is the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, and I’m sure many of you can relate. And we’ve all struggled with that imposter syndrome — “Why am I here?

Am I supposed to be here? Am I good enough for this place?” For those younger students reading, I’m here to tell you that you are.

You are 100% good enough for this place and you are here for a reason. And I believe in you.

Trust me. You’ll blink and you’ll already be at the end, and then you’ll find yourself wishing you kept your eyes open for a second longer.

I get what those seniors were talking about now. Exeter isn’t home anymore—it can’t be— but it will always be a home. I’m ready to discover a new home, but that doesn’t mean I can ever forget this one. Even now, as I’m writing this from my bedroom in Atlanta in a time of separation and standstill, I find myself missing the red brick buildings and peaceful Swasey and walking daily past old Fisher. Exeter is forever. In a sentimental way, and a literal one, because we all know they’ll never stop asking us to donate. To my fellow Class of 2020, I miss you. We are so heartbroken to not be able to say goodbye in the way we planned.

To not check off those final bucket list items, to not spend days in Boston, days at the beach, or just days on the quad with the ones you love the most in this world.

However, our friendships are not over. They won’t ever be. Because this isn’t saying goodbye, it’s just a transition. To another world. To another home.

Graphing Gossamer and Friends

By JOY LIU “The children had been confident in their happiness as the last days of the summer are confident in their everlastingness.”—Yiyun Li, Where Reasons End When I first arrived at Hoyt Hall, I found myself in a small common room that wrapped around a corner. We barely fit.

The returning students piled on top of one another. A new upper named Jadzia marveled at the constellation of people gathered in the room. We could just as likely be mushrooms, she noted, in the south of France. (Later, Jadzia would achieve minor fame for successfully fermenting salmonberry kombucha in her closet.) It was marvelous that so many walks of life had led us to Exeter and to Hoyt.

Once an aspiring computer scientist, I’ve always seen life as an optimization problem. The problem space is a graph. The vertices represent people, the edges relationships. Some edges are bold, some faint, some long, some short.

The graph extends as far as the eye can see, populated by friends, acquaintances, and strangers. I left my nucleus of family and friends on a caprice, propelled by the prestige of Exeter. I traveled 3,000 miles from home in metropolitan California to rural New Hampshire. The path I picked cost a lot: I imagined the edges shifting, stretching the people I cared for far far away. Many fray with time, unravel into thin gossamer as people come and go. I like to imagine edges form but never disappear.

At Exeter, I watched the web shift about me and form tentative edges. The volleyball team, Hoyt, my new peers. Something happened back home halfway into

lower fall, and I felt the web shift again. I was far away and drifting.

I looked at the gossamer below cocooning the earth and worked diligently. My English teacher from that term (bless her heart) always maintains prolonged eye contact and asks me, “Are you OK?” I wrote my fair share of emotionally exploitative essays, played more Minesweeper than I care to divulge, and found comfort in the iterative process of learning and optimization and becoming.

At Exeter, I’ve unfurled. In the spring, I napped with Jadzia on the slope behind Hoyt and watched the pink blossoms quiver overhead. I sampled her kombucha. I began to love Harkness. Friends observed that I seemed like a humanities person, and I meandered among favorite subjects. Senior winter, just before we left, my newfound obsessions were Tolstoy, Beckett, and cherry tomatoes. “I’ve come from Russia!” I’d announce every day as I plopped the communal cherry tomato supply down on fac side of Wetherell.

In his Confession, Tolstoy writes that he is lost and searching for home in the wood of human knowledge. Beckett conjures an image of life as a brief flash of light between two vast expanses of darkness. Tolstoy runs circles until he finds himself in a glade.

He climbs a tree, scanning the distance for home, but the dark, lovely wood sprawls far. Beckett said when a man in a forest thinks he is going forward in a straight line, in reality he is going in a circle. And he himself did his best to go in a circle, hoping to go in a straight line. At Exeter, I meandered in the wood, running my hands through the ferns, tucking equations and constants and algorithms into my pocket for safekeeping. I wrote

poetry on the toilet late at night and imagined I was in a Beckett play. A single beam of light illuminated the stall from overhead, and velvety darkness flanking the stall sprawled far both ways. (“Are you saying life is shit?” Ms. Brickhouse asked me. We had a good laugh. That hadn’t occurred to me, but make of it what you will.) I’d peek over the walls of the stall, but friends reeled me in when I started floating away. See, at Exeter, I found a home in the wood of knowledge.

When I look back, I picture a montage of hazy memories, like in a coming-of-age movie, paused just before the protagonist’s life-changing epiphany about existence or love or grief or faith for a quick bathroom break or a drink of water. (“Are you the main character in your life?” was among my favorite check-in questions during my time as proctor.) The details are lost, and the memories begin to blur. The movie is paused indefinitely, and it’s not one I can rewatch, much as I try. On the threshold of adulthood, I wonder what might’ve come next. The impressions remain vivid. Nights in the church, feeling organ music cascade from a secret trapdoor.

Stargazing on the quad. Dancing in the rain, in the woods. Bull sessions at odd hours. Cape Cod. Who might I have become during the fabled senior spring? The movie is shelved, and we won’t finish it. We were so confident in our everlastingness.

Do you ever wonder how to best preserve memories? I read that every time you reminisce, you only recall the last time you remembered a memory. That means I redecorate a little every time I return. What’s a nostalgia addict to do if the only way to save a

memory is to not remember? But there’s no point preserving the past if it means forgetting. In the years to come, we’ll reminisce and recount our favorite anecdotes to friends. We’ll embellish a bit here and there, and the memory will change each time we retrieve it from the archives, dust if off.

Maybe we’ll forget how the slight concavity feels underfoot on the way to Assembly, how we squinted at the sun during spring naps on the quad, how the bindings of old books felt beneath running fingers when we picked our 333 topics, how we sprinted to our dorms, the bells tolling, and quieted our racing hearts when we told dorm fac we forgot who was on duty, just a little out of breath. Maybe the sunshine’s a little brighter, the colors a little richer, and so what? I insist on remembering.

In the graph data structure, the nodes we’ve yet to expand form a fringe, or a frontier. I think of all the people within a degree or two of separation whom I meant to befriend senior spring. I had a list somewhere, but I can’t find it. To the Class of 2020, we each remember different bits of Exeter. That makes 317 versions of our time here. I hope one day we’ll reunite and pool our memories. Cheers to the collective memory of our adolescence, to running in circles, to all we’ve become between the first and last days of summer, and to Exeter. Cheers to short, bold edges, even when we’re far apart.

I like to imagine the paths between us form but never disappear, and one day, the gossamer will reel us home. Keep in touch, and as always, cya.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

“We’re Going On A Trip”

By BENJAMIN CAI “Focus on the light at the end of the tunnel.” It’s a common mantra among Exonians, especially during upper year and the first half of senior year with their many sleepless nights, mounting homework loads, stressful college applications, new extracurricular responsibilities and pressure from family and friends. When it seems like the tunnel is closing in on you from all sides — when you feel squeezed, drowned, and sunk to the breaking point, when you want to despair — it’s addictively comforting to romanticize the distant future and escape the bleakness of today.

Many of us, including myself occasionally, struggle to keep up with our goals of (personal) perfection and wonder if our seemingly futile efforts and wonder if it was all worth it. Was sacrificing a fun and, more importantly, memorable outing with friends worth the three-hour blur of practice math problems for a test you still foresaw yourself failing? Even if you were confident or did well on that test, isn’t there that little voice inside of you that asks “what if?”

After all, when you look back on your Exeter experience, you’re going to remember the bonding, not testing.

And those students who decided to take a break and socialize might have regrets too. Maybe they didn’t get a good grade; maybe they did worse than the scores of classmates who “worked harder.” Most of us still want success, even if we try to be laid back about it all.

From the two aforementioned cases, it is clear that Exonians ironically struggle with an internal tug-of-war between working hard and playing hard. But the more fundamental issue at hand is that in either case, we fall back on the shaky premise that there will be

happiness Exonians fall back on the shaky premise of happiness at the end of one’s grueling journey (though perhaps those of us who take the time to be “typical high schoolers” will feel less guilty about missing some of their original goals) In other words, many Exonians place all bets on a pristine senior spring. That final trimester is supposedly when one can truly take their foot off the pedal and take in the last bits of Exeter that they might have missed. Sports competitions. Music performances.

Genuine Harkness discussions in and out of the classroom. Friendships with trusted faculty friends and peer families. Late-night conversations. 6 AM Dunkin Donut runs. Outings to new restaurants, the mall or even to Boston. Riding the rope swing into the river. Prom with loved ones. Senior lobster

dinner. Meditations with classmates. Final assemblies. The list goes on with the infinite memories that one could have created in this roughly three-month-long celebration that is supposed to wash away all the previous struggle.

Many Exonians reserve certain “milestones,” like relationships, for senior spring having decided that it was not worth the time and sacrifice when stakes were higher.

Yet, there is an obvious vulnerability to this naive logic, which is that one must have a wonderful senior spring. In this year’s case, the question morbidly turned into whether we would have a senior spring at all.

With the COVID-19 pandemic effectively canceling all the potential memories and promises that our past selves made, it is even clearer why the destination or “reward” should not be the sole

Seek Discomfort

By BIANCA LEE Seek Discomfort is the slogan for Yes Theory, a YouTube channel that features strangers spontaneously agreeing to crazy, uncomfortable situations, like skydiving or swimming with sharks. Although saying “Yes” to Exeter did not seem as daring as bungee jumping off a cliff, it was. I was a stranger to the people, the school, the town, the state, and even the country.

Just as I became familiar with the people, the school, and the

town, our senior year has ended unexpectedly and not the way we wanted. We did not prepare for our goodbyes, which is extremely uncomfortable. It takes strength to come to terms with it. More than ever, we are now forced to remember the times we spent while at school––the good, the bad, and the uncomfortable.

My years at Exeter shaped how I define ‘discomfort,’ as a temporary but often positive experience that requires vulnerability and bravery to endure.

During my Exeter revisit, I

sat in Ms. Flynn’s English class.

She encouraged the prospective students, myself included, to read aloud. I panicked as the last time I did so was in fifth grade Chinese class. In each paragraph of the novel, there were at least five words I could not pronounce. I counted the lines from the person who started reading to my turn so I could read the sentence in my head several times before reading it in front of the group of the scary, mature, and shockingly good-at-readingaloud Lowers. The class finally

reason we undertake challenges.

There is no guarantee of reward or of a happy ending — the unpredictable dice of life do not offer us that much. But when we believe there is, we feel a weakening sense of independence and self-care that prevents us from really and truly experiencing Exeter to the fullest.

Ups, downs and all.

When we bind ourselves to goals — sometimes goals we didn’t even create for ourselves — we may lose sight of what makes us who we are or what actually matters. We chain ourselves to the future instead of shaping it..

Obviously, goals are still important and immediate gain should not be the deciding factor. We surely need neither hedonism nor wasteful highs, but there has to be a balance between the present and future self. Without constant evaluation of both where we cur-

rently stand and where we hope to be, we run the risk of falling into a downward spiral of self-destructive regret.

Many of us have admittedly felt unmotivated, lonely and more generally sad; while it was bound to happen when Exeter was replaced with Zoom, perhaps a different outlook could have given us a more positive and engaged view of the present. If we enjoy the process as much as the result, perhaps we gain just as much from the journey, if not more. The good end result simply becomes a bonus.

Not a need, nor a sign of success and failure.

To put it simply, instead of just focusing on the “light” at the end of the tunnel, Exonians should focus on the “tunnel” itself too.

“We’re going on a trip” and nowhere is that more appropriate than the life-changing trip of PEA.

stopped after looping around the Harkness table five times. Phew, that didn’t go too badly. I remember telling myself.

Six months later, after saying “Yes” to Exeter and enduring my first term as a new Lower, I joined the distance track team. An upper on the team approached me, recognizing me from Ms. Flynn’s English class.

I smiled, thinking I made a good impression that day.

“I didn’t think you knew how to read!” he joked. A joke or not, I was uncomfortable and embarrassed. That day on, I read aloud in my corner room of the connecting double in Dunbar Hall, ensuring that I perfected my “reading out loud” skill. I still stumble on phrases in Shakespeare or Conrad or Dostoevsky, but I also volunteered to read children’s books that promote diversity to students at the Lincoln Street School.

Whether I tried to or not, I often found myself in uncomfortable situations. By senior year, I was an expert discomfort-seeker. Understanding I can push beyond my limits, asking for help and being open to failure became my go-to tactics to tackling uncomfortable situations.

In my senior fall, I took a sandbox course called the Green Umbrella Learning Lab. My group of four ventured into a sustainable project that was both unconventional and risky: papermaking. In the design lab, we set up Exonian newspapers, green bins, netted frames, and a paper shredder for the process.

Not knowing whether we could remake new paper out of old papers successfully, we remained optimistic by combining pre-existing papermaking recipes to create a formula that worked from newspapers. The project — and its positive impact — affirmed that out-of-reach endeavors have the potential to succeed.

As we wrap up our high school careers, we all remain in

the same uncomfortable situation. Walking on stage, smiling, shaking hands with Principal Rawson and holding the piece of paper that encompasses our hard work is no longer a reality.

Instead, we have the delight of receiving a piece of paper in the mail on June 7th.

Reflecting on my Exeter experience, I have said “No” a considerable amount. I said “No” to a day at the beach that one time because I felt overburdened with homework; I met up to work instead of talk in the library; I sat in a friend’s room and refused to speak to them about anything but the essay we were peer-reviewing.

Although hours of homework ‘hangouts’ comprise a lot of our Exeter experience, the most memorable moments are the ones where we dove into anything remotely uncomfortable.

I said “Yes” to the beach, “Yes” to walking to Ohana and On The Vine in below-freezing weather after sunset, “Yes” to stargazing with friends minutes before 11 pm check-in, “Yes” to walking a dorm faculty’s dog in the Exeter trails, “Yes” to skiing with the Ski Club, “Yes” to running an average of 6 miles a day with the cross country team, “Yes” to taking an advanced art course, “Yes” to the Washington Intern Program.

We all said “Yes” to Exeter; we all said “Yes” to pushing ourselves.

Class of 2020, we were born during or just after 9/11, we entered high school as Trump was elected president, we cannot have a senior spring because of the Coronavirus. The world is setting us up for discomfort. Instead of shying away, we need to face it. Moreover, we need to accept the opportunity to find solutions to the problems we face.

As we venture to college and the real world, I hope we can seek discomfort.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

77

Faith, Community and Understanding

By DACHA THURBER I am honored to join my inspiring, humbling and fantastic classmates in expressing sincere gratitude for Exeter’s incredible gifts over the last year, two, three or four and beyond. I am extraordinarily fortunate to have had invaluable opportunities to study with our exciting, worldly and comforting Exeter community.

I can call Exeter home in a uniquely real sense. I grew up sledding down the hill in front of Soule and Abbot Halls (being mindful, of course, of the 8-inch metal drainage pipe to the right of the bottom-most granite step) and living off stuffed shells and tacos (undoubtedly the best of the wonderful meals at D-hall). These are the memories to cherish.

This spring has also been unique: mundane for some, excruciating for others. Amid the crumbling effects of this virus, to varying degrees, on our lives, I am blessed that a Shelter in Place order meant staying in Exeter. However, as beautiful as Swasey is in the springtime, as cozy as our downtown can feel when the weather warms up, as final as the bells sound ringing on

the hour from underneath the golden sailboat, something is missing— and I’m not just talking about the End of Year Transportation emails.

It seems that only in its absence can I truly recognize our Exeter community as a keystone. Like you, I miss it and I am excited beyond words for the day we reunite back home, in person.

In addition to the grander gifts Exeter has bestowed, it has also taught me to take advantage of discrete moments. Among my most special memories are long hours studying at my carrel, interrupted by impromptu trips to the ever-near and ever-tempting Elm Street Dining Hall for a bowl of soup with friends, and late-night phone calls where, by any reasonable standard, each end should have gone to sleep hours earlier. I believe one must seek the joy in these moments to have a sincere experience.

Appreciation of this sort is a habit we can all foster more ardently. At Exeter, we constantly seek the joy in our community by celebrating our similarities and individualities, joining with each other in halls and fields and even by joining ourselves in the iconic homework grind. It is easy to get distracted from an awareness that this appre-

Please Leap

By GABRIEL WONG When I arrived at Exeter, I didn’t believe that a philosophy of learning could be transformative.

Three years of ongoing exploration later, and I never find myself as exhausted as I am at the end of class, listening to the end-of-format bell ring. It’s always then that I realize it was a good class. Harkness is draining, and when I came to Exeter, eager to talk and (over)share, I found phrasing and making points a welcome challenge. But, listening is the key part of Harkness that really drains you. There’s a unique difficulty to meeting someone intellectually on their own turf—to really try to understand them and access their ideas. In the midst of that struggle to understand others lies the simply magical moments of a class; the unforgettable excitement of communal exploration.

Through the hard-fought efforts and constant care of my classmates, Harkness has the power to transform the quotidian into unforgettable moments of collaborative empathy and joy. Even now, as my hometown of New York looks at months more of uncertainty and lockdown, I am reminded of this transformation daily over Zoom.

Distant, there are still those moments of togetherness—fearless expressions of hope, insecurity, and love that never fail to make my day. I feel so lucky to have had the diversity in perspective that surrounds me every day at Exeter.

This unique class of individuals constantly enriches the way I see the world around me and the way I see myself—I find myself now, more than ever, just wanting to listen. And even when there are those moments where there just aren’t any words, I’ve come to see the power in exploring those too.

I made the jump to come to Exeter without any thought as to how I would (or wouldn’t) be transformed or even what the hell it meant to be transformed. In my three years at Exeter, I’ve learned to leap before I look over and over again. Throughout my experience, I’ve constantly been challenged to jump into the uncomfortable, and in doing so, I’ve been reminded why I choose to throw myself into Exeter over and over again.

As a new lower, the sudden independence I found all around me at times overwhelmed my sense of direction and structure. Exeter had a far vaster social scene than my middle school and seemingly

ciation requires in this high-speed, hyperconnected world. And yet I believe there is no end, or perhaps a very distant one, to the joy we can draw from such an adventure.

In order to get that joy, though, I think that we must strive to be ever more vigilant and patient. I am grateful that our community is often a sterling example of this practice. I am also aware that there is still progress to be made. More specifically, the Academy has occasional choices in curricula and programming wherein we decide how publicly we celebrate our students’ identities. In making this choice, we are inconsistent; sometimes we choose vibrancy and other times we choose sterilization.

To this I say — we should always conduct ourselves with respect and deference so that, in every situation, we too can expect such behavior from each other. Yet, as any two words that alone attempt to describe our community, “respect” and “deference” are generalizations. The nature of public celebration is broad — there are so many different moments encompassed under it. But we have to start somewhere, with some base principles. At times, we didn’t meet those standards we set for ourselves, but we have to keep

trying to embrace them by expectation. Otherwise, they will escape us by their loftiness. True, complete respect and deference are high bars to reach, but would we be content with anything less?

In addition, we must understand that faith is personal. (I use the word faith broadly, to mean anyone’s convictions, be they spiritual, social, stylistic, etc.) So, assuming the above standards of respect and deference, we must expect that, should anyone be concerned with a threat to their faith, they have the courage to look within themselves, rather than at the walls around them. Faith can be a flickering light in a windy place, but, so long as you are there to guard it, nothing can blow it out.

Finally, we must value the freedom to nurture our “faiths” ourselves, without interference. As we all, on some level, voluntarily come to the Academy, we also participate in Academy curricula and programming on a volunteer basis. For example, we have the freedom to opt out of assemblies, concerts, and even classes, should we feel that participation would hurt our faith.

As a fundamental human right, our freedom to hold and express faith must be protected. Because faith is

individual. And first, we have to respect that. Then, we must take extreme care to retain our fundamental principles of respect and deference such that we understand each other and understand that choices of faith (again, in this broader sense) are not ones of personal hostility. We leave ourselves no choice but to hold ourselves to these high standards.

Is this not what we want? Can this outlook — faith, community and understanding — be the basis for our Academy’s future?

If we assume absolute respect, faithful individuality, and an environment that supports our individual, principled decisions, none of our actions can be hostile. It is easy to create a sterile environment that also does not actively hurt; it is much harder to create an environment where no celebration is misunderstood. To create this culture will take time, energy and, most of all, courage. We must have the fortitude to hold ourselves to these high standards.

Thank you again, Exeter, for 17 fantastic years. I have been given much to cherish.

unlimited intellectual horizons — it was all admittedly daunting and even easy to get lost in. Yet, having that space allowed me to push to discover what I really value.

Amid the constant pressure of work and school, I found incredible relationships and irreplaceable experiences. Whether onstage performing string trios, laughing in class, or staying up late with friends, the depth of experiences at Exeter, often vacillating between the intensely intellectual and intensely stupid, get me up each morning for (almost) every 8 am class. The beauty of constructing an entirely new life at school on my own terms can be found literally everywhere on campus. From the depths of early morning research papers to the heights of sports game wins, I’ve found deeply moving meaning, love, care and empathy through witnessing and, in some small sense, being part of many of my classmate’s experiences — in helping to build their own realities.

Finding that beauty on campus is not to discount the underhanded and unkind; if Exeter’s taught me anything, it’s to frankly evaluate and reevaluate my surroundings.

Honestly, it’s still high school. But, at the same time, my three years here have become much more for me. It’s hard to describe to non-Exonians what our experience is like, and equally hard to write the entirety of my time here into existence.

Even friendship at Exeter means

something different for me at this point—my closest relationships forged through endless midnight ramens, impossibly late games of FIFA and somehow later nights of work.

I’m confident that this piece would have looked entirely different had it been written from my Swasey facing desk, or even maybe had it been written outside on a balmy Exeter spring afternoon replete with spikeball and family.

As our year has been so abruptly cut short, I can’t help but grieve the loss of our final moments and what could have been. On the horizon

lies college, and here I am sitting at my desk struggling to bridge that gap.

It’s hard to imagine Exeter at any other time than now; the faces of all my classmates will always represent Exeter more than the Lion Rampant or the Academy Building bell-tower ever could. The Class of 2020’s irreplaceable power to build our time at Exeter together through smiles, waves, and shared class notes answers is staggering. I’ve grown into who I am today because of those around me throughout these three years.

Thank you all.

78

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

Help!

By LEAH COHEN Collapsed on the scratchy carpet of my lower year room in Amen Hall, I screamed on the phone through my tears to my mother for the umpteenth time that I did not belong at Exeter.

I truly believed that I had been admitted by mistake. People at Exeter frequently feel like imposters, but it’s my understanding that it normally disappears after a month or two on campus. After two disastrous years, however, I genuinely felt out of place. In the high-pressure environment of Exeter, everyone wants to make it look like they’re doing well all the time.

News flash — it’s not true.

I had great friends, a great dorm, and was having somewhat of a good time as an awkward lower classman. But something still wasn’t right. Inside the classroom, I was struggling

JUNE 7, 2020

to keep up. My performance in Humanities courses had always been adequate, but in math and science, I could barely reach a C+. With tests coming back week after week with C’s scrawled at the top, it was clear that I did not understand the material. My parents begged me from 350 miles away to see my teachers, to ask them questions, to get help. I battled them.

“People here don’t ask for help! Kids here just get it and I don’t get it. I can’t keep up. I don’t belong here.”

Eventually, I gave in and compromised. Still too embarrassed to ask my teachers, I thought peer tutoring would do the trick. Already self-conscious that I had to repeat Math 120, I lost my nerve when I arrived at peer-tutoring. I was so ashamed of asking for help on what should have been easy math that I only asked one of the eight questions I had written down. The upper boy I was paired with did little to calm my nerves or help. He tried to explain one way over and over again, and got frustrated when I

Little Things

By MIA KUROMARU I’ll miss Exeter for the little things: cheering our lungs out every time a member of our family introduces themselves on the Assembly Hall stage; long conversations about identity while munching on Exeter bars in Elm Dining Hall; doing homework on my rug with three other Merrillites while one plays bagpipe in the hallways at 10pm; running back to our dorm for checkin from the library; working through my incorrect math solution on the board with the class and laughing together when we finally get the correct answer; tearing up in the most meaningful conversations I’ve ever had with teachers who make time to listen with open arms; my younger dorm sister Grace leaving tiny notes in my cubicle in the library that looks out to the Academy Building; wandering around campus on weekends after club meetings when the leaves are orange, yellow and red; dancing around with friends in the new Goel building where the floor-to-ceiling window looks out into campus; identifying tree leaves that I learned in our ecology class on the pathway to classes; late-night paper-writing sessions in the common room with my best friend (my topic is fear of memory while hers is existentialism); after performances when the audience cheers and I meet eyes with my dance friends’ beaming faces, sweat, and all;

the chaos of students playing spike ball and soccer as it pours through my open window in the spring; stumbling over a point in my author-specific English class and laughing it off; listening to perspectives on current events in the common room; Janet from Wetherell asking about my day and sharing stories about her growing granddaughter as I take a seafood patty; listening to faint music humming in the walls of the music building when all the practice rooms are in use by incredible student artists; attending student-led events like our senior open mic cafe performances and termly Dramat plays; waving obnoxiously across the quad to teachers who simultaneously hate and love us; petting dogs in the library as a break from studying even though I didn’t even start yet; shouting for our teams at E/A until our throats hurt; and so much more. PEA has shown me how it feels to be embraced by a community, to understand and care for myself and others, and know the power of voices, especially when lifted together.

Attending PEA has been the most challenging, transformative and rewarding once-in-a-lifetime experience. I’ve experienced my lowest lows and highest highs here. I’m so grateful that I was a part of it and would not exchange the experience for anything. I’ll miss it. A lot. There is no place like home.

told him I still didn’t get it. Finally, he said, “I don’t understand why you aren’t getting this. It’s so simple.” Intimidated by this upperclassman, I pretended that the concept suddenly clicked — poof — and I magically had all the answers, just so I could leave with some of my pride intact.

Head hanging, I trudged back to Amen. I never went back to Peer Tutoring again.

Well, now I had a real problem. Peer Tutoring failed me and I still refused to meet with any of my teachers. My GPA was dropping rapidly and I was scared to tell my parents my real grades.

So I lied. Way too easy, I thought to myself. That was until midterms when the transcript sent home to my parents displayed Cs after I had boasted about Bs. Oops. If I thought they were mad before, I had another thing coming. They gave me an ultimatum: go see my teachers or I wouldn’t be going back to Exeter the following year. I grappled with their proposition and decided that it would be more humiliating to explain to my

friends why I wasn’t at school the next year. My stubbornness had failed me and it was time to face reality. No one would even have to know about my teacher meetings. Tail between my legs, I sent the emails, and to my surprise - my teachers were eager to meet with me?! Have they done this before? Do they get this kind of email a lot? Free blocks were exchanged. Dates were set.

No turning back now...

One-time meetings became two-time meetings became weekly meetings became twice-weekly meetings. Every one of my free blocks was filled with a teacher or tutor. But still, I didn’t tell a soul. When conversations at lunch turned to kids frantically worrying if they could get into college with only a 10.2 GPA and 1500 PSAT scores, I kept my mouth shut and my head down. Appetite gone, I disappeared back to my room to cry. If they’re worried about getting into college, then I’m screwed. Still, I persisted and kept up my secret meetings.

I was frustrated I wasn’t see-

ing results immediately, but my parents urged me to keep it up.

It wasn’t until halfway through my lower spring that I turned a corner and things started to fall into place. Finally, I began doing work I was proud of, I felt more comfortable speaking up during class, and, most importantly, it felt okay to ask a question in class even if it seemed like a stupid question. Over time, I became more relaxed about telling people I was meeting with my teachers so frequently - I was actually proud of myself for (finally) taking the initiative to turn around my academics.

I never want anyone else to feel like they are “less than,” or that they don’t belong at Exeter.

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of reaching out to a teacher when struggling academically. No one at Exeter can succeed without the help of others. It took me longer than it should have to learn this, but the support from my teachers, advisors, parents, and friends is what carried me through my years at Exeter.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

79

Homeward Bound

By LUCY GHILCHRIST “Here I am at this place I’ve known for most of my life. I’ve gotten as close to it as I can but I’ve always been an outsider.

Now I’m here, and I still can’t believe it after walking these grounds my kin walked on not too long ago. I can almost hear those who came before us echoing in our footsteps as we climb those marble relics. They have left this place but also left behind a bit of themselves to guide the

next generation. A scared prep is eating alone at Wetherell. Some cocky lower is pulling shenanigans at 9 pm on the quad on Friday night. A stressed upper is scribbling the last words of their thesis in the library carrel. The seniors are rushing the door at assembly.

I’ve noticed that the song in my head at a particular time usually speaks to how I’m processing the world. One song usually stays for no more than a day or two, but Homeward Bound is

filling the silence wherever I go.

When I sing the refrain in empty stairwells, I am so alone I can feel the emptiness consuming me.

I’ve met people so much like me it makes me want to scream “where have you been when there was no one who understood, no one who cared?” Everyone I’ve met here has told me I’m home, and I believe it with my whole self. Then why should I still sing sad songs yearning for a place to call home? I’m here,

I’m here now, my dreams have been realized. Some part of me will always sing melancholy songs in empty stairwells, the part of me stuck in limbo, between what once was, and what is soon to be.

That question comes from my notes app circa prep fall. I was so lonely, but there was a kind of melancholic savoring in it. I felt so deeply that I was where I belonged. I just couldn’t yet know the ways that I would grow over four years. There’s the rub.

When you are a newly minted soul on campus, you resolve to attend every meditation, I mean every single one. Although I don’t remember who delivered that first reflection, I do remember how I felt walking into the church: timid, overdressed, and out of place. Over the years, certain meds have stuck out: Majestic Terhune from prep year, Mr. Einhaus on Valentine’s Day, Rev Heidi this fall. Almost two years ago today, I emailed Winslow MacDonald thanking him for his meditation. It was the first time I challenged myself to disassemble the barrier between the giver and receiver. He told me I should consider writing on a similar topic in my senior year, advice I later followed.

I’ve never missed a med. I’ve rescheduled meetings, neglected homework (due the next format), and skipped breakfast for the weekly ritual. People who come to med choose to be there and therefore I feel it is the most authentic pulse point of Exeter.

For the past year or so I’ve watched close friends deliver

Chance Encounters

By MAI HOANG “Life is a box of chocolate.

You never know what you’re going to get,” said the mother of Tom Hanks’ titular character in the American classic, Forrest Gump.

The summer before ninth grade, I searched up “American high school movies” and bingewatched Heathers, Mean Girls and the Breakfast Club thinking—oh God, these are the horrors I have to brace myself for.

Reality turned out to be quite different. During the course of my four years at Exeter and eight breaks when I didn’t get to go home, various Exeter students and alums have shared the warmth of their family home or college dormitory with me. Some of them I knew very well—they were the classmates, Amen girls, and international students who had been by my side since day one. Others were acquaintances with whom I had only shared a few conversations until they greeted me at Port Authority and let me crash on a foam-covered yoga mat on their dorm-room floor.

Thus is the magic of Exeter— the unifying, formative experience which binds strangers from halfway across the world together after four years on campus. This common identity has opened me up to people—aspiring artists, active researchers, practicing chaplains, gardeners, theologians— vastly different from each other and from myself.

This is what I tell myself when I am in a positive mood.

I am simultaneously fascinated with and terrified by randomness.

It was randomness—pure chance, unapprehended fate, or whatever you call the mysterious force that connects the discrete happenings in our lives—which had brought me to Exeter.

Up until the end of seventh grade, I was a normal Vietamese public school kid daydreaming about a better education abroad in neighboring developed Singapore. My parents are not those globe-trotters who you would

imagine felt comfortable dropping their child off at a boarding school half the world away. But somehow, one thing led to another, and I found myself at fourteen seeing my first snowfall eight thousand miles from home. I consider the past four years in my life pure abnormality.

Yet as much as I am constantly awestruck by the unique Exonian I never thought I would have the privilege of befriending, I am equally frightened by the speed with which they step in and out of my life. At Exeter, we live in a bubble with an expiration date.

And sometimes, the bubble bursts prematurely.

During the last week of prep year, I got to know a girl called Alba. I don’t remember how we started talking more, but pretty soon we were spending hours at a time ranting about Spanish history, Vietnamese last names and British literary classics. I looked forward so much to spending the next few years at Exeter reading

and talking with Alba. Over the summer, we called despite the time difference.

During the last of these calls, she informed me that her family was moving, and she would have to change schools. “So I won’t see you again next year?” I asked her in disbelief. I have only seen Alba once since.

Lower year, I became closer to an Exeter alum in the neighborhood, a veteran from the Second Indochina War veteran who I’d see at St. Michael’s Church every Sunday. We exchanged tales of Exeter over post-Mass bagel brunch; every Christmas and Easter afterwards, I would receive hand-written cards signed “Hiker Mike.”

On September 20th last year, Hiker Mike dropped by campus, but I couldn’t meet him as I was in NYC for the climate strike.

Afterwards, he didn’t answer my emails and I stopped seeing him at church. I learnt three months later that he suffered a stroke on

September 24th and had been in Florida recuperating. “I want to see your Graduation... pray for me,” he wrote. Thankfully, Mike got well enough to return to Exeter, but not until after all the students had left.

Senior winter, I got to celebrate my eighteenth birthday— March 6th—on campus, as spring break began later than in previous years. It was the first time I had all my friends gathered for my special day—and, as things turned out, the last time I’d see them all together on campus.

The product of my four years at Exeter is that there are too many people I care about whom I only get to see maybe once a year—if I’m lucky. With the coronavirus shutdowns, I am forced to prematurely confront the reality that when I go home—or the place I had previously labelled home. I will be completely alone. Everything that happened at Exeter will feel like a dream.

meditations in the church. Most seem jittery, bouncing their leg next to Rev Heidi during the opening music. While reading, I watched them metamorphose, becoming more fluid with every breath. Afterward in the “hug line” they have a glow about them, some milestone reached.

Or is it more than that? Sharing your story and yourself with the community takes guts. Giving a meditation is equivalent to saying “Hey Exeter, here I am in all of my virtues and flaws. I am claiming a seat at the table.”

It’s not only the presenter who transforms. Through my weekly attendance, I found the first community I belonged to at Exeter.

There have been many other– cross country, choir, Hoyt–but meditation has remained a constant. Only now, as a senior who was lucky enough to deliver my own, can I understand what all of those earlier Wednesdays have amounted to. Younger students, I encourage you to spend thirty minutes of your runaround Wednesday in the cool, dark church. Look up at the ceiling while you listen to the opening music, notice how it resembles the hull of a great wooden ship.

Allow yourself to be transported, changed by the stories you hear.

To the Class of 2020: I don’t believe that we deserved anything, but I did set my heart on the horizon of senior spring.

That would be our reckoning, as a grade, our slow goodbye. Now, whether we like it or not, we are ready to leave. We are all bound home soon.

Sometimes, then, I ask myself—so what was the point?

My close friends think of me as someone with a strong sense of origin, and indeed most of my Exeter years have been spent trying to preserve that part of my identity which I believe is most authentic and true—the girl more used to alleys than highways, more comfortable with motorbikes than cars, happier when bespeckled with mosquito bites. I do not subscribe to—and indeed, rather scorn the concept of “global citizen” as some hallmark of mobility that comes with money and a passport other than my own. I am simply and happily Vietnamese, but nonetheless, a Vietnamese whose sense of self has been scattered at sea, as those who hold a part of my history bring it home with them to places I might never be.

I dread the last twenty-hour flight from Boston Logan, trying to rewind special moments via diary entries from the past four years. The early mornings spent staring at Saigon’s crowded motorways trying to picture the faces of people I had walked down clean-aired, snow-covered Swasey with.

It is painful. At the end of the day, however, I don’t think I would have done any of it differently.

Just as I now believe true love doesn’t need to be forever, I believe friendships are marked not by their duration but by their depth. My four years away from home have taught me, above all, to trust—trust in the beauty of randomness and the power of memories, the possibility that, even if we fall out of contact, my friends and I will recognize each other when we meet again.

Exeter cultivated in me a thirst for experience that is insatiable.

Despite the threat of future separations, I am once more flinging myself into the unknown, embarking on a gap year journey before college thanks to the school’s Perrin scholarship. Of course, I know that one day, I will return to Saigon to stay. But until that day comes, I will cherish each moment I have with the people I get to meet—as if it was the last.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

The End of The Beginning

By NICK SHWARTZ By the time you read this, I will have served out my time in PEA’s Classics Department. One unexpected by-product of this four-year sentence is an acute alertness to the mottos of academic institutions. Whether it’s

one word, like that of our fellow crimson-clad folk at Harvard — “Veritas” — or a lengthy statement, like its maroon peer, UChicago — “Crescat scientia; vita excolatur” — whatever pithy phrase in an ancient tongue a school slaps on its seal conveys a lot about that institution.

Exeter’s mottos are no different.

Looking back over the past four years, I can see that my time at Exeter could be encapsulated by the mottos printed on my acceptance letter.

Though Exeter has made somewhat of a collection of mottos, the first among equals is,

of course, “NON SIBI,” or “not for oneself.” Perhaps the reason Non Sibi is repeated so much is that improvement of self for a selfless cause can feel like an alien concept at an elite, competitive institution like Exeter. But whenever I become too self-absorbed (admittedly way too often), I need only plant my elbows among the smattering of gouges in one of our ubiquitous wooden tables, assiduously scored by the pencils of the Exonians who have sat there before me, to remember why I came to Exeter.

Four years ago during Experience Exeter I was struck by (a) snow in April and (b) the Harkness method in action. Harkness is more than the hoarding of oblong furniture; it’s a metonymy for Non Sibi. The times I have felt most proud to be at Exeter, the times I felt most Exonian, were when I was learning from and alongside others for a greater good. Granted, in prep fall bio with Mr. Bein, this mostly took the form of counting on Ben Cai to get us through mitosis, but by last term’s econ class with Ms. Foley, we, a class of seniors, didn’t need one of those contrived maps to weave a collective understanding of aggregate demand and supply curves. Of course, Harkness is not confined to the learning around the tables; it permeates all of PEA life. For me, The Exonian newsroom, Goel during rehearsal, Phelps stadium while running suicides, and Assembly Hall, where I first learned about “knowledge and goodness,” were all Harkness tables in their own rights. “Non Sibi” characterizes not only the principles of a Harkness education, but the way Exonians learn to live their lives. “ΧΑΡΙΤΙ ΘΕΟΥ” translates as “by the grace of God.” This motto is probably the least well-represented on campus, a vestige of Exeter’s non-secular past, but it continues to resonate even without a consensus of what is meant by “God.” Religion is not a pillar of my life. Nevertheless, I credit something beyond myself with my acceptance to Exeter. Some might call it grace; some might call it luck. Like any blessing, acceptance is unearned. PEA receives applications from more qualified students than it can ac-

cept, and those qualifications are largely based on gifts, which, as the term implies, are given not self-generated. The miracle that is this opportunity to go to Exeter inspired me when I was accepted and kept me motivated to make the most of the Exeter experience and to see through the challenges that came with it. Exeter is, of course, all about challenges. Perhaps the greatest lesson I learned here was how to push myself to see beyond temporary unpleasantness and disappointment and to recognize the reward that comes with embracing an experience fully.

Here another parallel between Exeter and religion arises: faith despite contradictory evidence.

Graduating Exonians have maintained their belief in the doctrine of the Church of Exeter (it’s funny because it’s true): if they don’t give up when all reason dictates that surrender is the obvious course, they will emerge better and stronger students and people.

Fittingly (or ironically), my final motto is Finis Origine Pendet, “the end depends upon the beginning.” Four years ago Exeter gave a homeschooler from South Pasadena, CA, a community that would change his life.

Over those four years, that kid has become more thoughtful, self-aware, and resilient. He’s discovered that he loves being on stage and writing, and using those loves to make people laugh. He has become a more caring person by struggling along with others who were also struggling. In short, that kid-many hours spent studying Latin later--has become me. And the best part is, I’ve only reached the “origine,” the beginning, and have a whole adulthood to carry these experiences with me and to use them to keep learning. I wish I could stand in front of the Academy Building with my classmates and give this time in our lives the send-off it deserves.

I read the inscription on the front of that building walking into class every day. “HUC VENITE PUERI UT VIRI SITIS,” “Come here boys, that you might become men.” It may be dated, but it’s still poetically fitting. I’m grateful for the ways in which Exeter has made me a man.

A Childhood on the Quad

By PAULA PEREZ-GLASSNER Unlike most of my peers, I started worrying about my 333 from an early age. I ran around the quads imagining them as rainforests and spaceships.

Those quads were my backyard and the dining hall was my kitchen. I know the exact stretch of pavement outside Wheelwright where I learned to ride a bike for the first time. I had a favorite tree on the Phillips Hall quad

that I “adopted” as a homework assignment in second grade — Bob, who unfortunately has since been cut down. I can still smell the backstage bathroom of Fisher Theater where I applied fake tattoos for my role as Macduff’s child in Macbeth when I was in 3rd grade. I could show you exactly where in Elm Street Dining Hall I was standing when my brother whispered the first swear I had ever heard in my ear.

I was scandalized. I could count the number of dance concerts my

mom and I missed on one hand.

We were very committed fans.

Growing up as a faculty child on campus was the greatest gift my parents could have given me.

I reflected on my upbringing and childhood in Exeter in my senior meditation, which was a collection of letters to people and places at PEA. As I am getting closer and closer to my graduation I look back at the place that has shaped me for my whole life up to this point. Exeter is all I have known. But with all the re-

flection on my childhood and my Exeter career comes the scary reality of graduation. What comes next, especially in a time of such uncertainty? Will the place that has been mine for 18 years no longer be mine? I know I’m not alone when I say that I’m not ready to let go.

When I became an actual student, I got to step into the role of the people I had idolized for years and years. I was performing in the musicals and acapella shows and sitting around the

Harkness table as I had always dreamed. I got to experience all the rites of passage I had heard about for years; making a time capsule, doing the ball and cup physics lab, writing my 333 (which I actually enjoyed despite the horror stories). I was making 8-year-old Paula proud. What really changed about my perception of Exeter when I became a student wasn’t the fact that there really was as much homework as I had heard there would be or that it was true what they said about having a negative amount of free time. It was that a physical space — the one that was the playground and the home of my lemonade stand business — became an actual community I got to be a part of. I was no longer just my parents’ child that ran around outside and came to the fun events. People knew me for who I was and for my talents and accomplishments. I was now in the mix of the Exeter community rather than looking on from my parents’ window. (I think the best part of it was getting to see my name on the “January Birthdays” list on birthday cake night at the dining hall, a dream of mine for years.)

Maybe the loss of our senior spring and in-person graduation festivities just means we get to hold onto our community a little longer until we do get to reunite in person. I find comfort in knowing how connected our class is, and how dedicated we are to each other. This is all to say thank you to those who welcomed me with open arms and allowed the little facbrat inside me to become what I always wanted (as cheesy as it sounds) — an Exonian.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

81

Sparrows

By PEPPER PIERONI At Exeter, I cried over countless tests, rewritten papers that felt a bit off and pulled innumerable all-nighters. It is easy to look back and remember prep year as a dream, but I know everything felt as real then as it does now.

I didn’t know how to prove to myself that I was worth something. Until the beginning of senior year, I didn’t understand why Exeter accepted me in the first place; I dismissed myself before I opened my mouth. I bought thousand-page books to show myself that I did belong at Exeter, but you cannot convince someone to believe.

Kierkegaard is famed for coining the idea of the leap of faith. He believed that the truth lies in the search for meaning rather than a defined meaning, and for faith to have value, it has to be not out of desperation, but purely belief. It requires a suspension of yourself; you grip your hands and curl your toes, preparing to fall, knowing you know. You leap because you know that there is something at the bottom that will catch you.

The leap of faith is an absolute belief in something that cannot be proven––and thus, cannot be disproven.

I found unexpected belief in sparrow sightings, of all things.

I started seeing them in many elements of my life. The first was in Latin, where we were reading Catullus. Passer, dēliciae meae puellae. Catullus wrote of Lesbia’s sparrow, and how he wished he could receive as much affection as she gave to the sparrow.

In Latin, I indulge in myths and realities true for ancient writers.

They were ready to fall headfirst into religion while crafting rhetoric and logic, a simultaneity that Kierkegaard would probably applaud.

After Latin, I had an English demonstration. I can’t remember the excerpt we discussed, but there is one unforgettable detail:

a woman let a sparrow perch on her hand before it flew away.

Later that day, I was reading Notes From the Underground by Dostoyevsky. “…I was simply scaring sparrows at random and amusing myself by it.”

This was when the first wave of panic set in. Either someone set up breadcrumbs to mess with me, to construct a thread of meaning that was mere coincidence, or, the much more terrifying option—that something was happening beyond my understanding.

I told friends about the superstitious imagery popping up in my life. I researched sparrow iconography, once more trying to find an explanation that would fit within my framework. I read Grimm fables, checked out art history books, and picked up a few birding books along the way.

The next time I saw a glimpse of a sparrow, I would be ready to interpret it. I didn’t know what the world was trying to remind me of. That was the scariest part––it became a frantic kind of birdwatching.

Then, a week later, I saw a sparrow sitting on my windowsill, staring straight at me.

I curled my toes and clenched my fists. I had to jump; the bird’s eyes pushed me to make the leap of faith. There was no turning back to rationalization.

We glanced at each other, and I knew that this bird was freedom to me. Myth provided clarity through abstraction. Symbolism and metonymy became more natural ways to describe absolute disbelief, which, somehow, could only lead to belief. I was leaning off the masthead, seeing the shadows of the whale in the waters below.

I believe in Exeter––in its past, present, and future tenses; in all constructions. Omne aevum, the whole age, as Catullus would say. I live in the history of Exeter by digging in the archives, finding students in

pictures from the 1950’s; I live in the future of Exeter by imagining myself as an instructor, each day learning as much as the students.

When Exeter is optative, I wish along with it. Ablative of means, I know it is helping me become the person I hope to be. Dative of purpose, I follow its mission as I would my own.

After a burst of faith, I decided to go on an archaeology dig offered by the Classics Department. I knew that I would work in 95-degree weather with spotty shade, and most days, the only thing we would do was move dirt. I should mention that the only athletics I have participated in at Exeter are Drama and Music Sports. Going to Orvieto, Italy was opening a door for myself that I had the key to all along. But even after I leaped, I was worried I would stumble.

In the beginning, I couldn’t tell the difference between the rubble and treasure. By the end of the dig, it became clear that the students who thrived allowed themselves to fail. After

Speaking Poetry

By PATRICIA FITZGERALD Exeter has taught me many things, but above all, it has taught me how to appreciate the absolute monstrosity that is the English language. It’s not a beautiful tongue. Take French, for instance, and its romantic purring melody, or Japanese, delicate and crisp as a raindrop dangling on the end of a pine needle, just before it falls. English is nasal and languid—if you don’t believe me, read that phrase aloud

and see just how much your tongue clings to the roof of your mouth. There is no Greek delicacy, no Italian vocal expression.

But bless the English department for teaching me how to use it.

It is lower fall, and I sit in my very first English discussion around Mr. Smith’s ebony-colored Harkness table. I am quiet; people assume that I am shy. They ask open-ended questions and respond to each other by delving through the coarse beige pages of Jaqueline Wood-

son’s Another Brooklyn. I trace the conversation as it’s thrown across the table and wonder what I am doing in this room. This doesn’t matter. The author wrote the word she chose because she liked the way it sounded. There is nothing deeper. The bell tolls at 6, and I leave the room unphased by the discussion.

It is a year and a half later.

Poetry is a strange thing. It is partially written by the poet and partially by the reader, because oftentimes poetry has no strict

three years of failure practice at Exeter, I finally felt free to make my mistakes loudly––in archaeology, there are no stupid questions or silly mistakes.

I brought fifty-two rocks to my trench supervisor, thinking they were pottery or terracotta, but I now know fifty-two examples of cool-looking rocks.

Somewhere along the way, I trusted my work. I used my strengths to envelop myself in stories. I wrote songs about the Aeneid, Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Moby Dick, and an entire existentialist’s anthem. I am a Classics student at heart, not because I translate ancient languages, but because I translate ancient people.

Empathy has impacted me over my time at Exeter. The recognition of these universal truths, ideas, and emotions spanning across time has helped me see my role in that process: to share the themes and to show peers that we aren’t all that different from the ancients. I relate to Catullus’ anguish and frustra-

tion with Lesbia, to heartbroken and unable-to-speak Echo, to cowardly and doubtful Orpheus, to Phaeton’s lethal ambition–– we are all the same; we all have elements of the human condition, pulling each other with monkey-ropes.

As I troweled through layers of the Roman road in Orvieto, looking for earrings, nails, fibulae, and coins, I realized that what they considered trash and everyday items, we recognize as treasure. When I wake up at 4am to finish a paper, I am digging in the rubble, but when I take a look back to see the discoveries I have made, to see the person I trust, I realize that I’ve been surrounded by treasure the whole time. It just took a bit of faith and a few sparrow songs to see it shimmer.

I can’t help but continue the search amidst the mundane.

Even the possibility of finding something sparks an untamable excitement. I will sound it over the rooftops, hoping someone will learn how to translate.

interpretation. Each reader sees the piece through unique experiences and eyes. Consider the poem “Zodiac,” by Elizabeth Alexander. She references fairytale creatures that add a sense of fantasy—at least, through my eyes they do. The structure is almost like that of a sonnet, which only somebody well-acquainted with sonnets would recognize. It is upper spring, and I read “Zodiac” by Elizabeth Alexander religiously for a week, picking out every little detail of word placement, imagery, or structure that I deem important. This seems like a dramatic shift from Another Brooklyn. Suddenly, English has purpose. Why? The language is ubiquitous and spoken by 938 million people. But a very small percentage of that population seems to care about the depth it can offer. It is because of Exeter that I weaseled my way into that sect. The thing is, we as humans have no given purpose, other than to keep making humans. We must find something to care about for ourselves.

Many view success as the thing to strive for—success being in STEM, intelligence, money or fame. According to society, anyone who fails to achieve this standard has not “succeeded” in life. But if we shift the lens, success becomes a matter not of impressing others but being satisfied with oneself. And yes, for some it might be STEM, or money or fame. But for others it means philosophical thinking and learning to speak in polished prose. I found my joy in upper spring English, looking for words that have just the right balance of articulation and melody. Beauty came from the double meanings

and hidden puns. You’d be surprised how much you can learn about a person by the way they write.

It is senior winter as I’m writing this, and I’ve made a habit of asking people what their favorite word is. It’s a question that catches most people off-guard, but it can teach you so much about someone just by their answer. Mr. Unger, slightly taken aback, volunteered “defenestrate” because the idea that English has a word for “throw out of a window” is hilarious. Ms. Rankin responded “and” because it leaves room for endless possibilities. Ms. Burke, after some careful consideration, answered that it was the English language itself, because so many words have the ability to bring her joy. After 3 years of Exeter English, I’ve found some words that break the monotonous drone of everyday speech. When used to its full extent, English is a language packed with description and harmony.

Exeter taught me to appreciate the beauty of speech, and because of the happiness it brought me, it gave me success. So as I leave you, let me share with you my favorite words. Ecphrasis (yes, the “less common” C spelling) is the vivid description of a work of art. Consider Vergil’s doors, etched by Daedalus in gold. Eunoia is from the Greek for “beautiful thought.” And lemonade has the soothing nostalgic sweetness of summers I had only in dreams.

Take a moment. Ask yourself — if you analyze those three words alone like a poem, or even a paragraph of published prose, what can they tell you about me?

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Blow Through Your Bucket List

By SAM FARNSWORTH There are many kinds of snow.

The first snowfall at Exeter usually comes in the form of a fine powder: aesthetically pleasing but impossible to pack together. In late February, the snow turns to a combination of rough slush and slabs of sharp ice. The perfect snow, soft but slightly wet, comes in January.

That snow is rare.

I wish I lived every year at Exeter like it was my last. Too many items on my Exeter bucket list were tabled for senior spring. Now, stuck at home, I keep thinking: “Why did I wait?” Why did I wait to talk to that teacher? To ask out that girl?

To reconnect with that friend? It’s easy to say that in a world without coronavirus I would’ve been fine waiting, but I’m not sure I buy that excuse. Senior spring is only ten weeks long. I know too many alumni (even those who were on campus for their final trimester) who still have things they wish they had done during their time here.

There was a blizzard on January 23, 2020. That night I was studying in the PEAN photography room

with Alex, Thomas and Oliver. It was 9:00 PM — the time when Exeter’s campus belongs solely to the seniors. For whatever inexplicable reason, at some point during my math homework I was struck by the feeling that Exeter was slipping through my fingers. That time was running out. Snow still danced outside, and I remembered that we had not yet had a snowball fight — an item left on my Exeter bucket list.

Following a few bribes and promises of grill cookies, I convinced my friends to go outside. Freezing water soaked through my loafers almost immediately, and I shivered non-stop. But there was no time to change into boots. The snow was perfect, and it would not last long.

Every second counted. And in those chilly moments, somewhere between EPAC and Phillips Hall, I felt full.

Chase that feeling. It’s almost untranslatable, but I guarantee that you know it when you feel it. When you’re crammed into an Uber with your friends. When you’re stirring angel-hair pasta in the basement of a dorm that actually has a kitchen.

That night you went to Fox Run. That day you built a snowman. Ev-

ery time you sit in Grill. Don’t wait to hunt down that feeling until your last trimester. Blow through your bucket list as fast as you can. Once you’ve completed that list, make a second one. Then make a third.

I didn’t know it at the time, but January 23 was the last time I would see that perfect snow at Exeter as a student. For that and many things, I experienced my “lasts” without knowing it. We joked about it, but I didn’t actually believe that trip to St. Anthony’s would be our last. I didn’t think that would be our last ride in an Uber. And I certainly didn’t expect that the Headphone Disco would be our last dance at Exeter. But in a way, that makes me treasure those memories more.

I didn’t have to go to St. Anthony’s that day. For all I knew, there would be many trips there in the future. I didn’t have to go to the Headphone Disco. I could’ve napped. After all, prom was right around the corner.

But I did those things anyway. Not because it was my last chance to do them, but because I truly loved what I was doing and who I was doing it with. That’s how I want to remember Exeter.

At the end of the day, my advice

boils down to this: take what this incredible, incredible place is offering you. Fall in love with it. Go to lunches in the Latin Study. Make TikToks with your friends. Watch

Listening and Unlearning: Change at Exeter

By TATTUM SCHUTT It was a rainy night in January 2018, warm in the kind of unnatural, New Hampshire way, that brought the existential doom of climate change creepingly close.

Hardly a day before, I had emceed Unsilenced— the performing arts show I spent five months planning that kicked off Martin Luther King Day. It had been an evening of poetry, song, confrontation and connection. I remember pausing on the assembly stage between acts, at once overwhelmed and exhilarated by the hundreds gathered to listen.

It was community in a way I had never felt before—community we constructed by choice that night and every night since we had each individually chosen to leave our homes and build something together in a small town in New Hampshire. It was hope. It was love. It was truth.

And then, one day later, great fissures of anger, discomfort, resentment and division seemed to crack open the pathways. Dr. Lourdes Ashley Hunter, the Executive Director of the Trans Women of Color Collective and MLK Day keynote speaker, had been asked to leave campus amid accusations of unprofessional conduct and “reverse racism”.

The day had laid bare the bones of divisions on this campus along the lines of race, class, privilege, conservatism, and freedom of speech.

Sequestered in the Office of Multicultural Affairs that afternoon with my fellow MLK Day Committee members, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. It was incredible, almost comical, how quickly a year’s worth of planning and care had imploded.

We tried to make sense of the day.

To make a plan. To recover— two of my friends of color on the committee had already been verbally accosted by two white Exonians that afternoon. My role, visibility, and responsibility as a white committee member was posing all kinds of questions.

I left OMA to make my 8 PM check-in. The campus felt hot and crowded—one of the nights where I could almost feel the thousand teenagers squeezed around these quads. I was exhausted, spiritually, physically and emotionally, and so of course it was raining, of course I didn’t have the proper coat or shoes.

Maybe it was the fatigue, but for some reason going shoeless felt like a good idea. And so I took my shoes off. With one sneaker in each hand, I splashed barefoot through the puddles. Across Front Street. Between the library and Elm. Past McConnell and Cilley. All the way to the door of Amen Hall.

In retrospect, that was proba-

bly an all-time Exeter low. I was conflicted about my feelings on the speech that had so inflamed our campus. I was embarrassed by the reactions and fragility of so many students in the face of slight challenge. I was confused by where the community I had felt so powerfully the night before had gone. I was wholly, utterly demoralized.

And still, trudging up the stairs to the second floor, I knew that the next day would continue. By lower year, I had learned: no matter the grief, the grade, the hours of sleep, the argument, mistake or crisis, there would always be another day of Exeter

is a certain steel necessary to get through an 8 AM to (aspirationally) 12 AM day of classes, meetings, emails, essays, problem sets, and leadership positions. But Exeter is more than a high school. Tradition, prestige, and history have turned it into an institution. This presents its own troubled complexity. Like the American institution, Exeter can be hard to love. It is a place steeped in expectation. There is a lot of unlearning that needs to be done here. I cannot escape the feeling that the PEA class of 2020 particularly has weathered, witnessed, and occasionally created so much institutional learn-

violence rampages on; since our prep year there have been 1,565 mass shootings. Supremacy and hatred remain entrenched in American culture and income inequality continues to climb. All this has shaped our experiences.

And now, of course, what would have been our final time together is defined by an international pandemic that, at this writing, has already killed more Americans than the US wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Vietnam combined. The word ‘unprecedented’ lost its meaning long ago.

The Academy was in its own turmoil when we arrived, struggling to reckon with long ignored

tomorrow.

Another day to be floored by an assembly speaker. To be electrified by a discussion around the table. To carry conversation into lunch and across every pathway.

Another day to sing in the shower with a dormmate-turned-sister. To have a pulse-quickening debate round. To cry with laughter in Grill. Another day to pause in the library and watch the sun sink behind the Academy Building, wondering at the meteoric luck I’ve had to land in this exact place, with these people, in this time.

As a high school, Exeter is unseemly challenging. There

ing in both the Exeter and American institutions.

Our four years have been marked by national and international turmoil. We swept onto campus with the bitterness of the 2016 election. We have tried to educate ourselves and seek truth in a time period increasingly defined by misinformation and confusion. In between the normal high school struggles— homework, relationships, forging a sense of self— we have attempted to contend with the catastrophic impacts of complete failure of leadership nationally.

Our planet is crumbling, burning visibly hotter each year. Gun

and mishandled sexual assault.

Almost every school year we had has been marked by a major protest—most notably the ALES video and the sexual assault sit in — both of which took tremendous effort and energy from students and resulted in tangible difference. We’ve engaged with two principals and policy shifts both mundane and colossal. Some changes have been hard-won, welcome and necessary. Others, less so. In the last year and a half alone, the revision of the Visitations policy and the move of Evening Prayer have affected the core culture of our student community. There have been times

movies with your dormmates. And when that perfect snow falls, go outside with your fellow Exonians.

Play in it. Savor it. You don’t know if it will come again.

senior year where I catch myself homesick for a different Exeter, worrying about the school I am leaving to the lowerclassmen I love and cherish.

To me, it seems like Exeter suffers not from a lack of care or good intention, but from chronic and consistent unwillingness to hear its members, bolstered by an archaic top-down system of leadership. I often wonder what our school would look like if administrators made it a practice to create purposeful space for listening to the needs and concerns of students, faculty, and staff. I do not mean listening through anonymous surveys and impersonal emails. I mean listening consciously, critically. This kind of listening can only occur when honest relationships are fostered— relationships free from the power hierarchies that plague our school and repress truthful communication.

Like America, Exeter is riddled with contradiction. Harkness is our backbone, yet I’ve spent untold hours coaxing students and faculty into meaningful discussion only to watch them balk at the first pretense of mental discomfort. We profess non sibi, yet the selfishness and moral apathy I have witnessed here is disheartening.

And still, given this all, I carry no allusions of the extreme privilege and gift my four years here (or, shall I say, 3 2/3 years) have been. There is so much meaning in the struggle for betterment.

My love for Exeter is stronger because it is truthful. I understand its flaws, and I choose to love this place anyways, this rich, rich community of learners and opportunities.

This school is sanctuary. This school is home. Exeter can be exhausting and unrelenting. But in my darkest moments, there has always been a faculty member to reach out to, a friend to sprint to Stillwells with and a prep to hug.

Buddha said that life is 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. I’m not sure about life yet, but Exeter certainly has been. Above all, I am most grateful to my countless teachers—not just the faculty and staff, but to my classmates ranging from the graduating classes of 2017 to 2023. You all have shaped the young adult I am: in evolution, seeking breath, knowledge, fire, and flight.

I have been mourning this time together we are missing.

I hold so much sorrow for the milestones we will not have, for the unique, beautiful moments of daily Exeter life that I now long to savor. I wanted to say goodbye to the pathways now full of my history. I wanted to say goodbye to the child I was when I came here. I wanted to say goodbye to you all. But, in some ways, the goodbye does not matter. We had so much good.

James Baldwin wrote, “Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle; love is a war. Love is a growing up.” Exeter, class of 2020, if love is a growing up, we have loved, growing. If love is a growing up, we have grown, loving.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

A Sense of Direction

By SAM WEIL I have a horrible sense of direction. To clue you in, when asked to draw a map of the world in the third grade, I drew Brooklyn in as the largest country. California, Arizona, Hollywood and L.A. formed their own continent, and across the globe, Turkey and Spain stood right next to one another. If you crossed the Pacific Ocean, you would reach a landmass consisting of Colorado, “Massacheusit,” “Pencilvania,” “Main,” Brazil, North America and Atlanta.

Despite my geographical impairment, I ended up growing up to live a pretty intellectually rigorous childhood. I decided that I was going to be a writer, and so I practiced every day. I found a passion in social justice, so I began going to lots of clubs at my middle school that fostered this new interest. And when deciding where to attend high school, I thought that I might as well follow my educational aspirations all the way to Exeter, New Hampshire. Needless to say, there was no “New Hampshire” on my third grade map — I had absolutely no idea where I was headed.

During my prep fall English class, Mr. Hawkins instructed us to draw a map of campus on a blank sheet of paper. You can imagine the disaster that I pencilled in. In fact, I won’t have to imagine it — that map went into my time capsule. I have yet to open that capsule, and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to, given that whole global pandemic thing that has shut down our high school right at the climax of the most formative years in our lives. *** The first time I got lost at Exeter, I was on my way to meet a senior. We were supposed to meet at Elm Street Dining Hall, but for some reason I thought she meant Wetherell. Somehow I found myself in the back part of campus, behind the J Smith parking lot. Don’t ask me how I got there.

As I trudged back to my dorm in the glaring heat and realized that the dining hall was right across the quad, I watched seniors playing spikeball and tanning on towels.

I could not comprehend what it would be like to be them.

I felt this pull, this empty tug that nagged at me at the bottom of my stomach. It reminded me that I hadn’t yet made a friend that I just knew was a kindred spirit. (I realize now that I had, but it just took us time to grow into that).

So I’m thinking about all of these very existential topics (though I didn’t know what the term ‘existential’ really meant until my senior fall with Mr. Vorkink) and mourning my decision to attend this institution as I walk into Elm (finally) and awkwardly scan the room for the senior whose mom knows my dad through work. I’m not sure what to do, so I sit down with my melon and unsweetened tea. I send her a carefully worded text that made me seem totally nonchalant and not at all nervous that I’m sitting alone at the end of an eerily long table. I remember a bright blonde head turning around to see me and getting up from her meal with her friends. I remember feeling absolutely mortified.

So she sits down, introduces herself and asks me how I am. I would soon learn that this language

of “how are you?” is the norm at Exeter––but seriously, what is up with that? I do it all the time now, but when you’re walking down the path past someone do you really expect to get an honest answer?

At that point, I didn’t realize that we weren’t supposed to be honest, exactly. We’re supposed to just distill our feelings down to an “I’m good.”

Instead I kind of bore my heart out to this senior I barely knew–– but in an extremely masked, delicate kind of way. I told Henrietta that I was having trouble making friends (I had cried in the closet to my mom for the past three nights) and that I was worried I wouldn’t find my people.

“I know it feels like that now, I know that, but you will. I promise.”

She said to me, as I willed my eyelids to stay strong and stop watering. (Exeter’s English curriculum is supposed to have beaten that habit — coming up with ten thousand intricate ways to describe crying — out of me. In this case, I have made a conscious choice to show you my outward struggle.).

Between bites of pineapple and vigorous nodding, Henrietta gave me some really valuable advice that day. You don’t have to be in dress code on weekends or outside of class, for instance! “Well, actually,” she added, “you don’t really have to be in dress code at all.

Just ask about your teachers first.”

But the most important thing she told me that day was that I should write about it all. She told me that it would make me feel better, writing all of this down, and “if it doesn’t, at least you’ll have something to laugh about with your friends later.”

I think I interpreted that the wrong way: “but what if I don’t find friends to laugh at it with,” I asked myself.

But I did listen to her and I did write it down. For fear of making you cringe too much, I will spare you a litany of quotations from the very long Google Doc I entitled “1.” And as I wrote it, I remember wishing, pleading with whatever was out there. Please, please, please — make me stressed about work or something. Just not friends. I remember saying in my head that I would rather endure endless work than be friendless, antisocial and stuck in my room. Oh, prep Sam. You don’t even know what’s coming.

But that idea though––to embrace suffering on the condition that you experience love as well — that’s an existential concept that I’ve learned loads about during my time at Exeter. Leo Tolstoy believed that most of life is nothing but superficiality and falsity except for love. And Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard and just about everyone else all believe that it is better to be conscious, live and suffer than to never love or live at all. The capacity and ability to love people comes with a certain consciousness of the horrors of existence. And the reverse is true as well — we can never love if we do not reach out into a bit of danger.

This idea reminds me of a quote that has resonated with me since my lower year. In Ms Repko’s spring term english class we read My Ántonia by Willa Cather. To be quite honest with you, I don’t remember the context of the quote.

But I will never forget the following lines: “I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more. I was entirely happy.

Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great. When it comes to one, it comes as naturally as sleep.”

To be dissolved into something complete and great. Something entire. To acknowledge that love and suffering come together completely intertwined. To realize that one without the other gives no meaning. *** I believe that this idea is at the crux of my Exeter experience. We arrive onto this campus confident that we have a path, a direction.

Most of the time, after our four years here, that path has been completely altered. Yes, we might have always pursued math like we had imagined, but could we have imagined becoming a photographer on the side? Or making friends with the people that we have? Or becoming a student leader in our dorm or becoming incredibly close to that math teacher who gives infamously difficult tests?

And I posit that this change of direction, that aimlessness that comes with a realization that our planned direction might be off, it all comes from doubt. Doubt about our paper writing ability, doubt about our “passion” for a subject we had pursued for our whole lives, even doubt about our ability to carry on at this pressure cooker of an institution.

This doubt — or more properly, the self-criticism it sometimes breeds — is at the core of our suffering here at Exeter. Yes, those sleepless nights staying up writing 333s might be a part of it. But we only procrastinated because we were worried that we couldn’t do it. We sit at Grill with fifty-cent cookies and fries instead of lifting up our plummeting chemistry grade because we’re worried that we aren’t smart enough to pull it back up.

All of this procrastination stems from the self doubt that stews here at Exeter. And all of it makes for a whole lot of suffering. It is the sort of suffering that prevents us from actually believing that we’re “doing great” like we said to our math teacher after taking a test we almost cried about. This suffering makes us, at times, regret even coming here in the first place.

But this doubt, this suffering, is what makes us forge such incredible relationships. The atmosphere of suffering is so intense that we are aware of everything, we understand each other on a deeper, more visceral level. I have felt lonely here at Exeter, but I have never felt truly alone because I can knock on someone’s door across the hall and know that they too have experienced this kind of suffering that I am feeling. I am dissolved into something complete and great. And I am conscious enough to feel deep love. *** I read Marina Keegan’s “The Opposite of Loneliness” for the first time in Faith and Doubt class

my prep winter. It has been making the rounds recently, for good reason. Keegan wrote the piece for the graduation issue of her own Yale Daily News. She would die five days later in a car crash on Cape Cod. She writes: “We don’t have a word for the opposite of loneliness, but if we did, I could say that’s what I want in life. What I’m grateful and thankful to have found at Yale, and what I’m scared of losing when we wake up tomorrow and leave this place.

It’s not quite love and it’s not quite community; it’s just this feeling that there are people, an abundance of people, who are in this together.”

We are the opposite of lonely at Exeter. We suffer and we love.

Deeply. *** Our time at Exeter is short.

While it feels long, I promise you all, it is short. It is filled with prep year mistakes, unripe elm bananas, 3-am barely lucid conversations on the floor of a dormmate’s room. It is the night of hours upon hours of work on lab reports worth hardly anything. Why did you even spend so much time on it anyways? It is the veiled critiques from english teachers that tell you to stop describing the way you cry (oops) and stop “telling” (oops again). It is watching the seasons change from your third floor window, as leaves from green to red to brown to underneath our feet. It is slipping on ice in front of your senior crush.

Then there is the excitement of meeting the new lowers. It is watching your friends’ soccer games. It is playing music in the dining hall. It is realizing that you have to plan out the rest of your time at Exeter because you didn’t realize credits were a thing until your advisor emailed you late one Saturday. It is celebrating birthdays with failed confetti cakes and gossiping about first relationships and the messy conclusions of others. It is realizing your passions for subjects you’ve never enjoyed before, clubs you had never gone to. It is making friends with upperclassmen and drifting away from friendships that were once so dear.

Then it is the looming feeling of upper year. Of college applications and higher positions in clubs. It is crying over your incompetence in history, no wait chemistry, no wait French, no wait––all of your classes. It is the affirmation of a teacher who you never thought liked you.

It is becoming a leader in your dorm. It is your first relationships.

It is studying all the time, it is procrastinating in the dining hall with ritz crackers and cream cheese and raspberry jam instead of studying for the SAT. It is realizing you’ve surrounded yourself with people that are unlike anyone you’ve ever known.

Then it is senior year and all of it feels real. Your friends, your grades (unfortunately) and your position on campus. It is saying goodbye to friends who go abroad and feeling an ache like a family member has disappeared from your life for three months. It is making new ones, ones that start to feel like family too. It is relinquishing your hold on club positions, realizing what free time feels like, taking classes that implode your understanding of the world and ones that rebuild it all anew.

Then it is organizing your pit of a sweater drawer and swiffering your entire room, believing that you are saying goodbye until the spring. And watching a sickness unfold on a global scale, realizing that when The Daily podcast told you that coronavirus would affect the United States not as a matter of “if” but “when,” you should have savored the moments you had on that campus just a little bit more.

Because then it is realizing that you are far away from the place that centered you. Realizing that you’ve spent four years saving up every D-Squared punch card for the end of senior spring, where you’ll take all of your friends out for a free drink, only to hold those worn cardstock leaves in your hands and not know when you’ll actually be able to do that. Realizing that a tiny town in New Hampshire––New Hampshire––has become the epicenter of your world.

Or, at least, it was all of this for me. So our time at Exeter is short.

All of this happens in four years.

Four years! Four years of this weird amalgam of friendship and suffering and soft serve Wetherell ice cream. *** In my senior winter I took an author study on Kazuo Ishiguro.

We read a book called Never Let Me Go. I don’t want to spoil the book, but it was about youth and childhood and aging and death and love and friendship and so much more. And a character, Tommy, says something that brought out that same tugging feeling at the bottom of my stomach.

“I keep thinking about this river somewhere, with the water moving really fast. And these

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two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it’s just too much. The current’s too strong. They’ve got to let go, drift apart. That’s how it is with us. It’s a shame, Kath, because we’ve loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can’t stay together forever.”

That tug that I felt on my third day at school walking down the path from Dunbar to Elm, that tug that whispered that I might not make friends. It echoes the feeling at the bottom of my stomach right now. The current is too strong. The year is too short. The pandemic is too contagious. *** I don’t know about you all, but I feel like I’m standing on this precipice, in front of this thick, impenetrable fog. I cannot see in what direction my future is heading. I will never again enter my room on the fourth floor of Dvnbar––my picture-clad, cushioned, haven of a room. I will never sit in my carrel and look out onto McConnell and the theater building. I regret not spending more time in all of these places, but I will never again live in the home I have constructed for the past four years.

I do not know when I will see my people.

I do not know when I will be able to physically arrive onto a college campus and get lost inside it all over again.

But. This precipice, while deeply frightening and destabilizing, feels a tiny bit familiar. This fog in front of me, this fog is dense with doubt. Did I do Exeter right? Did I spend my three and two thirds years in the correct way? Would I have enjoyed other clubs more?

Should I have made more of an effort to make friends with that person or study for that physics test?

This is that doubt, that familiar tug of suffering. This is the suffering that fosters profound love.

I know what it is like to lose direction and then find myself righted onto a new path. Exeter pretty much did this to me every single day for three and two-thirds years.

Exeter gave me the tools to create my own compass, composed of that mind-shattering knowledge from classes, the ability to write in the way that I do, quotes from texts that continue to resonate with me to this day (some of them are seen in this reflection), deep kinships with faculty that I will treasure forever and most importantly, friendship.

Vibrant, comforting and so beautifully trusting, the friendships I have made at Exeter are incalculably important. Thank you, to all of you, who I know I will be able to lean on for the rest of my life.

Thank you for editing my papers, playing cards with me, teaching me basic 11T track math, putting on Lorde and Maggie Rogers and Frank Ocean in my times of great need. For buying me london fog at D Squared when I forgot my wallet, for hugging me when I cried about something stupid, for staying up so late together that our rooms filled with sunlight once more and for showing me funny animal videos. For spending countless hours on facetimes overanalyzing things I won’t mention and listening to every rant about The Exonian (okay, maybe not listening––tolerating?).

This list could go on and on.

Life is life because of suffering. But Exeter is Exeter because of what we get from that suffering, what we get from the love that is forged out of this deep, cavernous, true understanding of one another.

This is what makes up my compass. Thank you Exeter, for giving me my compass. For giving me the ability to find my direction even in the most zany and unforeseen of circumstances.

I don’t want to end this reflection by claiming that Exeter has given me my direction, my path.

Because to be quite frank, it hasn’t.

But who really has one clear path, and who knows that path straight out of high school? Exeter did not give me a clear sense of direction in my life. In fact, I don’t think anyone will be able to give me a sense of direction at this point; I’m too far gone. (And if you don’t think I am too far gone, I would like to note that while editing this piece, I had to make sure that Turkey and Spain were not actually next to each other.)

Exeter bestowed upon me all of the makings of a compass that I will use for the rest of my life to pivot myself onto the right paths.

Whether it be my rusty knowledge of statistics, the friends I consult, the faculty I call in a panic or my painstakingly developed writing style, that is what Exeter gave me. I still have a horrible sense of direction. But now I have a way to overcome that. I have been dissolved into something complete and great.

I am the opposite of lonely. And now, I must continue that painful thing called growing up, and drift away from––let go of––a home that I held so close.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Fire and Earth

By SAM PARK The winters at Exeter are cold, freezing, and harsh.

Sometimes you step out of your dorm and the wind bites into your cheek. It makes your eyes water, and even breathing in the chilled air makes your lungs recoil for a second. At least, that’s how it felt for the first two or three years to someone from a place a bit closer to the equator. But now, writing from the sunny heat of a North Carolinian summer, I’m feeling a bit overheated - perhaps my cold tolerance improved during those many New Hampshire winters.

In Korean culture, names are decided for you years in advance of your birth - a family poem is written, usually by the head of the family, and from it, each syllable is destined to be given to a specific descendant.

And as names are destined to meet the individual, they are also considered to hold meaning in terms of each person’s fate. There’s a special power associated with your true name — most of the time, we don’t even say our parents’ names directly, spelling them out instead. We do so out of respect and because of a superstition — that the overuse of one’s true name causes it to sort of wear out, and lose its hold over the bearer. Furthermore, each syllable is assigned its place in the elemental cycle.

In middle school, I had many teachers who were, to put it mildly, not kind to me.

In particular, my seventh-grade math teacher would berate and humiliate me in front of classmates on the basis of my race, refuse to instruct me or give me assignments and would enter false data in my grade reports, dropping my scores, and with them, my spirit. I resented the institutions that allowed this to happen, but perhaps even more, I resented my parents.

As an Asian-American family in a majority-white suburban neighbourhood, they were reluctant to rock the boat. Even in the face of discrimination

against me, their child, they refused to act, no matter how much I begged them to take it up with the principal or other administration. “Consider your younger brother”, they said, worrying that if they took action on my behalf, retaliation would fall upon him instead.

I shouldered this burden at the same time as I was first beginning to understand my queer identity. I developed severe anxiety, and my self-esteem plummeted. This broke me.

The summer before prep year, I was hospitalised due to a particularly severe panic attack.

And so, I arrived on campus in many shards. The distance, and the welcoming culture of PEA gave me hope that things would instantly change. I was under the impression that it would be a fresh start, a chance to escape the damage and trauma that I underwent during my middle school years. But to my great frustration, that was not the case.

I found that math-related terminology had become trigger words for me. I would hear a classmate say the word parabola, and I would hear it in the voice of that teacher. I couldn’t read my math homework without breaking down into tears.

I’d force myself to sit through extra help sessions while not absorbing any material, just barely holding myself together as the panic rose and the door and windows started to look more and more like equal exits.

Trauma, memories — we cannot run away from them.

My rage and frustration at my parents’ inaction years ago only grew, burning hotter and brighter. With them, my selfdoubt mounted. I remember one night where I collapsed in the EPAC basement bathroom, wondering how long I could keep crying before my body gave out and I could escape, a free Platonic ideal surfing the radio waves of the next life.

I don’t exactly remember how I got up and walked back to my dorm after that. What I do remember is having friends I could rely upon to support me, and slowly but surely learning

that I could trust them with my pain, if not my trauma. Few of them knew the full story. But they reliably lifted me up, gave me strength, and allowed me to rise and thrive. When I came out, members of the community, adults and peers, rushed to catch me and hold me up.

I was curled up and collapsed in EPAC again, this time under the post office countertop. This time, however, my tears were dried and I felt my trembling hands held tightly at the wrists, not just the palm, as if to say, “even if you let go, I will not let you fall”. (Matt Fishel) I will not let you fall, she said without words. I will not let you fall — held tightly in her arms, I thought I heard it in her heartbeat, cosmic, brushing against my very soul. If ever you should stumble, I will be your ground. And her shirt was a beautiful floral print.

My middle name is the one that carries the inherited syllable - that way, it retains its power by not being overused.

My syllable is ki (기), and my

Learning How to Think

By TINA FERNANDEZ You come in with uncertainty and you leave with the tools for success. You thank the Academy for the under-eye bags, for D-Hall desserts, for EP (on Tuesdays, of course), for Grill cookies, for the Midnight Scream

and for 333 season. But most of all, you thank the Academy for teaching you how to think, because through Harkness, through dissent, agreement and disagreement, you learned how to think for yourself, how to defend your ideas, how to empathize with others, how to articulate yourself, & how to embrace diversity

of thought. Exeter opened my eyes to a world filled with remarkable possibility, and I write this with my most sincere appreciation to the Academy.

If you were to ask me my freshman year where I would see myself today, the answer would have been simple: graduating from my school back in Puerto

name is Keepum (기쁨), which means joy. The associated element is earth. I was surprised when I learned about the element — as many of my friends will back up, I’m a very fiery, passionate sort of person.

I understood, however, when I looked more closely at the mythos of the elemental cycle.

While fire consumes and uses up wood, it is eventually stifled and quenched by earth. It’s the clearing left by fire that earth descends from and represents — the legacy of the fire. My father’s element is fire.

The fire has no say over how it scorches the earth, but it burns in the hope that what it creates will be worth the flames. The earth must recognise the fire’s goodwill while acknowledging the hurt received, if it is to allow regrowth after the clearing cools. If it is to allow lush greenery, fruits, trees. And beautiful flowers. I am meant to rise through and actualise past the heat. As Andrea Gibson put it, when one asks the Sun about the Big Bang, the Sun will tell you: it hurts to become.

I gained confidence and self-esteem from Exeter. I continue to struggle with math, but the sting after hearing certain terms has lessened so much. I can face tests with a standard amount of apprehension — at least standard by Exonian measures. But what I will most treasure is that Exeter taught me how to let myself trust, love and be loved again. Exeter won’t, can’t, and doesn’t simply fix you. It allows you to heal yourself, and to keep healing yourself. Like the winter winds and the snowdrifts that pile high, so was Exeter to me, the forest fire clearing with embers and shards too hot and sharp to touch. I complete my four years tempered, quenched, refined like the blade of a fine sword. Exeter helped me heal my traumas, and my fiery passion and energy remain — without doubt! I can look forward to the future, and I am joyed to consider what is in store for us all. May we continue holding each other at the wrists.

Rico, with the 54 classmates I’d known since preschool, wearing the typical navy blue cap and gown. In 9th grade, all my knowledge of what boarding school was came from the infinite times I had watched Zoey 101, Dead Poets Society and Ordinary People. But the lingering question remained: what was boarding school really like?

The question stayed in the back of my mind, until I read John Knowle’s A Separate Peace in my sophomore year of high school. Whenever I read a book, I always do a little bit of research on the author. So, while my classmates discussed Gene Forrester’s adventures at The Devon School, Finny’s athleticism, and the infamous marble stairs, I discovered the interesting life of Mr. Knowles. One of the first things I found was that Knowles attended Phillips Exeter Academy, and based the Devon School off of PEA. From there, I clicked the link to PEA’s website and never looked back.

and everyone who is part of this community encourages me to be the best version of myself.

My experience at Exeter is unparalleled to any in my life. I, like all of you, leave with many things, many lessons, many relationships, a few regrets, but overall lots of gratitude. I am thankful for everything- the good, the bad, the bittersweet. I am thankful for my time at Exeter and every little thing that made it what it was. I am thankful for homework on the quad on sunny Spring days (rare, but treasured), for the night runs along Swazey, for the fervent, heated debates at Weth, for the bike trips to Hannafords, for the leisurely walks in downtown Grenoble, for my dorm, my friends, my peers, my teachers. For everyone & everything.

Although our Senior Spring is nothing like we imagined, there is a unique love that comes out of it. Being away from each other makes us realize how blessed we are to have received the best education in the world, in a beautiful campus filled with humble, intelligent, caring people. Isolation provides time for reflection. And my final reflections are nothing else but gratitude.

My mom has always told me that gratitude is the seed of abundance. Your actions are a reflection of your feelings, which in turn are a reflection of your thoughts. That said, think in gratitude. Although at times it might not seem or feel like it, we are blessed, we are privileged, and we are loved. We’ve enjoyed one of the best years of our lives and we have bright futures ahead of us.

So, for now, look back. Reflect. Remember. Smile. Laugh.

And most of all, give thanks.

Exeter is home. Exeter is community. Exeter is love.

Three years later, I am part of the same community that inspired Mr. Knowles to write A Separate Peace. What stemmed from mere curiosity led me to pursue an experience I will cherish forever.

Exeter gave me a desire to achieve something greater than myself and the practical instruments to do so. Every day, I am inspired by the remarkable authenticity, work ethic and kindness embodied by my fellow Exonians. The ingenuity of my peers, the thought-provoking questions brought up during a Harkness Discussion, the passion by which all of our Big Red teams play, the love by which all ESSO Clubs strive to help the community, the talent of our musicians. I could go on. Exeter

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

The Library of Babel

By ORION BLOOMFIELD If I could just go back... if I could rub everything out... starting with myself… I would still want to observe the world, watch the mechanisms at play a second time, but without my input. In a laboratory setting, I have been prodded to fixate on the controlling aspects of past and present, how the best experiments were without human interference, timeless and cold. Quantum theory, though, is a naysayer, shining light on the miniscule ways that we introduce human assumptions just based on the fact that we measure. I am afraid we live in a quantum world, where the observable does not

ever equal the actual. I am afraid that Plato was right. I am afraid that the view of the world where my own daily impact is measurable is a biased one. I am afraid of being infinitesimal.

I have a recurring dream of wandering through the Exeter woods, and I like to think that I could choose my steps and find something new. In the dream world though, seemingly unique shrubbery patches housed old bits of memory; the late-Spring track workouts, the time Chisholm took AP Bio on a mint leaf collection field trip, and the time Soule must have been collectively tripping to have their dorm tea in the middle of the woods, all summed to

the weighted average of a novel experience. I wonder how far my imagination can go in crafting new ridges in the bark of fallen trees, or a different stream path around a hilly bend.

In my time at Exeter, I have found joy in uncovering. I have begged my way into the archives, participated in every puzzle hunt, and slowly discovered a cohort of friends that had a similar taste for the mythos of this place. Did you know that the first black student admitted was very fair-skinned, and came from an upper-class Massachusetts family with financial connections to Principal Soule’s? Did you know that most of the elite that came out of the early years of Exeter

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were all in a secret society, The Golden Branch, that, under later exposition, morphed into the Daniel Webster Debate Society?

Did you know that the academy building burnt down twice?

Surely most Exonians don’t care about these factoids, but that just furthers my championship of them. I just hope others someday will test with me on how far the surrounding Exeter woods go, and what we could find tripping through the underbrush.

I realize that a lot of the uncovering is accidental. I have always liked to wander and stumble upon truths larger than myself. I check periodically if the academy building attic’s door is left open, and sometimes find success. As its only regular inhabitant, I can set the room to my own design, and leave it for the next who are curious; bits and pieces of religion projects, old technology, and broken chairs piled along the sloped walls like an encroaching snowbank, pages of handwritten history papers scattered, matting the wood floorboard. I put the cork board American flag with a swastika glued over next to the briefcase that looks like a mummy’s tomb and paint a message in the dust. I read some of the old schoolwork and imagine what those who had to handwrite the entombed history papers were doing now, questioning if they ever thought a curious soul would discover their past work. I am starstruck, envisioning these invisible people sitting at the same Harkness tables as me, seeing myself now as just another set of feet to have stomped through these halls with them. I retrace the steps of past giants, imagine the future steps to be made as smudges on the accumulating dust. I wonder what blackboard Zuckerberg preferred in Mr. Chen’s room, as much as I wonder who in my class will become the next Zuckerberg. The chalk never erases perfectly.

Recently working together to write problems for the Spring’s upcoming puzzle hunt, Pepper tells me he is beginning to believe that birds are not real, particularly sparrows. They have repeatedly shown up outside his window, in his English and philosophy books across multiple terms, and on the “Which Bird are You Most Like” BuzzFeed quizzes he took. Pepper has been broaching to me the idea of making a puzzle that revolved

around mapping the depiction of the sparrow across multiple historic children’s books. He calls it a “different kind of bird watching.” It seems to me that his fixation is the locus of extraordinary belief. De Clerambault’s and all the other forms of mania have to come from a focused mind. I joke with Pepper on this obvious craze, send him loon calls and ask if he hears a love song, but I do worry what obsessions I have strung out of proportion.

This year, I have made it a goal to get back into personal reading. I picked up some of my old fantasy and sci-fi gems, The Once and Future King and Dune, and found them not analytical enough for my piqued Exonian bookworm. Pepper helped me into some of his favorites from philosophy class, and I fell in love with Jorge Luis Borges’ The Library of Babel. Inside, Borges plays out his thought experiment: an infinite library which contains enough shelves to house all the books that could ever be written, books with random amounts of pages and random sequences of letters until every combination is met. Humankind is tasked as the “librarian,” roaming the hexagonal halls until we can find the book containing the location of every other book in that library.

The “index,” as it were. Although taking an infinite amount of time to find, the search for this “cipher” is imperative because it offers the possibility of endless, timeless knowledge. Likewise, maybe Pepper will be right about the Sparrows one day.

I can only hope that others after me will find Exeter’s past as engrossing and become librarians as well. I can only hope for a future in which someone recognizes my feet in the impressions on the Assembly Hall stairs. I can only hope that someone sees my ghost in the chalkboard dust.

Every time I revisit Exeter, I am going to find a new tree near the Swasey bandstand and carve my name. I hope that someone someday will follow my clues, the breadcrumbs that lead them to finding me without knowing me.

Although seemingly an impossibility, as a sentimental senior, I see life here as having an obsessively infinite scope. Exeter isn’t going anywhere until the world ends. Someone will find our trails. The Library of Babel could only burn down after they find the cipher.

spontaneous late-night debates in the Hoyt bathroom about free will that reassure me in my moments of doubt. Exeter makes room for the entire neighborhood. We all have the ability to write our own Jeremy Bearimy.

We all can seek the chance to create change, and not be passively shaped by it.

Exeter didn’t change my life; it changed me. During my

three years, I tasted both the sting and sweetness of independence. Class of 2020: this is not the end; as we leave Exeter, the years of knowledge, empathy, and experiences we have accumulated will become our bearings. Even as we move on to the next chapter of our lives, we all carry pieces of Exeter — pieces I hope will one day reunite.

Not a Goodbye, Just a See You Later

By VELEN WU At some point, we all remember our lives differently; not because reality has changed, but because our perspectives have shifted. As senior year comes to an end, I find myself grappling with a lot of the same questions I had when I came to Exeterwho do I want to be? How do I want to be remembered? Where is my place in the world? All these questions led me back to “Jeremy Bearimy.”

On Friday nights during my lower winter, with hot Cheetos and ginger ale from grill, my friends and I would sit in the Hoyt common room and watch “The Good Place,” In the show, time doesn’t flow in a straight line, but along the path of two cursive words: “Jeremy Bearimy.” At the time, we laughed at its funny name and the fact that the dot on the “i” represented Tuesdays and Julys. Ridiculous as it may sound, there’s a true reality to it, this seemingly silly idea from a TV show about eternal heaven would become the foundation for my time at Exeter.

Coming to Exeter, I had a clear plan: I was going to take as many history electives as possible, join the orchestra and steer clear of any STEM commitments. Evidently enough, that’s not what happened. When emails came back reading, “Thank you

for your application … however,” when I couldn’t find myself on the list of names for Chamber Orchestra and when minus signs filled my report cards, I began to doubt what gave me certainty. Everyone seemed to know who they aspired to be and more importantly, how they were to succeed in their respective interests. I was surrounded by company founders, researchers and national athletes. I worked hard, but it seemed like no matter how hard I worked, “catching up’ to my peers” accomplishments was an impossible task. I’d occasionally ask myself if I was trying to do too much. But how could I be doing too much if I wasn’t doing enough?

The rationale of Jeremy Bearimy is that mistakes are endless and erasable, but people have the ability to change as they learn. It made perfect sense; our time is finite, but the possibilities for using our time are infinite. Oftentimes, to grow, we have to look around, not just push forward. I had been so caught up in the same, endless cycle of classes, homework, and club meetings that I had ceased to look.

As I began trying my hands at new things, I found the courage to cross lines I had previously thought of as limits. Three years ago, I would’ve never thought I’d be able to spend an entire term abroad, become a part of the women’s movement, take up

squash or spend a large chunk of senior fall in the design lab. But once I did, I learned that I could.

While we can’t plan for everything, we can be ready to adapt and grow, because the possibilities of our reality are only limited by the breadth of our minds.

Because of Exeter, my growth has become a never-ending process. I could spend my whole life learning, researching, innovating, and experiencing, but still never have all the answers. My peers’ accomplishments and my own failures no longer cause me to swell with anxiety, but rather, they energize me. Because of Exeter, I know I can rise through uncertainties to emerge stronger than before.

Because of Exeter, I know I will become someone who is beyond even my current imagination.

Every year, during the international student orientation, Mrs. Smith talks about the “four stages of culture shock.” The final stage of the process is “full assimilation and taking on another culture as your own.” I prized the idea of fitting in, but three years have passed, and I don’t think I will ever fully reach that stage. That’s okay.

It’s difficult to truly belong to a community when no one else lives on your block, but it’s the story a peer shares about her experience with gun violence, the genuine empathy from an Exonian you’ve never talked to after a tough loss on the field, the

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Towards Our Ideological Heart

By CAMERON FRARY In June 1961, two lengthy essays appeared in The Exonian, imploring the community to consider what biology instructor Richmond Mayo-Smith called the “ratio of fire to form” at Exeter, or the effects that our institutional systems have on the ideological heart of the school.

Mayo-Smith was concerned that as forms are put in place for the application of the fire, fire is accidentally smothered by the workings of the system. The oth-

er author, John Snook, instructor in English and religion, showed precisely how little the administration and faculty knew of Exeter’s “ideological heart,” writing before the Academy went co-ed that “there is some powerful but largely unanalyzed ingredient in the process of an academic discipline like ours…Set a bunch of boys down in a place relatively free from—shall we say impurities?—and with them a group of able men dedicated to their improvement. Then, so the logic of the reaction is supposed to run, make them all work hard,

play hard, and sleep hard, and the product will be good men, soundly trained and noble in character.” The inadequacy of this explanation is painfully obvious to all.

Snook and Mayo-Smith push us to ask the questions that all of us should always be considering: specifically, “what ideologies lie at the heart of Exeter, and how can we harness them in a useful and meaningful way?”

We shouldn’t allow ourselves, as Snook wrote, “to avoid the problem, to be tempted into platitudes, and to retreat behind

faith in the discipline of intellectual work and the toughening power of personal freedom.”

While the dictionary meanings of the phrases like “goodness and knowledge,” are well documented (the definition of goodness in the OED is “the quality of being morally good; virtue”), we’ve thought of goodness to be so self-evident that I’m not sure we even know what goodness means. I worry that such phrases — non sibi, knowledge and goodness — have turned into floppy platitudes that we need to breathe life into.

Perhaps the best way to breathe life into such phrases is not to tack analytical interpretations onto them, but to just stop and consider them quietly for a moment. It could be almost meditative—a focused but not dissective reflection. The thoughts that float into each of our minds will be different, but considering I was asked to give my thoughts, I might as well attempt to describe them. Here they are…

The first thought that wandered in could generally be described as “politeness,” as when a person holds the door or gives a friendly smile to people walking by, as when they engage in conversation without becoming irritable or closing themselves off, as when they act with others’ feelings in mind. Awareness and Humility joined Politeness, so that this person — this Exonian living up to the “ideological heart” of their institution — (a) is aware of how their interactions affect others and (b) isn’t corrupted by pride for the courteousness of their actions, so that they don’t preach to others about how to become more “good.”

Responsibility joins this trifecta, giving this person a sense of duty to themselves, to their peers, and the community at large. This strong dose of non sibi might

move this person to employ their knowledge to the benefit of others, but with Humility — ensuring that good is done out of a need to help, rather than a condescending pity. I stop there, because I feel that my picture of goodness is becoming cumbersome and prescriptive. I’ll leave it at these four: Politeness, Humility, Awareness, and Responsibility.

It’s probably important that our concepts of goodness have common threads, like the ones I listed, but I doubt it’s very crucial that all our concepts match exactly. Mayo-Smith posited that it is often “better to let the words run through our heads like music as we try to catch the spirit of the person who first wrote them.” I think it is most important that each person takes the time to deliberate on the platitudes with which we are all so familiar, so that they develop their own, hopefully similar, ideas of the phrases’ meanings. Perhaps the value in such maxims comes when people subscribe and truly live by their own interpretations.

Perhaps pledging your loyalty to your own principles is the first step to figuring out what goodness is, to making “goodness and knowledge” more than a platitude.

It may have been easier for John Phillips and his contemporaries to agree on a definition of goodness given the pious framework of his society. But if it was so much easier for his peers, perhaps the challenge of defining “goodness” in our time will teach us more than it taught him. In the end, does the definition we will never settle on matter as much as the discussions it engenders? Is the unexamined goodness worth following? Go ponder the nature of “virtue” quietly for a moment.

Go tell your friends what came to you. And then go have a long, heated, virtual late-night bull session and live up to the legacies of the Exonians that came before you.

Thank You and A Goodbye for Now

ByAMANDA HARRIS I wish I could remember every detail about Exeter forever so I could never forget the experiences it taught me. How to appreciate the small gifts you’re given. How good it felt to work out after a five-class day. How comforting it was to walk

into Elm and see that they are serving your favorite meal, that your friends have saved a seat for you in the packed dining hall. I have avoided writing this reflection for nearly two months because I am scared of not doing Exeter the justice it deserves. I am worried that I will forget an essential point in my experience. Most of all, I am scared

of graduating, leaving, and never finding a place like Exeter again. I am scared that by writing this and finally saying goodbye, I’ll have to acknowledge that this beautiful and absolutely transformative part of my life is coming to a close.

Attending Exeter was the most challenging experience of my life (so far), but it was the best decision

I have ever made. Every term, I come home a different person. On campus, I am almost too busy to finish my work on time, let alone re-evaluate my values and personality. So it is not until I come home to my house and town that never changes to see my development.

I left home and started school in a different country because I was stuck in a slow, monotonous cycle, and it worried me that I wasn’t thinking enough about my future. I never had serious goals or aspirations, and I wasn’t inspired to make any. So I was excited when my dad told me I could try and get recruited to a high school instead of waiting until striving for college. Naturally, I was nervous, but it was the hardest I had ever worked between the essays and the writing and the SSATs, and I wasn’t even there yet.

It was hard for me to tell my closest friends, but most were supportive, some were not, and some thought it didn’t matter because I wasn’t going to go anyway. But I did, and I could not imagine my life right now if I hadn’t.

I work myself so hard every day even when I’m at home because Exeter taught me that there is always work to do when you want to be better. I have notebooks where I have poured my raw thoughts into creative pieces, poetry and journal entries because Exeter taught me how to break free from analytical writing. Exeter taught me how to build friendships focused outside of the classroom and trust my friends beyond comparing our papers. Living in a dorm a thousand miles from home forced me to become vulnerable with those around me, and I thank Exeter for teaching me that. I thank it too for helping me better integrate myself better into my work, for helping me engage and appreciate more of my assignments. The result has been that now I have so many interests I can’t decide what I want to study. I want to be an author and a scientific researcher and a filmmaker and a nurse because Exeter opened my eyes to so many passions I may not

have discovered if I stayed at home.

Now, I am blessed to be able to play softball at a fantastic college, bringing all of my passion, knowledge and strength that I have found at Exeter with me in the next part of my life.

Thank you to my family, who have always encouraged and supported me throughout my time at Exeter, even when I felt too overwhelmed to thank them over the phone. You have given me space to become who I am, and I would not be where I am today without their endless love and support.

Thank you to all the faculty and staff for doing more than us students could ever imagine while continually striving for better and respecting the Academy’s traditions.

Thank you to all the amazing friends I have made throughout my three years at Exeter. I look forward to staying in touch, keeping many of you beautiful people close to my heart for decades to come.

Thank you Wheelwright, for giving me a beautiful and welcoming second home filled with genuine people I look up to and will consider my friends for life.

My house feels empty without our chatting in the hallways, common room and stairwells, but I will visit you whenever I can.

Thank you to the softball team who had an inspiring amount of team spirit and energy. We had the drive to win all year long and it came through when we all needed that drive the most. I am incredibly proud of all of you and am glad to have been co-captain for my final term, even if it wasn’t on the field.

In the end, I will forever hold memories of Phillips Exeter Academy close to my heart and always remember the joy and love that this campus has brought me, and especially now, all the strength it has given me to persevere through the difficult times. Thank you.

Goodbye for now, Amanda Harris Class of 2020

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Why I Belong: Exeter From My Perspective

By BLANE ZHU When I first stepped onto the Exeter campus, I was immediately taken by what I saw. I can still recall stepping up the spiral stairs in the Phelps Science Building. The angular glass panels and white steps blended an air of modern “smartness” into the old-fashioned brick halls. I felt a sense of connection.

This connection, as I found out, wasn’t rooted in the physical presence of Exeter’s Science Building: the red bricks were similar to other boarding schools I toured, and I had definitely seen a spiral staircase before (though less attractive). There was something special about Exeter’s mysterious aura, this feeling in a place that I had only known by name as “the best-ranked high school in America” prior to this visit. I was taken by how calm I felt,

how happy people seemed, how they so naturally filled the spaces around them. All the stilted perceptions that I previously had were gone: Exeter was approachable.

And it felt good to be here.

After spending a revisit day at Exeter, I decided that it was time to take the leap. One summer later, I showed up to the International Student Orientation (ISO) program and was, once again, surprised by my experience. The people were genuine, kind, and brimming with smiles and chatter. And they were smart. Like, having-a-discussionabout-poetry-in-sample-class-andthen-talking-about-George-Orwellat-dinner smart. One person asked me if I had known a certain mathematical formula about “integrals.”

I replied, “What??” in disbelief.

In retrospect, I admit that my own lack of preparation contributed

Covering

greatly to how I felt during those days. But it was undeniable that I had never, in my life, encountered a group of people with this level of talent and (seemingly) immediate enthusiasm. I felt outclassed as I scrambled my mind in search of a tidbit of “knowledge” to fill all my conversations. Others, on the other hand, seemed to interact with each other as if they had been childhood friends. I asked myself, is this what I had signed up for? Is this where I belong?

Throughout my time and journey at Exeter, I would ask myself those questions quite a few more times. I asked those questions when trying out for a JV/Varsity sports team for the first time. I asked those questions when experiencing particularly brutal periods of jetlag (and snowstorms) during the first winter season. I asked those ques-

tions when I got C’s in accelerated Chemistry during Upper year. I thoroughly enjoyed taking a seat at the Harkness table, but sometimes, after receiving comments that described me as “quiet” or “passive” or “if only he had contributed more,” I did doubt myself: What was I missing that other people had?

As time went by, however, Exeter has shown me that I wasn’t alone with my struggles. For most of us, the goal of “fitting in” becomes less and less relevant after the first year: We looked to “stand out” amongst ourselves, carving our own unique paths that would lead us to different futures. The stress was visible on everyone’s faces. When I saw a flawless history presentation done by a friend, I went ahead and asked her how long it took for her to finish the assignment. “I did all of it last night,” she said nonchalantly, “most of it this morning, actually.” When I went to the music building to practice, I was almost always confronted by the sound of several pianos going at lightspeed, almost to the point that it shook the floor. I took part in the morning frenzy at Wetherell (better than Elm, no explanation needed), especially at 7:55AM when the outflux of class-bound people blended with the influx of people scrambling to get scrambled eggs as fast as they can. Sleep deprivation became a regular topic for friends to talk and joke about.

I walk down my hallway for water around 12:30AM, seeing face after face glued to screens or textbooks. I think to myself: The night is still young.

Now, sitting alone at my desk in a world filled with uncertainty, my time at Exeter has become a source of comfort and warmth, and I can’t help but cling onto those wonderful memories once in a while.

(I’ve even dreamt about Exeter in my sleep—which is ironic considering that while at Exeter, I never remembered any of my dreams.)

Most importantly, after taking time to reflect, I finally feel that I have the confidence to answer those enduring questions.

I decided to attend Exeter because I felt something stir with-

“Covering” is a story about my journey to America. When I first arrived at Exeter, I experienced culture shock. Exeter was far from how I imagined American high school to be. I felt that in order to fit in, I had to change aspects of myself such as my sex-

uality, appearance, and attitude. I found myself constantly covering my identity. Three years later, Exeter has become my home. It is where I feel safe and nurtured; it is a community that allows me to be myself. I can’t thank the Academy enough for my Exeter experience. It gave me a home.

in my heart as I walked through campus. At that moment, all I had known of Exeter was what appealed to me through my eyes: the attractive staircase, the happy people, the smiles. I did not know that Exeter’s mysterious aura housed the greatest quality of this school: Its duality.

Behind the facade of “the best ranked high school in America” lay a community that is genuine, kind-hearted, driven and filled with unique talents. Exeter taught me that behind every brick wall there is history, yet there is also constant innovation. Exeter welcomed me with open arms and gave me the agency to create, imagine, and take the lead on things that I have never thought of before. At the same time, Exeter immersed me in its rigorous demands and showed me that in order to succeed, the effort always comes before the result.

Behind the smiles that I saw were each person’s unique struggles. Behind each presentation, showcase, or performance was hours upon hours of work.

Furthermore, it is during times of struggle and strife that the real inner strength of Exeter becomes apparent. From the very beginning of my lower year to our virtual senior spring, I cannot think of a time when I was denied a helping hand.

Whether it was from my advisor, teacher, proctor or friend, I formed many indelible bonds by seeking help and talking about my insecurities. I’m going to be cheap and borrow a quote I heard from a college tour: “It is tempting to picture a community to thrive in, but it is also important to picture a community that will lift you up when you are down.” I feel like Exeter could not fit that description more — it is a community that lifts me up.

My time at Exeter has no doubt been the busiest and most fulfilling years of my life, and I am forever grateful that it has allowed me to say the words “I belong here.” I am still amazed by the magic of this community every day, and I am sure I will continue to be amazed when I return as an alum. Thank you all, truly, for giving me something more than I could have ever asked for.

Don’t Get Lucky, Make Your Own Luck

By RYAN XIE

By JUSTIN LI

87

Back in 2011, our generation used to say, “YOLO: You only live once.” So you should follow your passion, right? Well yes, but with a twist.

In order to chase your dreams, you must first learn to stop caring about what people think of you.

Remember, “At first, they laugh.

Later they will ask how you did it.”

What people don’t realize is that after your grandkids die, pretty much nobody remembers you, and most of your impact on the world is gone. Seems cynical, but I’m merely shoving a bleak reality in your face that I wish I realized years earlier. So if you want your

impact to live beyond your grandkids, it’s up to you if you want to create something that lasts, which undoubtedly requires ambitious vision that friends, family, and societal norms will question.

Sure, one can say that legacy lives on through your grandkid’s kids, or other people’s lives you impact, but sooner or later that impact fizzles out. Though I haven’t figured it all out yet, I aspire — and I hope you aspire, too — to change the world in a way that lasts beyond a couple of generations. And when you start with a purpose, the rest of your life goals tend to follow: happiness, success and more.

The days that you and I come to die, we’ll come to realize that

dying people don’t regret having taken a risk. They only regret not having done so.

The problem is that most high schoolers don’t know their life’s meaning yet. It’s constantly changing as we grow older. So that’s where you’ll start; you’ll spend months digging to find that calling that you care about and enjoy so much. Once you’ve found it, work hard. Grind. Put the pedal to the medal. With a little luck and circumstance, you might just strike gold.

As Harvey Specter says, “I don’t get lucky, I make my own luck.”

IG: @rionshay

Congratulations, Kevin!

We are all so proud of you, and have no doubt that your character, creativity, resilience, and sense of humor will continue to enrich your life, no matter the circumstances. Congratulations, too, to the class of 2020! - çˆ¸çˆ¸ĺŚˆĺŚˆĺ§?ĺ§?

Addie - We hope your Exeter experience was everything we hoped and dreamed for you. We are so very proud of you! Can’t wait to see the great places you will go from here.

Love, Mom, Dad and Augie Colt Delaney – Work hard to drive yourself forward and make yourself someone others should follow, as you have always done. You make us proud to be parents! I cannot wait to cheer you on as you continue to practice excellence in contributing to your family and community. We love you! DFSU. Dawson - you have been an inspiration and guiding light for our family all your life, and your admirable strength, perseverance, and empathy have been firmly at your core. It has and will continue to serve you well as life continues to unfold! We are SO PROUD of you!! YOU SAW IT AND YOU DID IT!!

Congratulations Jeb! We are so proud of you! From your early days in Dublin and London, to the US for middle and high school at Exeter-Gaining new friends and perspective each step of the way! We all wish you the very best as you embark on your next adventure in the deep South at Tulane – Roll Wave!

Congratulations Tia! We are so proud of all you have accomplished over the past four years at Exeter! We cannot wait to see what the future holds for you at William and Mary and beyond! You rock, girl! Love, Mom, Dad, and Lexi

Kennedy Warren Moore, we are so proud of you. Graduation from Exeter is one small step for you, but one giant leap for your future! Love, Mom, Dad, James and Bella Congratulations on your graduation, Griffin! We are so very proud of you and look forward to seeing where the next stage of your academic career takes you.

Best of luck at college and beyond! We love you very much, Mom & Scott

Congratulations Oluwatise! We are so proud of you and everything that you have accomplished! You are such a strong leader that makes an impact wherever you go and we are sure that won’t change as you move on to the next stage of your life! We love you and may God continue to bless you!

The Okeremi’s

Congratulations Ryan!!!! We are so proud of you and all your accomplishments! We love you and can’t wait to continue your amazing journey into college.

Love, Dad, Mom, Cameron & Logan

Greg Scronce – Congratulations on your graduation! Our wish for you is simple...Have the very best life imaginable. Behind you, all of your memories. Before you, all of your dreams. Around you, all who love you. Within you, all you need. We love you, Mom, Dad, Maddie and Austin.

Congratulations Alison!!

I am so proud of you and all you have accomplished. I know you will find success in your future endeavors, go on to do many wonderful things, and apply your wisdom and kindness to help make our world a better place. I love you so much! Dad

Amelia Demopoulos – I am so proud of you Babe!

Sorry this is not the graduation we planned, I love you.

Congratulations, Eva! We are proud of you and all you’ve accomplished. Onward! Love, Mom, Dad & Amelia Congratulations Rianna on your amazing accomplishments. We are so proud of you and excited to see what you do next. Always stay true to yourself and continue to work hard and you will achieve even more amazing things. Love Mom, Dad & Drew

Blane Zhu – We hope your kindness, honesty, tenacity, and profoundness will take you to places you love and nourish you in mind & spirit every day, You will bring good to the world! We will always be there & be pround of you!

Jason Huang – We love you! Take pride in how far you have come Have faith in how far you will go. Conquer your future just as you have emerged victorious from this journey. We are proud of all your accomplishments; of the person you have become. We look forward to watching you continue to grow. Congratulations!

Congratulations, Griff! We are so proud of you and of all that you have accomplished. With all our love — Daddy, Mary and Bennett

CONGRATU

to the Clas

Ethan Rosenthal – Congratulations on an amazing four years!

Jon- You have given us such pleasure and pride during your time at Exeter which has been an exemplary display of thoughtfulness and support of your classmates, teammates, friends and family. We believe in you and love you for everything you are and all that you stand to become.

Love mom and dad.

Amanda Harris – Strength, knowledge, determination, kindness and generosity are characteristics I clearly see in you as a result of your tireless efforts at Phillips Exeter Academy.

I salute you and am eternally proud of you in joining your sister as Exeter graduates. Congratulations and good luck!!

Dearest Saskia – we couldn’t possibly be prouder of you!! Love Mom, Dad, Cy, Nana, Stu, Morfar, Granny Ro, Grandpa Kit, Felix, Smudge, Athena, Minerva, Persephone, Proserpina, Aster, Begonia, Poppy, Dahlia, the froggos, toadpoles, and all the creatures of the hill

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Congratulations Meredyth! We are so proud of all your accomplishments and so excited for the next chapter! The world is your oyster – or the vegetarian equivalent thereof !

Love, Mom, Dad and Llew Kelly, Awesome accomplishment! We are so proud of the person you have grown into. Enjoy all the forthcoming opportunities and exciting times. We know you will constantly strive for excellence. Keep up the good work; you have a future full of great achievements!

Mom, Dad and Evan

CONGRATULATIONS TEDDY KELLER! Happy Graduation Teddy. We are so proud of you and everything that you accomplished at Exeter! We know that you will go on to do great things and that Exeter will always hold a special place in your heart.

We love you! Mom, Dad, Charlie, Kate, and Reid Beez!

We are so proud of you. Four years ago you embraced Exeter with your kindness, your brilliance, and unbounded joy. Both you and Exeter are better for it. Congratulations on your graduation. We can’t wait to see what the next four years bring!

Love, Mom and Dad (and Winston!)

Lucy G: Four years ago, you were off, around a river bend, into a forest runner’s trail, behind a muffled choral practice door, within the four walls of Harkness discovery, and now here you are, emerged, flushed, exuberant, ready to share your song, wisdom, and strength with a wider world. Godspeed.

Alison, I am so proud of you. Not just because of your outstanding achievements, but because of the wonderful person you are: a tremendous friend, a great teammate, and the best daughter anyone could hope for.

Great things are ahead for you, and I will be cheering every step of the way. Mom Congratulations Mouhamed! We are so proud of the young man you have become!

Thank God for guiding you throughout your journey and may your faith and convictions continue to illuminate your way. Keep your sights set high and keep dreaming big. We all love you!

-Mom, Dad, Malick, Marie, and Marieme

Nicky: We knew you would do it! Qui audet adipiscitur. MB, AE, OB, SF, and the rest of the PF. Angele!

A girl who faced obstacles always with courage and a smile. A girl who learned life’s lessons and did it with great style. A girl who really brightened up our lives. That precious girl has grown into a woman before our eyes. We are so lucky to have you in our life. Love, Mom & Dad

We’re so very proud of you Lilly Pinciaro! You have accomplished and grown so much in so many ways over the years at PEA. Varsity Rowing, working your way to the #1 boat, co-chair of Fem club and Dem Club, studying in France stretching your independence and wings to soar and find balance in life’s work, pleasures, mystery and wonder. We know as your world expands and grows you will just continue to flourish in all ways. Love you to the moon and back. Mom and Dad�

Dear Isabel, We hope your dreams will take you to the widest corners of your smiles, to the highest peaks of your hopes, to the best windows of your opportunities and to the most profound places of your heart.

Follow your passion, it will lead you to your purpose.

Love always, Mom & Dad

Dear Emy, We’re excited and proud of your completed journey with PEA. Congratulations and Cheers! As you march on to college, we wish you all the best. With love from your whole family!

Samantha Eliza Weil. You have thrived within the Exeter community. Dunbar, The Exonian, Fem Club, Dem Club, MLK committee, your friends, your advisors and teachers have benefited from your capacity for empathy, critical thinking, hard work, creativity and fun! As an Exeter Graduate, as a Grogduate you are ready for anything! Your family is SO proud of you!

Congratulations, Michael! We are so proud of you and to see you have grown into a confident young men. Your Exeter time is short, but sweet. Cherish your memory of Exeter, we are so blessed you have spend your spring term with us unexpectedly.

Love you always!

Reese, you bring passion to everything you do. You had a dream that was Exeter.

You worked hard, persevered, and made your dream a reality. We love you and are so proud of you. Congratulations! “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” R.W. Emerson

Robin Potter – Congratulations! You always leaned-in to your community, friends, studies, and athletics with such compassion, integrity and unbelievable endurance.

You have been courageous yet humble throughout. Most importantly, you’ve become a beautiful person filled with curiosity for the world.

Love you! M,D&S

Gloria, You told us recently, if you had a chance to reselect your high school, you would select PEA again. The graduation this year is different, but the achievement is still the same. Congratulations on your well-deserved success. You will spread your wings and fly higher. Love you, Dad & Mom

T, a message from your beloved roommates: we love you and are so beyond proud of the woman, leader, and mentor you’ve transformed into during your four years at Exeter. To the most insightful, dynamic, and FUN person we know, you bring insane amounts of joy into all the lives of those around you-R&B

ULATIONS

ss of 2020

Mia Kuromaru – We still remember when you finally took your first, cautious step after months of meticulous thought. By that same day, you were already running around with eyes so full of curiosity and wonder about the world. We will continue to unconditionally support you no matter what.

We love you!

Max, we are so proud of you!

We all remember somewhere on Massachusetts Turnpike ... the Pi magic showed up! Love you forever, Mom and Dad Congratulations, Sophia S. Chang! We are so proud of your hard work and dedication. Love always, Annie, Mom, and Dad Carly Kirsch – From the beginning you have only given us reasons to be proud! We are so lucky to have you in our life! As you take your talents to the West Coast always remember that you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think, and loved more than you’ll ever know.

Mom & Dad

Harrison He – Congratulations on your graduation! We are always amazed by your passion and curiosity in so many things, from your childhood fantasy in automobiles to competitive zest in chess. You approach the world with naivety, hope, and optimism, and you never give up ideals and aspirations. Way to go!

Congratulations Grant Goodall We are very proud of you! You took a leap of faith & embraced the challenges & opportunities. We appreciate the Exeter community for four wonderful years and we know that you will embody the non sibi ideals throughout life. Love, Mom, Dad, Grace, Michael ‘23 & Christian

Dearest Nivan, Congratulations on your four year journey at Exeter. Though spring term was not as expected, this will be an unforgettable beginning of your journey to adulthood. May your future be bright full of love, health, success, and life-long friendships. Love Mom and Dad.

Dear Khine, You finished your senior spring with distance learning from home, adjusted to family routines, stayed in touch with friends through face time and iMessage. Well done!! Congratulations on your graduation!! Let’s celebrate!! We are very proud of you today and always. Love, Pa Pa and May May Congratulations, Brian!

May God bless you as you enter new horizons. May peace and courage be with you in the midst of uncertainty. May God protect you and keep you strong. May your knowledge and goodness unite with humility throughout your life. 天降大任于斯人也, 必先苦其心志,劳其筋骨,饿其体肤,空乏 其身,所以动心忍性,曾益其所不能.

Thank you for being, Alta Esther Magruder. The world needs you. Your wise perception, commitment to what matters, and care for the planet and its living beings shine through. Be bold and true. Congratulations on your culmination. We greet you at the start of a great career. Mom, Dad, and Seldon

James Long – “What will you get out of college? First, I am told, knowledge. Second, possible mental discipline.

Third, some idea of where to find information. Fourth, occasionally, if one is fortunate, some notion of how to think straight.” (1927) John Charles Leslie, great-grandfather, PEA alum Class of 1922 Giovanna Romero – You have reached another milestone and we are so proud of you. You are the pioneer of this family; we will always admire your bravery for taking new challenges. We know that you can achieve your goals. Never forget that we always will be there to support you. May God always light your path.

Congratulations Chiqui!!

We are so proud of your dedication, commitment and passion in everything you do. Many beautiful memories and accomplishments to celebrate!!! This is just the beginning of a wonderful journey. Always believe in yourself & keep shining!!!

Te amamos, Mami, Papi and Gabo

Congratulations Jinwoo on your graduation! We’re proud of you and of all your efforts! It’s been special watching you grow over the past four years, and we’re so thankful that you found a second home in Exeter. Before you rush off to college don’t forget to look back and appreciate your time at PEA! Congratulations Venkat! We are so proud of you! You’ve amazed us by your growth and independence over these years. We can’t wait to see what else you will go on to accomplish in college. This is a wonderful milestone, and we are so glad that you are home and the entire family can celebrate!

Aiden Glover – Remain hard working, compassionate, giving, and humble. We know you will take the world by storm and may have to weather a few along the way. Each event, exceeding or challenging your expectations, is an opportunity for you to reflect, learn, grow and ultimately succeed. You got this!

Dear Helen, you are a special gift from God, pure, considerate, honest and compassionate, always our joyful hurdler and songbird. PEA further opened your vision and prepared you. We cannot wait to watch you to develop as a person full of the wisdom and potential from God! Love, Mom, Dad & Suzy Jacob Gehron – Go live your story...

The life of your dreams Buddy. Own every glorious ounce of it. Love, Mom and Dad. Now go, and make interesting mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for you being here. Make good art. Neil Gaiman.

Congratulations, Liam, on your graduation from Phillips Exeter Academy class of 2020! You have worked incredibly hard to be a more outstanding actor, a multitalented singer, an inquisitive mathematician, an informed and passionate biologist, a terrific leader and a better friend. You have truly captured the full spectrum of the Exeter Academy experience available to you. We have thoroughly enjoyed seeing you mature and shine at PEA. We are very proud and wish you all the best for your next chapter in life.

Love Mom, Dad, Artemis and Henry.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

Humor

JUNE 7, 2020 “Bro. Sending emails has to be one of my favorite pastimes.”

“See you in the spring!”

“Coronavirus gave me a mullet.”

— Anne Brandes

— Everyone

— Felix Yeung

Educators Discouraged by Prospect of Second Online Term

By SONNY FITENI Exonians aren’t the only ones lamenting the loss of a campus presence. Several members of our institution’s faculty have taken our absence very hard, and as the future of distance learning hangs in uncertainty, some of them have made plans for the worst.

Disappointed by the thought of never joining his students around the Harkness table again, educators like Phillips Exeter Academy founder John Phillips have turned to alternative avenues for fulfillment. Phillips, age 264, explained that his decision to move from founder of a prep school to aspiring Soundcloud rapper was the result of an “overdue career change.”

John Phillips, now stylized as Jawn Phillips, hopes to leave his mark on the rap game with his new old-school style and fresh face. Swaggering over to the Bowld Music Center in a waistlength dress coat and breeches, Jawn assured listeners that he would carry on certain hip hop mainstays. “Don’t need to ask why I always wear red,” he noted.

Celebrating his induction onto the XXL Freshmen list as the “hottest thing on three legs,” the Andover-born rapper has given himself the self-professed moniker “King of New England.”

No living rappers have contested this claim, and Principal William Rawson has yet to respond.

Last Thursday, Phillips sat down with our podcast news team 50 Minutes to share some

of his story. Here is an excerpt of that transcript: Thank you for joining us, Jawn. Could share what was going through your head when you made this transition at such a late stage in your career?

I don’t think—I do.

Who inspires you?

Kendrick.

Can we expect any surprises from your album?

Let me just say, when the kids hear Todd [Hearon] hop on these ad libs, it’ll be like the Academy Building burned down a second time.

Is there anything you want to tell fans at home now?

Sons, if you work hard enough, Hennything is possible.

Thank you for joining us,

Jawn.

Goodday to you, too.

Not to be confused with Grammy-nominated musician and lead singer of the Mamas and Papas John Phillips (who refused to return The Exonian’s request for comment), Jawn Phillips explained that his Billboard promise lies in his unconventional sound. Ahead of his first studio album, singles like “Canst thou bring me to the party?” have been hotly teased on LionLinks.

When asked in class if anyone had actually listened to the self-titled EP released last Friday, students groaned. “Put it back on Tuesday—the administration had to take that from us, too?” When teachers clarified that they were referring to our founder’s musical endeavors and not a cherished tradition which

had been repeatedly moved around the week so as to become insignificant, one student chimed in that “as long as it’s not that new Nav I’ll give it a chance.”

Now, having made his way onto the coveted “CXLII Newsroom” communal Spotify playlist, Jawn Phillips reflected on the fame other educators could find if they are willing to take the leap. “My brother Sam-I-Am Phillips is down in Essex writing some cookbooks. Y’know something for the summer, something for the kids.”* When asked if he’d consider shouting out “Green Eggs and Ham” on a future single, the New England rapper was quick to shoot things down. “It’s juvenile, not for my city.” *Samuel Phillips is actually John Phillip’s nephew.

5 Measures You May Have Taken to Survive Quarantine with Your College Siblings

By ADAM TUCHLER 1. Recreated your dorm room in your current room. Your siblings had no desire to go anywhere near that odorsome swamp.

2. Made a pillow fortress around your room to ward your siblings away.

3. Woken up early, snatched the leftover pizza from the fridge and eaten it before they had the chance to complain.

4. Ignored them. They ignored you back, and you lived like you are an only child.

5. Saved money by asking them to buy you stuff. They are in college, so they have more money and just might be willing to spend some of it on you. Exploit them and save your own money. #nonsibi

Faculty Zoom Meeting for Fall Term Plans

By GEORGIE VENCI On Wednesday, May 13, Exeter hosted a formal Zoom meeting to hear the faculty’s thoughts on what the administration should do for the fall term of next year. They asked the academic departments to brainstorm ideas and bring them to the meeting. Each department had a spokesperson to announce their department’s ideas. Although a “master plan” was not decided upon, this was the first step of a long, committee-filled journey to finalize the Academy’s plans.

The meeting began at noon and ventured long into the afternoon, dangerously close to the entire religion department’s bedtime at 5:00p.m. The first department invited to speak was the Science Department. Most of their suggestions were from the computer science teachers. They requested another term on Zoom to promote “knowledge in the ways of technology.” They claimed to be sick and tired of receiving the History Department’s emails from addresses ending in ‘@hotmail.com.’

Next was the Theater Department, although their ideas weren’t too flashy. An anonymous faculty member recorded the number of times the term “new theatre” was used by the spokesperson. It totaled roughly eight times per minute.

An unfortunate incident occurred when the spokesperson for the English Department stepped up to speak and forgot to unmute their microphone. Although their hand gestures were overwhelming, no one spoke up to tell them they were muted.

“I like that idea,” said the discussion leader, once the spokesperson finished.

The Modern and Classical Languages Dpartments set aside their differences for a common goal. They suggested that all students return to campus to only study English and their selected languages. “We don’t really assign too much homework and think this would be a great opportunity to assign more,” said their spokesperson.

The meeting concluded with the complaints of the History Department.

“The kids are getting off way too easy on their 333s,” groaned their spokesperson. “We’ve received multiple essays ending with ‘#passfaildub.’” The faculty look forward to spending more time on this hot topic and finding solutions suitable for everyone.

By JACK ARCHER

The 6 Stages of Prep Year: A Trip Down Memory Lane

By JACK ARCHER The Honeymoon: Wow. Phillips Exeter Academy. This is the dream. Paradise. Neverland. You lay awake at night, fantasizing about class tomorrow. Homework? More like enriching readings that broaden your horizons.

Friends? More like the best, most interesting people you have ever met. Clubs? More like pockets of passion that you can pursue. You have been gifted with four years in the place you’ve only dreamed of, and you will seize every opportunity.

Workload: Canvas must be lying. You don’t even remember having six classes today. And since when did the readings get so boring? And long? It’s the first time you’ve seen single digit numbers followed by a.m. on your alarm clock. Sleep is a memory that gets more and more distant.

You slog through your assignments, projects and papers every night, only to be rewarded with a slew of new ones that onslaught you the next evening.

Winter: Snow is falling. Temperatures are dropping. At least in

fall term you could go outside. At least in fall term you could see the sun. Speaking of the sun, you’re not even sure it exists anymore.

The only constant in your life is homework. Homework and the cold. You dicked assembly for the first time last week, but you can’t seem to get yourself to care. Faint memories of the passionate person you used to be flicker through your mind, but that’s another person in another place. That’s... not you anymore.

Desperation: There’s nothing now. You have withered away to a shell that gets better and better at Harknessing. You hear rumours about a “spring break,” but the date means nothing to you. Not much really means anything anymore. All that matters is 10p.m. dorm pizza and the next time they have Exeter Bars at D-Hall.

Clubs? More like things that tear you out of your warm room on weekends. Friends? More like the annoying people you eat with (only because you’re too self-conscious to eat alone) and talk a lot about “Dances” and “Teas.” The only thing that sustains your sense of humor is Jon Snow and Phlexeter memes. Oh, yeah, and there

may be a page in The Exonian that’s supposed to be funny or something? But who reads that?

Rebirth: As it turns out, the sun really was there. It was just, you know, behind the clouds. As spring term begins, you see things that jog ancient memories made long ago. You forgot that people actually spent time on the quad.

And this “Grill” place isn’t so bad either. Classes are actually interesting too, as long as you pay attention. Winter term becomes a distant memory of hard times you survived.

Finals: After having several nervous breakdowns over what room you’re going to get next year, finals were a breeze. Seeing your grades can wait. What you can’t wait for is summer. And lower year. But not upper year.

You’ve seen the uppers, and becoming one of them kind of scares you. They don’t look very… healthy (especially that one who has substituted water for energy drinks). But that’s a long way away, and you have time to spare.

For now, it’s time to skip math over the summer and hope that you didn’t screw up your future by picking the wrong elective.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

91

An Analysis of the Decline of Pants

By JACK ARCHER Actually, people called them trousers at first. Then they were pantaloons, and then in the early 1800s Americans decided they were too lazy to say the whole thing and changed it to pants, horrifying the Europeans.

Pants turned up in central Asia 3000 years ago. Horse riders figured out (the hard way) it was much more comfortable to ride a horse in trousers than in a robe or toga, where certain *important* places were underprotected.

These new-fangled garments made their way to the Scythians, and then to the Per-

sians. Sometime in the sixth century, some Greek geographers spotted Persians wearing trousers.

And they thought pants looked stupid. And unmanly.

And just barbaric in general.

This was probably the main reason for the Persian War. When the Romans came, they took after the Greeks and considered pants barbaric. But later on, Roman soldiers snuggled in an adapted form of trousers as they went to war.

Their new Braccae kept the cold out much better than togas.

Trousers popped up in Europe during the Middle Ages.

Knights wore them under ar-

mor. Some even had the idea to attach foot coverings to them. This style evolved into the “jammies your little brother wears to bed.” In the 15th century, trousers would balloon out from the waist and pinch at the ankles, probably to make your thighs look thicc as hell. Thankfully, it seems that by the 19th century everyone realised this looked ridiculous and stopped wearing balloon-pants. Except clowns. Clowns still wear balloon-pants.

The dude who figured out how to wear pants the way we do now was King Edward VII. A little later, a very childish individual decided to wear the short trousers meant for

children, and we realised they were great.

That brings us today. We’ve figured out pants. They’re comfortable, practical and give us a leg up in horse riding. But due to recent events, a radical change in trouser fashion is on the horizon, spreading rapidly across the world. A lot like something else. The change is simple. Instead of wearing pants the way we usually do, we just…

Don’t.

Pants aren’t needed anymore. The world operates on a top-half basis. People are choosing to forgo their jeans and sweatpants, in favor of nothing at all. Pants used to be

all the rage. Everyone would wear them. In fact, if you were seen outside without pants on, you would most likely be outright shamed and ridiculed— and then arrested for public nudity. Speaking from experience. We were servants to trousers, to pants, to pantaloons. In this new age, we are servants no longer, and though no one sees another person throwing off the burden of pants, collectively, we know what we are wearing below our facecams.

Maybe, when this is all over, we will emerge from our burrows and realize trousers are no longer needed, and clothing our bottom half is a relic of the past. Or maybe we’ll all just stay inside and use Zoom.

This for That: Substitutions to Spice up Your Math Discussion Boards

By SAV BARTKOVICH

Instead of...

Try...

I agree.

I do concur with your assessment.

Yep, I got the same thing.

Affirmative, that conclusion was gathered by myself as well

Sorry, I was wrong.

I have come to terms with the fact that I indeed made counter-factual statements, and for that, I offer my innermost heartfelt apologies.

Good job!

The completion of this task was above regular standards.

Great work!

The struggle you put into conquering this academic quest was astounding, I applaud you.

Thank you!

Your consultation in this matter was much appreciated.

I think...

I be of the opinion that...

I like...

I derive satisfaction from....

That’s interesting.

That comment stood out to me and gave me pause in this time of great standstill.

Pretty much.

Tolerably similar.

Very nice!

That was nice at a higher degree than what is considered standard.

Super!

Meritorious!

I agree, but...

Our interpretations of such events were identical save this one detail.

Right?

Was my explanation understood by the masses?

By SONNY FITENI

Things That Have Recently Gone Viral

By JACK ARCHER 1. CallMeCarson, Twitch streamer and YouTuber who got cheated on.

2. My ear infection.

3. Corona Beer (for some reason).

4. Michael Reeves, the robot building guy.

5. Jacob Sartorius, unparalleled pop artist.

6. That’s a joke. I just wanted to remind you of prep year.

7. Jogging around your entire neighborhood.

8. Anything on TikTok. 9. Amazon—the less flammable one.

10. The air around 5G towers, apparently.

11. The Humor Section’s Instagram??? (Pls follow @exonian.humor)

10 Ways to Use Your Class Ring

By ADAM TUCHLER

By SONNY FITENI

1. As a paper weight.

2. As an investment in raw material.

3. For clout, but only amongst other Exonians.

4. As a memento for times at Exeter you would have remembered anyway.

5. For a tacky marriage proposal.

6. As a reflective surface to signal an airplane if you are stranded on a deserted island.

7. For the box it comes in to store your cooler rings.

8. To start a stern conversation with your parents about financial responsibility.

9. To barter for magic beans.

10. To make you feel special.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Year-End Reflection: Languages Instructor Kayoko Tazawa

By KAYOKO TAZAWA The bell struck right after the last student got their diploma. Everyone got up and cheered. Many students took out their cigars and lit them.

They started to puff, as if they somehow knew how to enjoy them. The first PEA graduation that I attended was in 1995, the year my host brother graduated. I was very impressed with the setting of the ceremony, the green grass, well-dressed fam-

ilies, beautiful smiles on the graduating students, the music and especially with the principal, Kendra O’Donnell. She was the first female principal I had ever seen in my life. Coming from the male dominated society of Japan, I thought America was ahead of its time.

I had no idea that I would start teaching at Phillips Exeter Academy two years later.

It was such a rewarding experience to teach PEA students.

They were (still are) intelli-

gent, engaged and motivated to learn. They were (still are) like sponges. They absorbed whatever I introduced. After they got used to me, I noticed they started to use very inappropriate slangs, like the Japanese version of a female dog, or reproductive systems. I was confused. I had NEVER taught such words. There was no internet or Google back then. Where and how did the students learn such words?

I lived with my host broth-

Enjoy Freshman Year!

By SONNY FITENI

er when he was 13 years old.

After I returned to Japan, he entered PEA and studied Japanese. I got excited and sent him many books. One of the books was called Japanese Slangs Uncensored. Here I was, browsing books at the Exeter Bookstore as a teacher, when I found the very book that I had sent to my host brother years back. I asked the clerk why they carry such a terrible book. According to her, many students several years back LOVED the book and or-

dered it. Ever since then, the bookstore had been selling the book.

Who would have thought a gift that I had sent years back would bite me in the future? Seriously, you never know when you will come across your old friends or the fruits of the seed that you have planted. By the way, I had the pleasure to teach Kendra’s grandson. The past creates the future. Cherish now and enjoy every moment. I hope to see you again.

Term in Review Open Mic: Exeter Quotes and Headlines

By NATHAN HALL 1. “Quality time with family isn’t what I signed up for,” most Exeter boarders said.

2. In response to heavy criticism, dorms noted that they “will strive to make virtual hazing a more equitable experience.”

3. Exeter holds the title as a top boarding school, but today’s question: does it compare to Khan Academy?

4. 82 million dollar Harkness method vs. one Zoom call.

5. “Dicking assembly just isn’t the same anymore”: a solemn reminder of COVID-19’s impact.

6. “I hope this does not affect my college prospects,” said an Exonian in response to the devastating impact of global pandemic.

7. An Exeter parent promised to “see what I can do” in response to plans to move fall term online.

8. ”I think I’ll be squatting”: an Exeter senior considered their options for their freshman dorm room.

A Love Letter to the University of Phoenix

By CALEB RICHMOND

An Examination of Exonians in the Worldwide Food Chain

By ALEXI MONOVOUKAS The following transcript is an approximation of every social interaction one will experience after graduating Phillips Exeter Academy.

This document is intended for educational purposes and scientific study only. We observe the species Hunterus Socialus, the predator of the Exonianus Alumnus, stalking its prey in their natural habitat: college.

The Hunter: “I have family in New Hampshire.”

New Hampshire is somehow brought up in conversation. This is the bait, the Hunter carefully lays, waiting to catch the unsuspecting Exonian alumnus.

The Exonian Alumnus: “Oh, cool. I used to live there; it’s really pretty in the fall.”

Here we can see said Exonian alumnus attempting to add to the conversation, as he was psychologically conditioned to do through countless hours of trying to raise English class participation grades.

H: “Wait. I thought you were from Massachusetts?”

The Hunter springs his trap. A crucial move, corralling the Exonian, who is now in a lose-lose scenario. Either they tell the truth, and go down a path of no return, or they lie, and must spend the rest of the conversation making up fake reasons why their family moved from New Hampshire to their current, true place of residence. Lose-lose.

Dear University of Phoenix: I screwed up. I really screwed up. Actually, let’s be honest. We all screwed up. While I’m still an upper, the way this virus is progressing is making me think that I should stop all progress on my college apps and just settle for you. In a way, settling is the best option for most of us right now. According to Wikipedia, your tuition is $9,552. While our seniors are off to college, arriving on their new campuses in September or January or 2028, you’ve been here all along showing off your sub ten-grand prices for the same fantastic online education we’ve been thriving with for the past three months. Or has it been eight months? Time has no meaning anymore, and I just track its progress by remembering which of my ten daily meals I had last. But you, UP, have always been honest about what you give us. Pandemic? Full-time day job? Kids at home?

You’ll always be there for us. You’re like white bread. There are certainly better options, but let’s not jade ourselves, there is also much, much worse. Next year, when we return to PEA or start a new adventure at college, you will say, “You survived online classes, but it was $15,000 dollars per term.” You stand there, aware of your value, saying “whether we come back to campus in the fall or not, you know what you expect with me.” You have nothing to hide, UP. Honestly, it’s kind of refreshing. So seniors, do you want the white bread or do you want the homemade sourdough you’ve been aiming to perfect for the entire term that still ends up catastrophically wrong every other attempt? I’ve never been one to take risks. I actually like white bread. So, this summer and fall, as the Class of 2021 is trying to knead the dough that is college apps (I really don’t know anything about making bread, so I really boxed myself into a corner with this analogy), I think I might just go buy some Wonder Bread at the corner market. Who needs Grill when you have a pantry with expired crackers and white bread? I’ll see you all in virtual Arizona.

If that doesn’t sound like paradise, I don’t know what does.

E: “I am from Massachusetts, yeah, but I used to go to school in New Hampshire.”

The Exonian has chosen the truth. As we will see, this is a bad choice. The Hunter has their prey right where they want it.

Love, Caleb

H: “Oh, no way! How did that work, haha? It must’ve been a boarding school or something.”

The Hunter’s laughter is a fake attempt at nonchalance. The trap has been sprung, and there is no escape.

E: “Yeah, it was a boarding school, haha.”

The Exonian laughs too, clearly nervous, hoping to dismiss the subject.

H: “No way! My friend went to boarding school too!”

The Hunter is relentless. They are not fooled by their prey’s escape attempt.

E: “That’s crazy.”

The Exonian is sweating now.

H: “Oh my gosh, maybe you guys know each other! What’s your school called?”

The Hunter shoots an arrow, piercing the Exonian’s heart.

E: “… Exeter?”

The Exonian admits defeat, accepting his fate.

H: “WHOA, YOU WENT TO EXETER?! NO WAY! WOW, I HAD NO IDEA!” Defeat. And now, everyone in a quarter-mile radius knows.

By ZANDER CHEARAVANONT

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

93

5 Ways to Subtly Let People Know You Went to Exeter

By ADAM TUCHLER 1. Everytime someone mentions an Ivy League school, name drop a friend that went there. Well, maybe not a friend, but he was in your English class three years ago.

2. Wear your boathouse in college, or if you’re feeling adventurous, your kilt. People will detect Exeter vibes from you without you ever needing to say a word.

3. Name your firstborn son “Phillips.” People will ask you why there is an “S” at the end “Phillip”—there’s your opening!

4. Speak out of turn during a college lecture. Feel free to act apologetic, but your professor and surrounding students will know there is something off about you.

That something is Exeter.

5. Lead them to your living room and stand next to the framed diploma. Their eyes will wander, and, long story short, they will never look at you the same way.

By RYAN XIE

By JACK ARCHER

An Exclusive Glimpse into the Presidential Kitchen

By JACK ARCHER

By JACK ARCHER

By SONNY FITENI

Quarantine Sleep Schedules

By JACK ARCHER 10. The Night Owl: Your waking hours sound normal—until you add p.m.

9. The Sofa Sleeper: You have taken after your cat and never sleep more than three hours at a time. You spend more time on the couch than on your bed.

8. The International Student: 9a.m.’s are your element. If you try to show up to any other class, your teacher gives you

the stink-eye. It’s nice of them to care.

7. West Coast Wimp: You went to your first 9a.m.. Then, you were over the whole 9a.m. EST thing.

6. 24/7/360: You have forgotten that your house is more than a mattress. You dream so lucidly life has no real meaning anymore. You have perfected the art of waking up, going to the bathroom and continuing the storyline of your dream. Several

of them have the potential to be serious Box Office Busters.

5. The EST International Student: Night Owl with justification.

4. “Wait, I have a bed?”: Eye bags nearly large enough to carry the weight of your bad choice and heavy enough to simulate them.

3. SOS: Your friends are very worried. They think you’ve moved time zones like three times, but you haven’t. They

don’t understand why you text them goodnight at 12p.m. one day and 3a.m. the next. You don’t really understand it either.

2. West Coast Warrior: You show up to your 9a.m. WITHOUT COMPLAINING. You grit your teeth to the sound of a 5:59 alarm and drag yourself to your computer screen. A true hero, tough as nails. We would salute you, if you existed.

1. A regular, acceptably timed sleep schedule because you are

a normal, functioning human being who understands time management and how important sleep is if you want to perform at your best during the day and not look and act like a recently resurrected zombie with a bed head: Haha. Just kidding. This one also does not exist.

Thanks for reading. I’m hitting the sack.

Jack Archer, signing off, 6a.m.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Sports Spotlights

Athlete of the Year: Annah Shaheen

By CLAIRE FU Watching for the ball, the Exeter Girls’ Volleyball team stood ready.

7-0 in their match against Loomis Chaffee, they sought to take home their sixth win of the season. Loomis Chaffee’s players hit the ball over the net and down the line, heading high off court above the Exeter girls. But postgraduate Annah Shaheen ran for the ball, lunging back with her arms outstretched, making the dig with one arm and reaching it just before it hit the ground. Shaheen made a pass high enough for libero and lower Eliya Toledano to send the ball over the net. Getting up from her sprawl, she jumped back into position as Exeter won the match 8-0, securing their 3-1 victory over Loomis.

Not only is Shaheen a powerful player. She brings energy and positivity whether on or off the court. As lower Elizabeth Handte put it, “I like to think of Annah as an angel on the sideline, but a beast on the court.”

Shaheen has participated in club volleyball since the fifth grade and was brought into the sport through her family, learning to play from her grandfather. Her mother played volleyball throughout high school, continuing on to play Division 1 in college, and coached Shaheen’s team during her junior and senior years. Shaheen was also coached by her father in middle school, who gained coaching experience during his time in college.

Volleyball was not always the only sport in Shaheen’s life. Though she played soccer from first to sixth grade, both volleyball and soccer were fall sports, and Shaheen had to drop one. “I ultimately chose volleyball because of my family’s positive experience with it,” Shaheen says, “and honestly, I just truly love the sport.”

Shaheen expressed her love for her previous high school team, not-

ing several successes over the years.

“We had quite a big turn around with our record once my mom began coaching my junior year. We went from a 4-12 record and not even making it to the final tournament to a 16-4 record and making it to the championship!” Shaheen said with pride.

She remains in touch with teammates from her previous high school. “They will always have a special place in my heart,” she said. “”They were super successful this year too, defeating the reigning champs and ending their 73 game winning streak.”

In considering a postgraduate year, Shaheen chose Exeter due to its wide-ranging of courses. Her neighbor, Bryce Morales ‘19, also cemented her decision through his love for the school. Of course, Shaheen also took an interest in the Academy’s volleyball team. “I met with coach [Bruce] Shang and some of the girls on the team and ultimately decided that it would be the best place for me after I graduated,” she said.

Upon her arrival, Shaheen felt an incredible sense of community, as though she had gained a little family on campus. “Since we had preseason in August before school actually started, we all became super close and stayed that way for the entire year,” she said. “I think that how close we all were contributed highly to our success as a team. I also loved coach Shang’s coaching style, and there is no way we could have been so successful without him.”

After her postgraduate year at Exeter, Shaheen will be continuing her studies and volleyball career at Wheaton College. “The coach and the team seem like such a fun group of people, and I’m so excited to see what next year has to offer,” she added.

Shaheen’s presence will be greatly missed on and off the court next year. “She leads by example.

Senior Annah Shaheen prepares to serve.

Passing, digging and hitting at a top level in the league,” Shang said.

Her consistent drive, positivity and skill elevated the team at every turn. Prep Coco Barton noted that Shaheen goes “on runs of like ten aces in a row with her jump serve.

Annah was a role model to me.”

Prep Sofia Morais also named Shaheen as a role model in helping the team better themselves. “Coach Shang would often pull me aside and show me what Annah was doing so that I could see how much better my hits or passes could be if I tweaked certain things like Annah did,” Morais said. “Her energy level on the court made you want to

do better as well, and I was almost always smiling when I was on the court with her.”

Handte also noted that Shaheen “will not let a single mistake get to her head. She is always focused on the game and is always thinking about the next point.”

Toledano stressed Shaheen’s admirable persistence and determination. “Her willingness to dive for every ball, even if she wasn’t sure she would get it, was part of the reason that we all looked up to and relied on her,” she said.

“Annah was always a reliable player on the court, putting up consistent points on the scoreboard,”

Annah Shaheen/Instagram Morais added. “If I were on the other team, I would definitely be scared to receive her serve.”

Shaheen’s teammates noted that they will miss her dearly. “Most of all, I will miss our handshake that we did before every first point of every game,” Toledano added.

With her competitive spirit, Shaheen elevated the team’s work ethic, bringing drive and energy no matter her position on the court. “Coaching this team and Annah was a dream,” Shang said. “They all wanted to get better and pushed each other in practice. This is the only way to get a 20-0 team with a New England Championship.”

Athlete of the Year: William Coogan

Senior William Coogan runs across Academy grounds.

By NAT KPODONU Senior Will Coogan will depart the Academy leaving a noteworthy legacy in his wake. As an incredible runner, as well as a well-rounded athlete with numerous achievements, Coogan has brought down many school records during his time at Exeter.

Coogan got a relatively early start on his running career, starting off as a runner in middle school. His experience would later push him to pursue running on Big Red’s track and cross country teams. “I remember doing small little road races in Exeter way back when I was in

kindergarten,” he said. “I did cross country and track in middle school, but really got serious about it when I got to PEA. I played a lot of other sports growing up too, but as I got older I started to focus more and more on running. Track has been really fun at Exeter.”

Hard work, passion and dedication to running quickly put Coogan at the top, setting him apart from other runners by almost literally a mile. “He is an extraordinary athlete and competitor,” Chair of Physical Education Hillary Hall said. “That is not hyperbole. His accomplishments set him apart. Up high on a figurative mountaintop, where peo-

Courtesy of the Communications Office ple who have accomplished special physical feats and events of courage and fierceness stand.” Coogan’s talent certainly speaks for itself, as plenty of the long distance records he has broken were set more than decades back throughout his Exeter track career.

Not only is Coogan an extraordinary athlete, but his kind and optimistic personality makes him a great leader and close friend to his teammates. “Will is a positive and giving teammate,” Coach Toyin Augustus said. “He doesn’t need attention and is quick to praise others.

I really appreciate this trait. Also, he has always warmly welcomed

my daughter and the other kids of coaches when they are at the track.

He is the first to greet them and make them feel welcome through his fun-loving spirit.” Augustus could easily imagine Coogan working with young kids in the future to help nourish their love for being active and extend his reach in sports as well.

One of the things Coogan has valued and cherished most in his time running for Big Red is his team. The bonds he has made with his friends attest to some of his greatest memories in the sport, even through some challenging times.

“During my freshman Winter, we

didn’t have the field house, so all of our runs and workouts were done outside,” he said. :This could have been daunting, but with a “tough” (as in strong) team culture and lots of friends, it was actually very enjoyable. There is a cloud of things I have really taken away from this team. One is all the friendships that I made and cherish. Another is the hardworking nature that it instills for competition. ” After Coogan had three seasons of track under his belt, he has built and maintained strong friendships and memories. The building of the William Boyce Thompson Field House definitely seemed to house one of those memories. “My favorite memory from the field house is our first ever meet in there my sophomore year,” he said. “It was even the first race there, the 4 x 800. It was a really close race but the guys on the team managed to pull it out.

All the spectators were going wild and we had a huge team celebration past the finish line after the race. I don’t think I will ever forget that experience.”

Aside from his impressive array of records, Coogan’s reputation as a caring leader to his team will be remembered after he departs the Big Red track and cross country scene.

Coach Hall described Coogan’s selfless and humble reputation, “He is kind, he is selfless, he is playful, he is humble, he will give up his own glory if it means his teammates get to be glorified, he is a leader, he sets an example… Stories that share instances of those traits will be told just as far into the future as will the stories of his records.” As a last word from Coach Toyin, she said, “I’ll definitely miss Will Coogan, the last of the COOGAN triple track threats!”

Looking forward, Coogan will be headed to UNC to run cross country and track. He expressed excitement and anticipation, especially for the new college environment, concluding, “It will be my first time doing outdoor track since middle school, so I am really excited for it.”

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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Athlete of the Year: Andrew Benson

Senior Andrew Benson swims to the finish line.

By GEORGIE VENCI Exeter’s Swimming and Diving Teams lined the edges of the colossal ten-lane Hixon pool at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, in anticipation for the coming race. The swimmers had assembled for the championship final of the Men’s 200 Yard Freestyle at the 2020 NEPSAC Division 1 Championships.

The crowd watched with anticipation as senior swim star Andrew Benson took on the looming threat of Andover’s New England record holder. Benson, seeded second from the preliminaries that took place before, prepared at the center of the pool. The buzzer cut through the silence of the pool gallery, and the race was on.

Benson flipped in fourth place at the halfway point of the race, 48.38 seconds in and 0.51 seconds off the lead. Trailing, however, was part of his plan—he fired the engines to negative-split the remaining half of the race. 150 yards in, Benson claimed the lead of the race and began to distance himself from the rest of the competition.

At 200 yards, he hit the wall at a time of 1:36.88, winning the race by 0.65 seconds, and beating his seed time by 0.34 seconds. Big

Red erupted, joyous at the victory over Big Blue and the rest of the field. Teammates by the side of the pool and viewers on the sidelines broke into applause.

Benson noted that this was “perhaps the first race that I have ever planned out in my head beforehand. I told [coach Don] Mills five minutes before my race that I was going to try to be last place at the halfway mark and come back at the end.” This was all part of Benson’s scheme to conserve energy until the home stretch of the race, and it paid off.

Benson’s athletic achievements stretch beyond Exeter and to his club team, SOLO Aquatics. At the 2019 New England Senior Championships at the Brown University pool, Benson swam a remarkable 53.6 seconds in his 100 yard breastroke. He broke a 15-year old New England record and was put into the top 50 age group swimmers of all time. “At finals, I swam as fast as I could,” said Benson. “I could not believe that I went as fast as I did.”

Benson’s athletic beginnings took place in his hometown of Newmarket, New Hampshire. He had competed in a wide variety of sports including baseball, track and soccer, but he stopped during his junior year at Exeter to focus

Courtesy of the Communications Office on swimming.

His mother convinced him to start swimming for their local club team out of the PEA pool when he was eight. That team, Exeter Swim Team, was later bought by SOLO Aquatics, an age-group based swim program out of Haverhill, Massachusetts in 2016. He has since swam for SOLO and competed at many high profile meets, including Nationals and Junior Nationals.

Benson’s transition to Exeter as a new lower entered him into a new world. “I had never swam on a high school team before. I found that swimming on the team made me feel a sense of belonging and I was highly supported by my peers,” he said. “The work was a lot harder, but I managed my time to the best of my abilities.”

Coach Avery Reavill recalled a moment from an incredibly difficult practice during Benson’s first year on the team. “At the end of practice, he wanted a time for his 50 Free, and I watched him throw down something like a 20.89. The team went nuts, and they all started checking the record board,” he said. “He had almost broken the school record for the 50 Free, as a lower, at the end of a practice. That’s when I really knew he was something special and that a lot of records were coming

down.”

Throughout his time at Exeter, Benson has grown into an extraordinary teammate, competitor and friend. “He was dependable and always swam his hardest.

I think those qualities made him a great leader,” Reavill said.

Bensons noted he owes this to his coaches, who have mentored him to be the best he can be. “They have taught me many valuable lessons in and out of the pool during my time at Exeter,” he said. “And if Mills had not volunteered as a coach for the Exeter Swim Team when I was a ten years old, I doubt I would be at Exeter at all without his encouragement.”

Benson also had a huge impact on his teammates. “Andrew [Benson] helped me to feel more comfortable when becoming part of the team” prep Andrew Van de Water said.

Upper Yulian Ye recognized the hardworking environment Benson fostered during his time as team captain. “He practices like he races, and vice versa: with a relentless passion. He refuses to quit, and without him, I don’t think I would have gotten through a lot of the tough sets that we’ve had over the years,” Ye said. “I’m grateful to him in that regard.”

Benson’s commitment to the

sport and his lightning-fast times have also encouraged his teammates. “I’m always inspired to get better when I watch Andrew speed through races,” prep Caleb Yu said.

“He’s there at every practice and always the last one to finish lifts.”

Apart from his work ethic, teammates admire Benson’s easygoing and warm personality, as well as his playful sense of humor, which extend beyond the pool.

Upper Josh Yu praised Benson’s “carefree attitude and how he is upbeat and loves to have fun.”

Many teammates shared similar sentiments, with prep Henry Liu saying, “He is always full of jokes. No matter the situation, he will have something up his sleeve to make you laugh, crack a smile, and feel better about whatever happened.”

“In general, his goofy attitude and easygoingness has always made me smile when I see him,” Van de Water added.

Looking forward, Benson plans to swim at the University of Madison. He will take with him many aspects of life that he learned during his time competing for Big Red. “Exeter has taught me how to manage my time properly, and that hard work pays off,” Benson said.

“Building habits is the cornerstone to success.”

Athlete of the Year: Dennesha Rolle

By SOFIA MORAIS One of two Athletes of the Year for spring athletics, Dennesha Rolle, co-captain of the Academy’s Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse team has earned her role as a leader over the past four years. Despite a few setbacks, she has carried herself through hard training with a positive attitude, teaching herself to overcome challenges with incomparable grit and determination. Though Rolle’s presence on the team, both on and off the field, has come to an end after four action-packed years, her role and enthusiasm will not be forgotten by her teammates.

Given Rolle’s standing as a model player, the Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse team had plenty of positive things to say about her. “Dennesha was the anchor of our defense,” senior co-captain Abby Smith said. “She is such a brick wall and no attackers on the other team can dodge around her. She is also our greatest defensive leader; she is directing everyone around but also hyping everyone up to play their best.”

Yet, Rolle’s leadership goes beyond technique. “She brings the positive energizing attitude to the team,” she said. “No matter where she is like the field, bench, practice, or gym, she is making lacrosse fun and giving her full effort which inspires her teammates to do the same.”

Senior Rachel Shu highlighted Rolle’s integrity on the field as well. “[Rolle] is always the hardest worker out on the field. She never fails to bring the intensity to push herself and the rest of the team,” she said. “She is an amazing leader, and you can tell that she put all of her heart into her play.”

Coach Christina Breen agreed, touching on Rolle’s leadership.

“Dennesha is an incredible athlete whose grit and willingness to throw everything she has at her opponent is remarkable,” she said. “She is a natural leader who understands what it takes to compete at the top level.”

Rolle self-identified some assets she brought to the table. “I try to bring leadership to the team in the way I

use my voice on the field. I think my vocality is one of my stronger skills,” she noted. “I also try to bring energy and intensity to our play... I try to lead by example when I play.”

During Rolle’s four years on the team, there was never a dull moment.

Rolle, whose nickname was Neesh to the lacrosse girls, never failed to show her larger-than-life personality when she was with the team. Shu remembered fun times with Rolle before games. “Neesh never stops dancing and singing, and she is always the life of the party. Whether it is in the locker room or on the bus, you will always find her breaking out her moves that never fail to make us smile.”

Smith looked back on some memories from this year’s lacrosse training. “This season was really fun while it lasted. I miss walking out to Phelps with her, directing Sunday practices, playing with her in tryouts, doing the fitness testing and even running the warmup lap with her,” she said. “These are small things I took for granted that I wish I could do again on the same lacrosse team as Neesh.”

Rolle added on, remembering a couple special moments from her time with the team. “I’ll always remember my freshman season when our team was 16-1-1. I had really wanted to go for that record this year,” she said.

Still, Rolle did not always face smooth seas. “Unfortunately, I tore my ACL junior year and wasn’t able to play my junior season, but being a part of the Injured Reserve gave me all the time to cheer on my teammates and watch them progress,” she said. “I loved watching our two 2022’s improve all season long.”

Breen recalled Rolle’s time playing at Phelps Stadium. “Dennesha is very cool and laid back, but she transforms when she gets on the field. I love seeing how she turns into an absolute defensive beast as soon as the starting whistle blows.”

Despite not being able to play on campus as a team, Rolle has served as a co-captain along with Smith, Beez Denter and Jenna

Senior Dennesha Rolle charges down the field.

Brooks this term. Rolle explained what the captains have been doing in order to keep the team together.

“As a team. we Zoom once a week to check in. The captains take turns hosting the meetings and coming up with activities for the team to do together for a few minutes,” she said.

“The team is also paired off into buddy partners, and we have weekly challenges to complete and send to one another.”

Breen noted that Rolle’s talent on the field caught many college coaches’ eyes. “She is a captain and will be going on to play in college,” Breen said. “She was recruited by many schools because coaches were able to quickly see how dominant she is.

The younger players really look up to her.”

Shu agreed, explaining the reasoning behind having Rolle as a co-captain. “As a captain, [Rolle] proves to be a figure who all of us

look up to and admire. She makes sure to give us constructive criticism while also keeping everything super positive and is just insane at lacrosse.”

Looking forward, Rolle does not plan on leaving the lacrosse field any time soon and has committed to Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. Her team expressed their excitement and hopes for Rolle after leaving the Academy.

“She is going to absolutely clean up in the [New England Small College Athletic Conference], where her athleticism will serve her well,” Breen said.

Rolle expressed several goals for the coming years. “I would like to enter college as a strong player in my class and be ready to compete,” she said. “Wesleyan’s Women’s Lacrosse team has been having major success recently, making it to the [National Collegiate Athletic Association Di-

Seacoast Online

vision III] Final Four in 2019, and I am super excited to be a part of that!”

Shu expressed her happiness for Rolle’s upcoming years at Wesleyan. “She is an amazing defender and midfielder and I know her talent will make a big difference on the Wesleyan lacrosse team next year.”

Smith agreed, excited for what’s to come for her teammate. “Dennesha is only getting started, she is going to kill it in college!”

Despite Rolle losing her fourth and final season as a part of the Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse team, she stayed optimistic and hopeful for her own future, as well as the team’s. “I am so sad to leave Exeter without a senior season, but I know GVLAX will be incredible next year, and I will be in stands to watch and cheer,” she said.

“I love this team and this program, and I appreciate my coaches and everyone who has helped me throughout the years.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Athlete of the Year: Abby Smith

By KATHRYN WELCH The cold air of the rink rushed through the lungs of senior co-captain Abby Smith as she waited for the drop of the puck. Her shoulder brushed against the Lawrence Academy winger, eyes focused on the hand of the referee. The sharp whistle blew and Smith exploded off the hashmark, catching her opposing winger off guard. The centers have tied the puck up at the circle, and Smith swooped in, snatching the puck with ease. She skated down the ice with the puck, using her stellar speed to pass all her defenders.

Smith approached the goal, her eyes narrowing in on the Spartan goaltender. She quickly pulled her stick back and winded up for a shot. The puck sailed through the air, right past the goalie, into the net. The Big Red goal song echoed through the rink, as Smith and her teammates celebrated her effortless goal. This top-notch play is just one of many that make Smith stand out on any rink she steps onto, helping the Big Red defeat their enemies.

Senior and co-captain of the Girls Varsity Ice Hockey team Abby Smith is not a single-sport athlete. She shines both on the rink and in Phelps Stadium, holding the position of co-captain of both the lacrosse and soccer teams as well.

Smith started ice hockey at the young age of seven, learning to love the game, just as her mom did.

Like many ice hockey players, she made her start at her local rink’s learn-to-skate. Her mother played both high school and college hockey, and Abby followed right in her footsteps. Smith showed a love for all sports throughout her childhood, playing hockey as well as lacrosse and soccer.

Ever since she started as a prep, Smith has been working hard and improving with every practice and game. Smith commented on her prep season and development. “I am really proud of my personal development during my time on the hockey team,” Smith said. “When I was a prep I was intimidated by the fast play during games, but I have slowly gained confidence over my four years on the team.”

Head Coach Sally Komarek also commented on her start with Smith.

“I first got to know Abby in class

Senior Abby Smith defends puck. actually, and I learned that she was incredibly hardworking, organized, and candid,” Komarek said. “All of these things are also visible in what she brings to the rink.”

Smith also noted how hard work and dedication needed to make an impact on the team. “Prep year I expected things to be handed to me, but I learned the hard way that is not how it works,” she said. I discovered that through personal dedication to getting better you can make more of a space for yourself on the team.”

Smith was quick to reach the highest level of Big Red hockey, using her tenacity and hard work to make her a major attribute of the team throughout her four years.

Many of her teammates commented on her hard work, including her sister and multisport teammate Sami Smith. “I think she really stood out in practice; always giving 100 precent. She always works her butt off in every single situation,” Smith said. “Also during games

she was by far the hardest worker.

She forward, back and everywhere checked and it was very easy to see how hard of a worker she was.”

Komarek shared similar sentiments. “Abby’s hustle is something that stands out in everything she does. I think back to countless moments in practices and games where Abby’s hustle and relentlessness brought such misery to whoever she was playing against,” she said.

Smith’s impressive work ethic certainly paid off, as Smith was one of the top scorers of the season this year. She led the team both on and off the ice. “Abby really helps us to get in the right headspace,” Prep Kate Nixon said. “She knows how to hype us up or get us to lift our heads up.”

Smith’s energy certainly contributed to her leadership style on the rink, as Nixon commented.

“She was always able to find the net and get one in for us, which usually resulted in an energy boost for us too,” she said.

Twitter Assistant Coach Jim Tufts also praised her contagious energy.

“She was very positive with her teammates on the bench (and I am guessing in the locker room) and that helped others to have confidence in their own performances,” he said.

This season, Smith stepped up to her position as captain of the team, setting an example for her teammates. “As a leader when Abby says that we need to pick up the intensity or give a little bit more, her teammates trust that she’s going to be the first person to lead the charge,” Komarek said.

Exeter has been one the greatest experiences for Smith. Her time at the Academy has taught her valuable lessons and fostered close friendships. “Exeter hockey has also taught me to be more independent and self-sufficient. On the Exeter team I have made some of my best friends that I can always count on to support me,” she said. “I look up to my friends, especially the old-

er ones, as role models on how to be a great teammate and leader.”

The team can all agree that next season will not be the same without Smith. “She is a really fun person to be around, and I’ve loved seeing how dynamic of a person she is.

She can be goofy and serious all at the same time, and she’s got such great spunk to her,” Komarek said.

“I will miss coaching Abby because she accepted coaching points and worked hard to perform them as well as she could. I could count on her effort, tenacity and commitment to the team,” Tufts agreed.

Smith will continue her athletic and academic career at Hamilton College, where she will play both hockey and lacrosse. Komarek knows Smith will take everything she learned from Big Red hockey and apply it to every aspect of her life moving forward. “Abby’s going to outwork everyone else around her, and she’s going to do it with humility,” she said. “You just can’t teach that.”

Athlete of the Year: Teddy Keller

By GEORGIE VENCI On a bright day at the historic Newport Country Club in Rhode Island, the Andover Invitational came to a sensational close. As Exeter’s golf team celebrated their tremendous victory, senior Edward (Teddy) Keller, now senior and co-captain, hoisted his own individual trophy.

Keller and the team were incredibly proud of winning a high-profile tournament on the same course where golf icon Tiger Woods won the 1995 U.S. Amateur Championship. Teammate and upper Will Huang described Keller’s victory as “thermonuclear”— Keller had truly shown “the rest of the team to see what we were capable of.”

“Winning the individual medal at the Andover was the highlight of my Exeter career,” Keller said, “but better than that was that the team won the entire tournament. We all played great, and the celebration afterward was unforgettable.”

Keller began playing golf at a very young age. Hailing from a golf-based family, he was first introduced to the sport by his father and grandfather.

Golf became more of a focus in his life in his middle school years. Like any athlete, Keller hates to lose, but something he has learned from Exeter golf is that “great memories come from the losses. For example, our match against Deerfield last year was one of the most fun times I’ve had on the course.”

While his many accomplishments (winning the Deerfield Invitational, coming second at the Kingswood Oxford Invitational) are commendable Keller could not manage the team without his fellow co-captains, senior Kennedy Moore and upper Eunice Kim. “ It’s been the most fun I’ve had at Exeter, and I’ve made some of my greatest memories and best friends through the team,” he said.

Keller specifically works well with Moore. Huang described them as “two peas in a pod… They are so similar when they are on the golf course and

their laid back nature really shines when they play together.”

Kim, a seasoned player, noted that her favorite moments have come from on the road and not the course. “The long van rides to matches can be exhausting, but every minute is worth it with my team,” she said.

Moore started his golf career in middle school but did not commit to the sport until coming to Exeter. He made the Varsity team as a prep and has played all four years. He has also been captain for his upper and senior years. Still, Moore noted that the highlight of his Exeter career was the much anticipated Andover Invitational. “It was truly a special day that I will look back on as one of the highlights of my life,” he said.

Coaches Bob “Beetle” Bailey and Ian Willikens have been supportive of all three captains since they began at Exeter. “[We] consider them more like family members than coaches,” Moore said.

The rest of the team is certainly appreciative of the captains’ hard work and commitment to the team, both on and off the course. Upper Justin Fedele reflected on his own transition to Exeter. “I unfortunately haven’t had the chance to be here for long, and I haven’t even competed in a spring season yet, but the captains most definitely helped with preparing the team for the spring term,” he said. They made sure we were all on the same page and ready to go.”

“I admire their dedication,” upper William Vietor said. “Collectively, the captains have poured a ton of time into golf, and it really shows. Golf is a sport that demands tremendous amounts of patience, so I admire and respect those who have clearly put in the time and effort.”

Through all of the intensity of golf, the captains know when to step back and enjoy the spirit with the team. “If someone had a bad day, they’re quick to help cheer them up, and they love to joke around and keep a lively, positive, and fun atmosphere,” Vietor added.

“They’re always quick to give advice with golf or life related questions.

They’re all eager to help with your swing or to give you 333 advice—especially Teddy and Kennedy.”

Huang agreed, adding that the captains “help make the team environment laid back and comfortable for people. This is key with helping the team perform at their highest. I’m going to miss their jokes and banter during practice the most,” he said.

The captains have made a huge impact on the team and have made spring

term more exciting for the team. “The captains are the best,” upper May Chen said. “Every year, I spend fall and winter looking forward to being able to play spring term.”

“It was so weird when [Keller and Moore] both went abroad fall term because William Vietor and I had a tradition of saying hi to both of them in funny ways, which made running into them on the paths the best,” Chen added.

Currently, the captains are working hard to keep the golf team close

Senior Teddy Keller prepares to swing.

although campus is closed. They do this by hosting Zoom meetings and regularly checking in with the athletes.

“They have organized some Zoom meetings to get the team together and talk about golf,” Huang said. “They also check up on us from time to time to make sure that we are doing well with classes and staying sane.”

“I will play golf for the rest of my life, for sure,” Keller concluded. “It is the thing I love to do the most, and I can’t imagine not playing.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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Read about how Football improved over months of practice, 97.

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Read about Field Hockey’s positive team dynamic, 98.

Boys’ Cross Country Sets Records

By OTTO DO and CHIEKO IMAMURA Sweeping both E/a and the Interscholastic Championships, Boys’ Varsity Cross Country earned itself a record-setting season this fall.

To the many seniors on the team, these victories were a fitting farewell.

“There is nothing more special than an Interschols victory to cap off a high school cross country career,” senior co-captain Sam Kim said. “For all of our graduating seniors, it was a special moment that we will never forget.”

The team’s near-victory last year made this year’s win especially worthy of celebration. “The girls varsity team won last year, but we experienced the pain of falling short of victory by one point,” Kim said. “For us to come back this year and win the title was a great reflection of our team’s resilience.”

Coach Nicholas Unger agreed, while noting that Interschols was not the team’s only major success. “Beyond winning Schols, a particular high point was our season opener at Bobcat Invitational,” he said. “Only recently, thanks to Coach [Brandon] Newbould’s tireless advocacy, have we been allowed to race at Bobcat and Black Bear, and not only do these local races build community, but they allow us to tune up for the only big [New England Preparatory School Track Association] race at the end of the season,” Unger explained.

With this year’s victories came a number of misfortunes. “One instance,” lower Bradley St. Laurent recalled,

“was when [upper] Croix Mikofsky, a varsity caliber runner, got injured and was told he would not be able to race for the rest of the season, including Interschols.”

Mikofsky, whose profound impact has been felt by both younger and more experienced runners at Exeter, became a much-missed presence on the track.

“Croix has been one of my biggest role models on this team since prep fall, and until the injury he was having an absolute breakthrough season,” lower and Junior Varsity runner Tommy Seidel said.

Despite Mikofsky’s inability to compete, he offered cheer from the benches. “Croix’s injury shook us up, but Croix was there to support every race and was an integral part of our Interschols win,” St. Laurent said.

Senior co-captain Jinwoo Kang added that Mikofsky’s injury “definitely made the team think about how lucky we are to be able to run and compete and do what we love—something that tends to get lost in the day-to-day at Exeter.”

Though the team lost one of their strongest runners, the boys maintained a strong performance record. Seidel attributed this success to the team’s homogeneous pool of talent. “We have insane talent at the very top of our team, but what sets us apart from some other schools like Andover is the depth that allows [Junior Varsity] runners to step into Varsity spots, and lower JV runners to fill the upper JV spots if somebody is hurt or not having the best race,” Seidel said.

Cross country can be a grueling sport, but St. Laurent, along with his teammates, viewed their hours of training as a highlight of their day. “The team is very close-knit, and I think the environment that we have created made each member of the team look forward to training each day rather than dreading the hard workouts and such,” St. Laurent said.

Senior Co-captain Will Coogan agreed. “It was very easy leading a team that worked this hard. Everyone showed up to practice ready to work hard,” he said. “On race days, everyone was ready to leave it all out there. With all the great attitudes on the team, it was a very good experience.”

Moreover, St. Laurent noted that the team’s three coaches, Nicholas Unger, Bill Jordan and Brandon Newbould, offered unconditional support every step of the way. “During each practice, they would always run or bike beside us and were always very supportive,” St. Laurent said.

With supportive coaches and teammates, incoming runners were bound to improve. St. Laurent noted that new runner David Chen “improved his 5k time by a huge amount.”

A relatively new runner, D. Chen noted his surprise at the team’s work ethic on his first day with the team. “I remember thinking everyone was so fast and that I’d never be so good,” he said. “One particular moment for me, despite not being a ‘highlight’ for the team per se, was watching Will Coogan, Varun Oberai and Connor Chen run together in the first mile time trial.

It was absolutely amazing.”

D. Chen attributed much of his growth to one-on-one support from upperclassmen. “Jack Liu really helped me a lot ever since the first day,” he said. “I was having a lot of anxiety about whether or not I would make the team, and he was there to offer advice and support. Whenever we went out on a run, and I wasn’t looking too good, he would check in with me. I remember he even stayed behind to run with me.”

This year’s team was truly one for the books. “I have never seen a team as deep as this one. The sheer amount of running talent was ridiculous,” Unger, a 16-year coach, said. “But I always say: hard work beats talent given time.

And the hallmark is this team, and of this program, is home-growing our talent from prep year to senior year with consistent and hard training, especially high volume over the summer.”

“Our undefeated JV squad exemplifies the extent of our depth,” Unger added. “At Interschols, they earned a perfect score of 15 points–that just doesn’t happen at a big championship meet!”

Kim agreed, highlighting how his four years running for Big Red shaped him. “This year’s cross country team is far and away the strongest one that I’ve been part of in my time at Exeter. I credit that to our team culture,” he said.

“Everybody loves to log the miles and we see the results over time. We don’t need to do heavy recruiting to get a few star athletes that will carry our team.

Even when our varsity is winning races, our JV dominates as well. There are

Boys’ Soccer Boasts Five Win Streak

By HENRY LIU On many a brisk fall day, Varsity Boys’ Soccer paraded onto the Academy’s fields in a tsunami of red and white. Leading the charge were senior co-captains Jake Gehron and Billy Menken who, under the direction of coaches Nolan Lincoln, Mustapha Achab and A.J. Cosgrove, pushed through an exhilarating season. The team ended the season with a final record of 11-5-2 (W-L-T). Of the eleven wins, six were shutouts against Brewster Academy, Bridgton Academy, Berwick Academy, St. Paul’s School, Cushing Academy and Kimball Union Academy.

The season began with a slow start, with three games lost to Milton Academy, Loomis Chaffee School and Belmont Hill. However, the boys turned the season around with a five-game winning streak.

Upper Mathew Chen, star goalie, stated that “a highlight was shutting out St. Paul’s and crushing them 5-0.”

Though this was just one of several shutouts, Chen noted that this victory

stood out due to the impressive nature of the starters for St. Paul’s. “For them to come to our turf, they have really great strikers, who are going to Dartmouth, and to shut them out was really a feeling for me, going against some of the top strikers in the league.”

Gunthrie added, “We dominated throughout the whole game.”

This triumphant win demonstrated the team’s growth since last year.

“We really pulled our season together against St. Paul’s, who we had a very close fought game with last year, but [we] blew them out of the water this year,” senior Carson Garland said.

Another memorable game was played against Bridgton Academy.

“When we played Bridgton Academy, we struggled to score until the last two minutes, when Finn O’Brien finished a corner on a set play. It was great to see that we didn’t give up and played until the final whistle,” upper Jack Burgess described.

The game against Kimball Union Academy ended in a 2-0 shutout.

“One of our best games was the second to last of the season, against Kimball Union,” Menken recalled. “Both

teams were battling hard, but we held strong for longer and managed to score two goals in five minutes when we wore them down. That felt really good.”

The team maintained this energy into E/a weekend, just three days later. Though the team missed qualifying for playoffs, they capped a successful season with a 1-1 tie against Big Blue.

This year’s captains, Billy Menken and Jake Gehron, were valuable to the team and set a strong example for the members, as well as the future captains. “[The three seniors] were all great leaders on and off the field, and they really helped us elevate our playing to a higher standard over the course of the season,” Chen said.

Senior Carson Garland highlighted Menken’s efforts. “Billy was always a grinder, at practice, in games, everywhere,” he said.

Menken reflected upon his term as captain with fondness. “I used my experience with the beautiful game to support kids on the team. I frequently explained to teammates what I’ve been fortunate enough to learn through year-round, high-level soccer most of

my life,” he said. “Before or after practice I’d talk to them about techniques and tactics to improve their game, and often worked on the specifics with them. I have fond memories of staying after practice on the turf until the stadium lights went out… and continuing to play in the dark.”

This support and guidance empowered the team to achieve a standard of excellence on the field. “Billy Menken was a leader on the field in both practices and games. Even before I got here, Billy was organizing and leading captains’ practices in the spring,” Guthrie said. “There wasn’t a single minute in a game or practice where he was switched off, and his work ethic definitely rubbed off on the rest of the team.”

The team further commended head coach Cosgrove and assistant coaches Lincoln and Achab, who helped turn defense into a secret weapon this season. “They’ve really helped us solidify our defense. The problem last year was that we were conceding too many goals, and they’ve really put a focus on maintaining a solid defense,” Chen said. “In that element, their coaching

Football Improves from Prior Season

By KATHRYN WELCH Postgraduate and wide receiver Justin Jameson’s feet pounded on the turf as he pumped his legs faster. Racing down the field, he used one arm to push off the chest of the Worcester Academy defender struggling to keep up with him. The football entered his line of vision as he flew through the air and stretched to grab hold of the ball. Once the ball touched the tips of his fingers, he tucked the ball into his side and began to drop to the ground.

As his body returned to the ground once again, he looked up to see the referee raising his arms. This stellar touchdown by Jameson became just one instance of Big Red dominating Phelps Stadium this season.

This fall’s Boys’ Varsity Football team faced many ups and downs in a true rollercoaster of a season. Though the team finished with a final record of 1-7, the program as a whole is on the rise, and there is quite a bit to look forward to in the near future. The team opened with a loss at home against Taft School, before jumping back up to snatch their first win since a game against Loomis in 2017. Although the next six games resulted as losses on the record, quite a few of them kept fans on the edge of their seats. To put it briefly, Big Red Football is making a comeback.

Players noted the team’s game against Choate as an example of their

improvement. “The entire game was a grind, both defenses played really well. We knew that Choate was a very good team, and we felt like if we played the whole 60 minutes, then we could compete with them” senior Zeb Tilton said.

The team definitely competed, keeping the score to a close 7-14. The score was a major improvement from last year’s 7-53 and 2017’s 0-49 results. “I feel we really held our own against one of the best teams in the conference, and if we could have played like that every game, it would have been a very different season.” postgraduate Tommy Palmer added.

Upper Hugh McLaughlin noted that the Choate game was the highlight of his season. “Not the outcome we wanted, but that was based off a debatable call after Mike had a great catch that was ruled out of bounds that would have sent us into overtime, after being outscored the previous two years, it was good to get them 14-7 with a last second call, and I look forward to hopefully winning next year.” he said.

Another highlight of many players’ season was a close loss against Andover, with a heartbreaking score of 14-13. Losing to Andover, especially during a home game, is never an easy pill to swallow. However the players chose to look at the bright side of this game. Upper Owen McKiernan noted that his favorite play

of the game was “JJ’s running back sweep pass to Zeb at the goal line, and then the touchdown which followed was definitely a highlight.”

Senior Ademide Kosoko also stressed this play as a key moment in the game. “Zeb Tilton was definitely a standout player in this game.

He caught the pass that brought us back from a huge fourth and long,” he said. This touchdown emphasized the entire team effort that powered the Big Red Football machine this year, bringing the score to the heartstopping 14-13 result.

Though the outcome was not what the team expected, postgraduate Ben Harding stressed, “The Andover game was the most fun, just because there were so many people and I’ve never experienced a game like that before,” Once again, the strength of Big Red spirit brought power to the team on the field, giving them the ability to keep fighting for the win.

However, a home game against Worcester was the moment the team had been building up to for the past two years. “That game was the second game of the year, and the win really felt amazing. It was really an accumulation of all our hard work, the hours that we put in, really since the day I personally stepped foot on campus my upper year,” senior co-captain Gannon McCorkle said. “It was really nice to see a lot of the guys get very emotional and seeing all of our hard

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work pay off after a very long time.”

“We were just playing to our best ability that game.” Harding added.

This game showed players and their supporters on the sidelines the true capability of this hard-working and dedicated team. When commenting on this game, postgraduate Aise Pream quoted basketball star Allen Iverson: “I go out there and die for and play every game like it’s my last.” This mindset really shined through as the entire team fought hard for this win.

Postgraduate Mike Mikula attributed the team’s success on their energy during that game. “I think we had a lot of swagger at that point that we were carrying in from the preseason, after a really good Taft team we lost by five, so we felt good about that even though it was a loss. And then after pretty much dismantling Worcester, we felt really good about our chances and then went into Choate, we played a really good game, but that Worcester game set the tone for the next 3-4 weeks.”

The Big Red spirit also shined through when it came to the team dynamic, with the team’s bonds showing on the field. Pream highlighted the efforts of two of his teammates.

“John Han and Captain Gannon stood out to me. They just kept bringing the energy,” he said.

This energy was maintained in both games and practices, and the

Read about Girls’ Cross Country’s record breaking year, 99.

probably ten kids that did not end up on the varsity Interschols roster for our team who would be top runners at any other school.”

“Any kid can join the program as a prep who has never run competitively before, and be a top runner by senior year,” Kim said.

Like D. Chen, Kim had a special relationship with upperclassmen during his earlier years. “Since prep year, I have kept the Exonian article of my prep year captains getting Athletes of the Week on my wall in my dorm room.

The leadership that those guys showed from day one resonates with me to this day,” he said. “As a leader, I hope that the younger kids on the team will have the same drive that my captains instilled in me, striving to be the best versions of themselves, not because they are told to, but because they feel motivated to.”

Looking back, Kang stressed that the team meant more than victory. “I don’t think naming Interschols as this year’s highlight would really do justice to what the team really means to everyone,” he said. “The highlight of the season was getting to show up everyday, see each others’ faces, and run.”

Two terms later, the team’s fall performance continues to motivate its members. “Especially now, during this chaotic spring, motivation to keep running and keep working as hard as you can sometimes be hard to find,” St. Laurent said. “One thing that really helps me get out the door is simply the promise that in the fall I will be back with the team, and I am so excited for even the most average things like a 5-mile recovery.”

Even as some runners graduate, they will carry with them one of the team’s mottos: indomitable perseverance. “Ache te Vitu.”

has definitely helped us a lot and get results that we might not have gotten.”

Gehron added, “As the season went on, we became more organized and our defense was much better in the second half of the season.”

While the team had a great second half of the season, it was not enough to squeeze into the playoffs, coming in at ninth place. “The season went very well, apart from not making the playoffs, we were one spot away from making the top eight,” Gehron noted.

“Eventually, we were able to get things going,” prep Cameron Gunthrie added, “but, by then, it was too late.”

Despite the slight setback of barely missing playoffs, the season was still a memorable one for the whole team.

Menken only had praise for his teammates. “I’m proud of everyone for giving their teammates their all in every single game, but more importantly in each practice without fail and even over the summer before the season,” he said.

Gunthrie also acknowledged the camaraderie on the team. “We were all very close, which is what I think helped us begin to play well together after the first three losses. Everyone pushed each other to work harder, and I’m grateful that our captains were able to create that environment in practices and games.”

coaching staff contributed to it as well. “Coach Glennon is your coach when you need him to be, and he’s there to support you when you need him to support you and there to laugh with you when you need to laugh,” McCorckle said.

Looking forward to next year, Tilton hoped his successors would recapture this year’s chemistry. “They have some really great captains, who I think will lead them to a strong season,” he said.

Kosoko echoed his teammate’s sentiments. “I’m excited to see many of the current uppers playing as seniors. A lot of them showed a great deal of improvement this year and most saw significant playing time.

Next year, they are going to dominate the league,” he said.

McKiernan is excited to get back on the field in the fall. “All the boys are pumped for next year and know that this previous year was a turn around for the program. We’re getting a winning record next year and are looking forward to shocking some people,” he said.

McLaughlin also noted his excitement, though he had some thoughts on areas of growth as well. “We need to start playing as a team, as one unit rather than as individuals trying to do their own thing, or small units within the team. I think if we get everyone working together at the same time, we can get a couple wins together,” he said.

“The record of the football team may not have been the best this year, but it was the start of a new chapter to Exeter Football,” Kosoko added. “Be prepared for what’s coming.”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Girls’ Volleyball Brings the Crowds

By NAT KPODONU With a huge crowd of Exonians cheering, the last few seconds of the game sped by faster than usual. Undefeated. That’s what the Big Red Girls’ Volleyball team realized as they closed the game against Andover with a winning score of 3-0. After continuous wins throughout the season, the game against Andover capped off their already-perfect season with yet another win. According to co-captain Angelle Diamond, winning E/a this year was particularly special, considering their loss the previous year.

Going into the game, the team prepared through humble effort.“We expected this season to be a rebuilding season, as the team last year lost a lot of seniors. We approached pre-season with the need to get better and support each other, and went into every game knowing we would dive for every ball and put our full effort in,” upper Eliya Toledano said. “We maintained neutral expectations going into each game, knowing that our team would perform based solely on our resilience, ability to support each other and learning from our mistakes.”

“Each game obviously had their own preparations depending on the opponent, but I think generally each game we really wanted to focus on keeping energy throughout the game, no matter what the score was,” senior co-captain Mia Glinn added. “Luckily, our team chemistry was really strong and we were able to stay focused and energized at practice, which led to results during games.”

Even with all the preparation and hard work, the team could not have won without the help and guidance of head coach Bruce Shang and assistant coach Suzan Rowe. “I have loved having Shang as a coach because he trusts all of us to do the right thing.

He only intervened when he had to, which gave us players a lot of independence to do what we thought was best,” Glinn said. “While his guidance was obviously necessary, his approach to coaching allowed us to teach each other the game of volleyball and push each other to be the best player we can.”

Similarly, Toledano and upper Dylan O’Day stressed that Shang’s “tough love” pushed the team to play their best. “Coach Shang was tough

on us throughout the season, and even when we were very confident we would win the next game, he prioritized getting better and preparing for anything,” Toledano said. “He kept us humble and respectful about our wins and supported us through our ups and downs. He knows each one of us individually and ultimately promoted the Volleyball family bond that we maintain off and on the court. All of us on the team knew that if we received individual praise from our coaches, it was well deserved.”

“One thing that I really thought added to our success was that Coach Shang never really told us that we were good,” O’Day added. “After we had a good game, he would congratulate us and then spend next practice working on something that could still use improvement. Even if our team was good this year, there was always something that we could do better in the next game.”

Rowe also received her share of praise. “Coach Rowe was an amazing assistant coach and she always knew what to say to cheer us up during our off days and motivate us to play to our full potential,” Toledano said. “In

this case, tough love from our coaches (and our captains) is what made this season so amazing.”

Like their coaches, this year’s seniors had a particularly large impact on the team. “Our senior captains (Angelle Diamond, Joy Liu, and Mia Glinn) stepped up the plate this year and were key leaders in leading us to such an amazing season. I also want to congratulate postgraduate Annah Shaheen for her volleyball commitment to Wheaton College and senior Angelle Diamond to Syracuse University volleyball!” Toledano said.

“They are such outstanding players, and I know me and many younger players on our team will be going out to support them in the upcoming seasons!”

O’Day agreed, praising her fellow seniors as well. “Our season wouldn’t be what it was without our setter Joy. She led the team with so much poise and patience and was able to do what had to be done to get wins for our game,” she said. “Her volleyball intelligence was really helpful in tight situations. Angelle was also a standout player, getting us a lot of our kills throughout the season and bringing

Boys’ Water Polo Places at Interscols

By CLAIRE FU and SOFIA MORAIS Deep into the fifth overtime, senior co-captain Milo Walshe beat his legs furiously to keep himself out of the Andover defense’s reach. He watched the ball pass back and forth between his teammates, searching for the perfect opening to score. The Andover water polo players darted from side to side, attempting to block any potential goals.

Sensing the right moment, M. Walshe called for the ball, looking for a pass.

His teammates threw him the ball, as he advanced further into the defense.

Palming the ball with ease, he made one final kick, which propelled him even further out of the water. With his arm cocked back, he snapped forward as the ball launched into the back of the net—long before Andover’s goalie could even react. The whistle rang, confirming the end of the game, and his teammates erupted with joy, roaring and pounding on the water.

Varsity Boys’ Water Polo had a stellar season, racking up eight wins and a second-place finish during Interschols against Brunswick. After a strenuous pre-season, the boys went into games determined and ready to win.

No matter the opponent, the team kept the focus sharp and effort high.

“Going into most games this season, I just try to stay calm and focused beforehand, and then, once the whistle blows, I try to play like everything is on the line,” M. Walshe said. “Our coach, [Don Mills,] always told us that there

were ten other guys on the bench eager to jump in, so the starters can’t hold anything back during game time.”

“We prepare for each game with a good meal, and of course some hype songs,” upper Adam Tuchler added.

Keeping up the grit and mentality needed for victory led to some unforgettable games, including a battle against Loomis during the Liquid Four tournament and back-to-back wins against Andover. Senior co-captain Charlie Venci argued that the semi-final win against Loomis was the biggest game of the season. “We knew all season that we would face them in the first round of the playoffs and were determined to turn the tables and avenge the loss we suffered earlier in the season,” he said. “Our defensive movement in the game was off the charts. Michael Carbone and Cooper Walshe played incredibly well and shut down one of their top players. Aidan O’Brien was a standout between the posts and Osiris [Delano-Russo] and David Mancini lead the goal-scoring efforts.”

The boys agreed that the play of the game was when upper Mancini scored while the team was down a player, putting them ahead 8-7 with less than a minute to go. “He brought down the hammer on Loomis, and the game was over from there,” Venci proudly recalled.

M. Walshe couldn’t help but stress that “beating Loomis whilst going into the fourth quarter losing was sick. They had one really strong player, so we

managed to shut him down.”

In addition to their successful game versus Loomis, the team boasted not one, but two, wins against Andover this season. In the first encounter, the rivals played a game with five overtimes, resulting in the longest game in New England Preparatory School Athletic Council history.

Upper David Mancini hgihlighted the energy in the natatorium during the game. “The game was close to the buzzer with goals going back and forth, but when it came down to the win, we always had the winning spirit in us,” he said.

Competing with Andover never failed to entail a high-energy, thrilling match, as Venci described. “I will not forget the worn-down looks of my teammates both in and out of the pool every time Coach called a timeout or we had a break between overtime periods. We were exhausted. Nevertheless, we persisted until the very end,” he said. “The sheer joy on Milo Walshe’s face when he scored the game-winner in quintuple overtime was a spectacle.”

With one win already in the books, the team went on to challenge Andover for what they hoped would be another victory. However, they knew it would not be easy, considering what a fight the previous Andover match had been.

M. Walshe enthusiastically recounted his younger brother’s help in the game. “With 13 seconds left, my brother Cooper managed to finesse a steal and made the assist that sent us

into overtime,” he said. “During golden goal, I stole the ball off of a poor pass and dished it to Charlie Venci, who sniped the game winning goal. In games like these, the nerves and adrenaline are both off the charts. And I think looking back they are the most incredible moments of my time as an athlete.”

Other teammates went on to describe their own highlights of the season. One moment that stood out to Tuchler was “when Osiris Russell-Delano did trick shots on the other team.

I remember once he pretended to pass the ball, but actually threw it backhand into the cage.”

Tuchler also highlighted upper Cooper Walshe’s growth throughout the season. “Cooper Walshe was not very good at the start of the season, but now he’s one of the best players,” he said.

M. Walshe also touched on his younger brother’s importance to the team. “Cooper Walshe is scrawny but definitely the scrappiest player on our team. He would take on any defender no matter their size and usually lock them down or steal the ball from them.”

Though his brother naturally held a special place in his heart, M. Walshe expressed appreciation for many other teammates. “Charlie Venci’s speed was unmatched throughout this entire season, and his ability to create offensive opportunities off of the counterattack is incredible. Michael Carbone is one of the strongest players in the league and he was vital in shutting down offensive threats that we played against this sea-

Field Hockey Works Together

Exeter Field Hockey runs downfield.

By KATHRYN WELCH Shouts rang out across the Hatch Field. With the game clock showing seconds left, Exeter and Northfield Mount Hermon players battled for the ball in front of the Hogger netminder.

The score remained at 3-3, after a full

Courtesy of the Communications Office

regulation and all but 20 seconds of overtime. Suddenly, senior Jill Cloonan emerged from the scrum with the ball.

She took a step to her left and fired a shot at the lower left corner. A thud rang out across the field as the ball found the back of the net.

The team rushed the field with

joy as fans stood and screamed on the sidelines. For Big Red, the hard-fought match had ended in success. And Cloonan’s winner marked her fourth goal of the game. Big Red’s home victory was one for the books. Though the team finished the season with a record of seven wins and nine losses, highlight-reel plays like Cloonan’s overtime winner followed the Girls’ Varsity Field Hockey team wherever they traveled this fall.

In pre-season, Exeter hosted its annual Jamboree with Pingree, Lawrence, Nobles and Brooks before playing a home scrimmage against Groton. In the first eight games of the season, Big Red walked away with only three wins, over Middlesex, Brewster and NMH. In the second half of the season, however, Exeter dropped the hammer. The team topped Tilton, Kimball Union, Dexter and, most notably, St. Paul’s.

For senior co-captain Sophia Rosati, the win over St. Paul’s was among the best games of the season.“That was the first time we had beaten St. Paul’s in all of my time at Exeter, and there is always a competitive game between us. It was very exciting to see everyone play their hearts out in that game,” Rosati said.

Postgraduate Sierra Anderson agreed. “I have not been around long enough to know the rivalry, but I know the team fought hard and earned that win,” she said.

While the team fell short of Andover in the last game of the season, many players remained thrilled with the result, given Big Blue’s strong program

in the last few years. Senior co-captain Leah Cohen expressed her joy at the team holding Andover to zero goals in the second half. “They scored on us a lot in the beginning, but once we figured it out, our defense was strong and did not let anything get through,” she said. “Although we lost, it helped to see this positive in the negative. I know that we were proud of what we did on the field that second half and I don’t think our 3-0 loss should overshadow the hard work.”

While graduating seniors received a fitting close to their years at Exeter, non-seniors also celebrated a season of growth and development. Two players who showed tremendous improvement this season were upper Annie Smaldone and prep Kate Nixon. Rosati noted that Nixon’s respectable performance at JV tryouts earned her a spot on the varsity team. “She caught the eyes of both myself and coach [Mercy] Carbonell at JV tryouts and, although nervous at first, she worked very hard throughout the season to step up her game and it showed,” she said.

Upper Ursie Wise praised Smaldone’s work ethic over the course of the year. “She is an ice hockey goalie who had never played [field hockey] before, but that didn’t stop her. She was quick to pick up the skills,” Wise said.

Echoing her teammate’s sentiments, Cohen expressed pride in Smaldone’s work in the fall season. “She was never timid and put herself out there during every game, working to defend the goal. I look forward to watching her continue to grow as a player and learn

tons of energy to every event.”

Though E/a marked a special experience, there were countless exceptional games this season. “I think the most significant game as a team was probably the championship game. In previous games, there would be a few flaws in our playing, or something that needed working on, but in our last game, everything just seemed to piece together,” prep Sofia Morais said.

“Everyone did their part and the bench was really supportive. It was just a really great game to be a part of.”

“Going into the final game, we discovered we were going to play against Hopkins, a team that had moved up in the ranks as the underdogs and was unlike the teams that we had previously played in our leagues and past season Finals,” Toledano added. “It was uncharted territory for the team, and a lot of us didn’t know what to expect, but we went in confident and focused.

I can say for sure that teamwork, resilience and team morale won us that game. It was the best feeling ever going undefeated 20-0 and winning the finals after putting up such a huge fight, and I wouldn’t trade this season’s team for anything in the world!”

With a perfect season, Girls’ Volleyball stepped up and showed Big Red that, even under pressure, energy, teamwork and dedication produce results.

son,” he said.

M. Walshe went on to describe the role boys’ goalie played in the team’s morale. “Aidan O’Brien improved tremendously as a goalie, and I think his charisma is what helped us win when the game was on the line.”

Mancini reflected on the season and the impact the seniors had on the team.

“All the seniors on our team got all of us together and ready for every opponent we faced. Their love for the sport made all of us realize the cost of every game and that winning should and would be the only outcome for us,” he said.

Heading into next year’s season, the boys look forward to prospective recruits that could add to an already strong team. “With the loss of some amazing talent, the seniors will be greatly missed, Mancini said. “I am looking forward to bonding with the incredible group of guys and can’t wait to see the new recruits!”

After a successful season, the seniors know it will be hard to leave such a tight and encouraging team.

However, captains M. Walshe and Venci know the team will be in good hands next season. “We hope that next year’s captains and the rest of the team carry forward with pride. I, like many of the Bear Polo alums, will be following the team’s progress closely, and we will always be cheering for Big Red.” At the end of many incredible games, Venci recapped his last season with co-captain and friend M. Walshe and the successes they achieved. “Winning against every boarding school in the league brought on a feeling of euphoria that Milo and I have chased for four years.”

more knowledge of the game. She has great potential,” Cohen said.

While they pulled off an impressive performance, players were most proud of the team’s community during the season. Cohen noted that fostering team synergy was among the co-captain’s goals. “This year, Sophia and I worked hard to create an environment in which everyone felt like they had a place and everyone could be friends with everyone,” she said. “We ate as a team, walked as a team and supported each other on and off the field.”

In the eyes of many players, such efforts made playing for the team all the more enjoyable. Anderson, a newcomer, highlighted her teammates’ respect and inclusivity. “My teammates and the coaches did a great job making me feel welcome. I loved how everyone on the team was so close, regardless of grade level,” she said. “Whether we won or lost, we sang on the bus ride home. At the end of the season, I felt just like a four-year senior.”

This year, the team graduates six seniors, each of whom has left a lasting impact on the Big Red Field Hockey program. “They really carried the team’s dynamic with their uplifting spirit. I’ve looked up to all of them a lot since my prep year,” Wise said. Next fall’s squad will be led by co-captains Ellie Griffith and Margaret Norsworthy.

In the end, Big Red attacked the season with optimism and hard work.

Even in the face of adversity, there was a lesson to be learned. As Cohen put it, “Sometimes, it’s not about winning the most but instead about pulling together as a team and knowing that you worked your hardest to lift each other up in games, practices and everyday life.

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JUNE 7, 2020

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Girls’ Soccer Achieves Five Win Streak

By CHARLIE VENCI

At the sound of the whistle, senior co-captain Abby Smith threw her hands in the air. Around her, the Big Red Girls’ Varsity soccer squad cheered in unison.

They had just edged out Kimball Union Academy with a final score of 1-0. The team lined up to shake hands with their opponents, sharing smiles all around.

This home victory began a five-game winning streak, among the longest in the team’s history.

While the girls’ win over KUA was one for the books, the players also celebrated victories over the legendary programs at Deerfield and Brooks this season. For A. Smith, the Deerfield game was particularly thrilling.

“When we play on their field, they have tons of fans that come out and yell at us because there is nothing else to do in Deerfield. It makes the game more exciting, so ending up with the win in that close game made the bus ride back more enjoyable,” she said. Following the two wins over KUA and Deerfield, Big Red went on to claim victories over Groton, St. Paul’s and Middlesex, marking a five game win streak that is rare in prep school soccer. However, the momentum did not hold in the final game of the season, played against Big Blue. Andover escaped with a 1-0 win at Phelps Stadium.

Though many players were disappointed with the finish, they said only happy things about the season as

a whole. For senior co-captain Robin Potter, the five-game win streak was historic. “It was pretty exciting for us to win five games in a row. When I came in as a prep, the thought of that happening seemed crazy,” she said.

Of course, such a successful stretch of games did not come as easily as it may have seemed. “We hit a slump in the middle of the year and lost a bunch of games in a row. We overcame this sad and negative mentality from losing by working hard in practice and competing against each other with small scrimmages,” A. Smith said. It was the work in the first half of the season that led to a glorious finish.

Throughout the grind in the first half of the season, the spotlight was on preps Ryan Pate and Sami Smith. S. Smith, the younger sister of captain A. Smith, made the team as a goalie and ended up being the starter by the end of the season. For postgraduate Emma Upton, S. Smith’s growth throughout the season was special. “It was fun to watch the improvement of our goalie, Sami Smith, over the course of the season.

Coming in as prep, she adjusted quickly to a higher level of play and became a confident and vocal player,” she said.

Upper Tessa Shields concurred with Upton, making it clear that having S. Smith in net was very helpful for the defense. “Sami grew into her position as starting goalie and became more instructive on the field, which is very helpful for the defense,” she said.

Senior co-captain Dennesha Rolle also had some praise for S. Smith.

“Sami Smith improved the most over the course of the season and was rightfully awarded [Most Improved Player],” she said. “As an incoming freshman, it was so impressive how Sami was able to handle herself and gain composure as the season went on.”

A. Smith noted that Pate also had a tremendous season playing right back for Big Red. “She was our starting right back the whole year. She is extremely athletic and smart and can compete with any forward on the other team. As the year went on, she gained more confidence,” A. Smith said.

With another successful season on the books, the team looks forward to next year. Though they will be graduating a number of seniors this year, quite a bit of talent remains in the other classes. The seniors, who put on their red jerseys for the last time this fall, will be remembered for their illustrious careers. They, too, will remember Exeter with fondness.

For Upton, who only had one year on the team, the short time frame made the experience more special “Coming to Exeter as a [postgraduate], I’m so thankful that I had the soccer team to welcome me to campus. Everyone was so caring and supportive, and I looked forward to practice every day,” she said.

For Potter and Rolle, who have both been members of the squad since their prep years, it is the end of an era.

Upper Marymegan Wright kicks ball.

“Soccer, and playing for my school, have been such important parts of my experience at Exeter. I want to thank coach [Alexa] Caldwell for being an incredible coach and role model and for supporting me these past four years,” Potter said.

Courtesy of the Communications Office

For Rolle, the experience was no different. “I’m very, very sad to have played my last game for Exeter, and I’m so grateful to the team and the coaches for giving me an amazing four years. I feel very lucky.”

Girls’ Cross Country Stays Undefeated

Upper Gia Pisano leads the pack.

By JOY CHI Girls’ Varsity Cross Country, with a sweep at E/a and a win at Interschols, topped off their fall season with an undefeated record.

To upper Caroline Luff, personal growth and team bonding made the season what it was. “We had major improvement in times across the whole team, reflecting one of the biggest strengths of our cross country program: our depth,” Luff said. “We had so many personal bests this season!”

Despite the girls’ many victories, the season did not begin easily. “We started off the season at one of our hardest meets, the Bobcat Invitational, on a really hot day with lots of runners and a really difficult course,” senior co-captain Maddie Machado recalled. Although she worried that this challenge would “deter some of our less experienced members,” the adversity they faced early in the season “made everyone tougher and stronger,” leading to tangible improvements in the following weeks.

Senior co-captain Olivia Lazorik noted that, in addition to the Bobcat Invitational, E/a was one of the team’s highlight meets.

Courtesy of the Communications Office “[E/a] was truly the culmination of weeks of hard training and difficult speed workouts,” she said, noting that the meet showcased the role of teamwork in an otherwise individual sport.

“The outcome of [the JV] race was decided at the finish line when there were only 50m or so left—many times PEA girls surged ahead to edge out an Andover girl who was previously ahead of them,” Lazorik said.

“Their strength and toughness were incredible to watch.”

Lower Lindsay Machado added that the team’s E/a success was a display of their synergy, given that a close JV win spurred the varsity team on. “Both JV and varsity really came through to get the win together,” she said.

Upper Leila Herman agreed, highlighting the work ethic of the team and how it contributed to their success. “Training was difficult during the season, but we persisted and the effort we put in at each practice was reflected in our final races,” she said.

M. Machado stressed that training led to the team’s success, explaining that health was a big focus this season. “We worked a lot on injury prevention and techniques to make our running fast

and safe,” she explained. “Even the people that were injured a few times worked hard on their rehabilitation and care and were eager to get back to running and racing.” With fast recoveries, the team bounced back from injuries with skill. “[There were also] far fewer number of injuries on the team this season as opposed to prior years,” M. Machado said.

Lazorik provided further insight into the training the team underwent before and during the season. “Official training began in late August with varsity preseason,” she said. “Speed runs (5-6 miles)–such as fartleks and interval workouts—are where we get faster… Long runs (6+ miles) build our endurance… Recovery runs (3-4 miles) are also important!”

Luff highlighted that training would not have been as efficient without the group’s collective effort. “We all [worked] really hard to push each other and give every workout our best,” she explained.

Lower Kaitlyn Flowers also highlighted the importance of team spirit throughout the season. During training, “[everyone] would wait at the end of the road and cheer you through the

last hard sprint [of fartlek workouts],” she said. “[This enthusiasm] helped to foster team spirit and camaraderie.”

As for pre-race rituals, Flowers noted that, “on the Fridays before a Saturday meet, the captains picked a theme, and we all came dressed based on the theme, which always got us super excited about the next day’s race.”

According to L. Machado, the team’s culture of being “lighthearted and hardworking” contributed to their success. Before their first meet, “Coach [Gwynneth] Coogan told us we were ‘just gathering data,’ but we had a first place finish out of maybe 12 or 13 schools anyway,” she said.

Reflecting on the past season, lowers L. Machado and Flowers thanked the team’s seniors for their efforts. “The [captains] not only set a wonderful, upbeat and supportive tone in each practice and meet, but they also provided structure and precision in each workout, strength session, and stretch circle,” Flowers said.

“They could also relate to the feelings of having a good or bad race and therefore knew how to pick you back up or congratulate you based on your performance.”

L. Machado agreed, saying

that the co-captains “both did a great job of making the team inclusive.”

Luff stressed the special role the co-captains played in inspiring her to become part of the team. “Their love for the team and running is contagious,” she said. “They are both kind, driven, and great leaders. We were so lucky to have such great captains this season.”

As the team prepares for the next season, uppers Kerstin Hyer and Luff will serve as the new co-captains. Asked about her expectations for the next season, Luff expressed her excitement. “I look forward to seeing the team grow and meeting our next girls’ cross country group,” she said.

M. Machado expressed her confidence in the new leaders.

“Our captains for next year will be amazing leaders that will help the team continue to be a fun and successful group.”

As two-time defending champions at the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council, there is no doubt that the cross country team’s work ethic will prevail as it hopes for a similarly outstanding season next year.

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

Winter

JUNE 7, 2020

» BOYS’ HOCKEY

» GIRLS’ SWIMMING

Read about Boys’ Hockey, a team which boasted more wins than losses, 102.

» WRESTLING

Read about Girls’ Swimming’s E/a sweep, 101.

Boys’ Track Enjoys Successful Season

Track Team places first in the nation in 4 x 800 relay.

By OLIVER BRANDES In the world of sports teams at the Academy, Boys Winter Track is one of the most successful. In this recent season the team had a near flawless record. These victories were the result of not just hard work and determination from the

many athletes, but also the ability of the seven coaches, Hilary Hall, Toyin Augustus, Ron Edmiston, Steve Holmes, Josh Peterson, Brandon NewBould and Mustafa Abdur-Rahim offer a hardworking yet enjoyable environment.

Practice is the daily effort that our athletes put in to make sure that this season could happen, and our

Runner Space coaches enabled us to become better by meticulously planning practices.

Upper Phil Horrigan, mentioned his favorite practice was “tracking coyotes with Coach Newbould.” “It was a really hard run, but pushing through with Coach was a great experience for me,” he said.

Lower Garrett Paik noted that, especially in the winter months,

his favorite practices involve the New Hampshire snow. “So far my favorite practice was where we run on the snowy golf course cause it’s a lot of fun with the whole team,” he said. “We threw snowballs while running.”

The practices that the team had put effort into were rewarded in the annual EA track meet, where we

This winter season, the girls varsity basketball team faced many difficult opponents. Though they did not always prevail in the end, they always threatened teams with close scores, top-notch defense and flexible shooters. The girls ended their season with some successful games at the Eight School Tournament and a tough fight against Andover, finishing a record of 4 wins and 19 losses.

Working alongside Coach Hadley Camilus to lead the team were senior co-captains Bethany Lucey, Eva Carchidi and Claudia Lee. The team explained how these girls proved to be leaders and role models both on and off the court. “The captains really helped in navigating us all through the ups and downs of the season,” said senior Mia Glinn, “They all are really amazing basketball players, so they were obviously important on the court, but also off the court.”

In addition, the three co-captains mentioned what they loved most about being a captain. “I enjoyed building relationships with my teammates and doing my best to set a good example,” Lucey said.

“I enjoy being a role model on the team. It makes you stay accountable and sharp,” Lee said. “Not to mention, it’s great shooting around with some of the lowerclassmen, or just being someone they can always go to.”

Lastly, Carchidi spoke about building a good team chemistry. “I enjoyed getting everyone together and helping to build a close team environment,” she said.

Throughout the season, there were many memorable games and tournaments that the girls recalled.

Carchidi described a couple games she thought the team excelled in.

“I think that we had a lot of really good first halves against BB&N, New Hampton, and Brewster. We played strong for those games but unfortunately lost momentum after the first half,” she said. “I think we also had good games against Loomis and Andover during E/A. Even though we lost, based on their records, the scores should not have been as close as they were.”

Glinn agreed, recounting the competitive Andover game. “We fought really hard, and while we didn’t come home with a win, we left it all out on the court and played like a team,” she said. The final

scores against the Andover team was 51-54.

Despite being the underdogs, Claudia Lee highlights that Exeter always gave an impressive performance. “Andover had beaten us in December and had a much better record than us,” Lee explained. “They came into thinking it would be a blow out when it ended up being a 3 point game.”

Lucey added on, describing some stellar performances from Glinn in another game this season.

“The very first game of the season we played Milton Academy away,” she added. “After being down with under a minute to go, Mia Glinn hit two big shots and along with some steals we came back to win the game.”

Even off the court, the girls have fond memories of team bonding experiences that helped improve the team chemistry and dynamic.

At the Eight School tournament, the girls stayed the night at a hotel.

“It was the first time we stayed at a hotel together, and I remember Eva, Ana, Katie, and I were making Tik Tok’s,” Lee said. “It was my first time learning a TikTok dance!”

Afterwards, the team won their second game of the tournament. Lee

Girls’ Hockey Ends Season With Gratitude

By URSIE WISE A record of 11-13-1 closed off the 2019-2020 season for Exeter Girls’ Varsity Hockey. The team, led by coaches Sally Komarek, Alexis Revkin and James Tufts, along with co-captains seniors Jenna Brooks, Keigan Tierney and Abby Smith (‘20) and upper Alyssa Xu (‘21), will graduate a total of seven seniors this June.

Their younger teammates made clear their admiration for these future alumni. “I don’t know what we will do without their guidance and energy next year,” upper Rachel Shu said.

These seniors fostered a motivated and supportive team environment for each of their younger

teammates. Their “mentorship” and work ethic “brought the team together during difficult times.”

Though these seniors will be missed, lower Kathryn Welch elaborated on the bright future this group of athletes expects in their next season. “Our team has great potential and is very young, so I’m excited to see where next season takes us,” Welch said. By following in the footsteps of the Class of 2020, Welch remains confident in the teams next season, despite the seven-senior loss.

Welch and her remaining teammates are looking forward to another season of memories, like that which followed their winning game against Berwick Academy. “Earlier in the season,

we had lost to them with one second left, so it was great to see us all come together to put away a team we know that we are better than,” Welch said. The team worked hard and stayed dedicated throughout their season to achieve these moments.

The first loss against Berwick was not their only setback.

Losing by one point is always a blow, and according to Welch, it happened several times to this team. One particular loss resonated with the team, the girls reflected: their loss against Big Red’s rivals, Andover.

Lower Molly Longfield revealed that what made the season so special was not the wins and competition, but the time she spent with this close-knit team.

breezed by Andover and won the meet easily. “We won so early they could organize rag tag teams,” Horrigan said.

Lower Bradley St. Laurent noted other successful games. “My favorite race had to be when we won the Interschols championship,” he said. “Between the joy of beating NMH on their own turf after they beat us by one point the year before, and the seniors from the previous year coming to watch, it was great.”

Though the team had a victory-filled season, the best part of the Track team is the hard work that students form. “We learned about coaches’ competitive spirit from a brutal run that only they did because everyone else turned back and they decided to keep on going,” he said.

Since many members of the team run around the year, St. Laurent described the cohesivity of the season. “Overall it was a very successful season and there weren’t many large challenges,” he said.

Lower Tommy Seidel noted that any time that he could “run with the bois,” he had a wonderful time.

The season was especially valuable because it was “in real life,” Seidel added.

Reflecting on the season, Horrigan concluded that the track team’s members made the team the constructive community it is. “We all push each other and ourselves to be the best runners w can be,” Horrigan said. “Though we were unable to return for the spring term and run in the spring, I am confident that we made the most of the precious time we had together.”

added, “It was a huge game for us in terms of boosting the team’s morale. There were a bunch of players who stepped up significantly that game against Hotchkiss.”

“I think one of the most memorable times during this basketball season was when we went to the eight school tournament at the end of the year,” Glinn said, agreeing with Lee. “We had to stay the night in NMH, but it turned out to be a lot of fun and I loved bonding with my teammates.”

Looking forward to the next winter’s basketball season, the girls expressed their excitement and hopes for the future team. The team’s lowerclassmen earned special commendation from the seniors on the team.

“I think that the underclassmen all worked hard and hustled this season, so I’m excited to see them continue to do that and make that one of the qualities of the team next year,” Carchidi said.

“I would say Amelia really improved a lot,” Glinn said. “Not only have her skills progressed throughout the season, but her on-court presence has really matured and I’m excited to see her grow as a player.”

Lee added on. “I’m excited to

see Amelia play next year because she’ll most likely be the starting point guard next year,” she said.

In addition to prep Amelia Byerly, Carchidi noted that co-captain Lucey was a key member to the team. “Bethany was an amazing player overall this season and it was really difficult to play without her.

A lot of people stepped up after she got injured,” she said. Carchidi also spoke about Lee’s role on the court.

“Claudia played an important role as point guard and did a good job running the offense and distributing the ball,” she said.

Lee additionally made sure to shine light on two of her senior teammates. “I think Dennesha and Mia don’t get enough attention,” she said. “They do the dirty work for us. They rebound, are intimidating in the paint, and disruptive.

Not to mention they’re great teammates!”

Even if the scoreboard may not have always been in the team’s favor, the girls are pleased with the way they fought until the very end of each game, focusing and honing their skills to be the best possible.

Lee added her hopes for the future team and expressed her joy for the outcome this year. “I hope to see the energy and team chemistry continue next season,” she said. “I know our season this year was tough, but I’m incredibly proud of the way we stuck together.”

“I definitely think the high was being able to come to the rink and play with some of my best friends every day,” Longfield said.

This close knit dynamic left a lasting impression on Longfield and her teammates. The captains fostered this dynamic from day one by, Longfield said “always hyping us up before games and never letting the energy die.”

Both Shu and Longfield were quick to shout out their teammate and captain, Abby Smith, for her leadership and hard work throughout their season. “She really stepped it up on and off the ice as a role model for everyone on the team,” Longfield added.

Even some of the group’s newest players were recognized by their teammates for their dedication. According to Kathryn Welch, prep Eden Welch and new lower Victoria Quinn took the prize for “working the hardest on the ice, and always scoring a goal when we needed it most.”

But it wasn’t only the girls

that kept the team’s spirit alive.

According to Shu and Welch, Revkin made a substantial positive impact on the team this year. Revkin, much like the seniors on this team, will graduate this year—only, instead of from PEA, she will leave the University of New Hampshire, having played on the college’s women’s hockey team. This being her first season as a coach, the girls recognized the positive influence that Revkin had over them and expressed their hope that she would return for another season next winter.

In fact, the girls recognized that each of the coaches helped this team achieve their successes. “They were definitely our biggest fans,” Welch expressed.

With their skilled team and strong spirit, along with the example of their players in the graduating Class of 2020, Big Red’s Girls’ Varsity Hockey team will undoubtedly achieve more great moments in the 20202021 season.

Girls’ Basketball Builds Team

By JONATHAN JEUN

Read about Wrestling’s work ethic, 102.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Boys’ Swim Picks Up Over Term

By HENRY LIU Behind the blocks for the final race of the last meet of the season, the spirits were high as senior co-captain Andrew Benson, senior co-captain Charlie Venci, senior Andrew Sun and upper Aidan O’Brien stepped up to the occasion.

The team claimed a third place finish in the relay to secure a third place finish for the Boys’ Varsity Swim team at Interschols. Big Red ended the season with a 5-3 (W-L) record, placing 10th at the Eastern Interscholastic Swimming Championship and third at Interschols.

Big Red started the season slowly, but quickly picked up momentum.

Lower Georgie Venci put it simply, “We started with a loss against Loomis and an expected loss against Brunswick.

We quickly turned that around with many wins against teams like Milton, Deerfield, St. John’s Prep, Suffield and NMH.” Coming after those dual meets was Big Red’s first championship meet of the season: Easterns.

“Overall, I thought this season went very well,” C. Venci said. “The non-seniors, the true workhorses of our team, stepped up and demonstrated some incredible improvement over the course of the season. We got off to a rocky start against Loomis and Brunswick, but found our stride and battled back to a fantastic second half of the season and a strong finish at interschols.”

Despite the loss against Loomis, Coach Avery Reavill explained their growth as a team. “I think Loomis was a standout dual meet for me,” he said.

“They are always a strong team and we felt like they would be a good match-

up, but we came away with a loss. That really put us on alert for the rest of the season and it was nice to top them when we saw them at Schols.”

From Loomis, the first dual meet of the season, to Schols, the last meet of the season, Big Red spent countless hours in the pool refining technique and working hard to become faster in the water. G. Venci mentioned the newly implemented and grueling morning practices. “This year, with the help of Coach Mills, our captains, Charlie Venci and Andrew Benson, were able to institute morning swims on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Although we did not do extreme mileage on those days, we did crucial technique work that helped me beyond belief.”

C. Venci added, “Nothing gets you going like getting out of bed at the crack of dawn to walk through the snow and hop in a pool.”

Through the hard work, several standout athletes excelled. “Benson and Chazz (Charlie) always performed at their best, ESPECIALLY at Easterns and Schols. It didn’t matter the circumstances or how tired they were, they just got it done,” Prep Zach Quitkin said.

Reavill shared similar sentiments.

“I think our captains were truly phenomenal this year. Charlie and Andrew set the bar high for themselves and held others accountable to that standard throughout the season,” he said. “Andrew broke records at just about every meet and Charlie was able to take the school’s backstroke record.”

C. Venci also had some more names to add to the list of standout swimmers. “I want to talk about some clos-

eted speed-demons on this squad,” he said. “Aren Mizuno and Josh Yu were the backbones of our distance squad.

They were tasked with holding down the fort in the tougher freestyle events almost every weekend this season and they brought their A-game each and every time. In the breaststroke and the IM, Adam Tuchler has been a force to be reckoned with all year. He finished the year on a very high note with strong swims in the 200 IM and the 100 Breast at Interschols. Our uppers invested in the program this year and the results showed.”

Concerning the dynamic co-captains, the team had only positive news to share. “I think their ability to work together and set the example was what made them strong leaders,” Reavill said. “It was easy to take them seriously when they were consistently the two guys showing the extra commitment and supporting the team every day.”

“The captains, Besnon and Venci, have a lot of team spirit,” upper Adam Tuchler said. “They always have something to say, sometimes too much, but regardless they led the team with much enthusiasm this season.”

Both co-captains have their future swimming careers to look forward to as they depart the Big Red swimming scene and enter collegiate-level swimming- Benson will swim for the University of Madison, while C. Venci will swim at Williams College.

C. Venci had some final parting words for both the team and Big Red swimming looking back from the end of his four-year term. “Over the course of my four years on the team, I have

witnessed a number of changes that have positively impacted the environment. The first is the atmosphere. Each year the bonds between teammates have grown stronger and stronger. In the pool, this has been a huge morale boost,” he said. “Everyone is excited to push each other and race each other in practice.”

“More importantly, everyone is willing to put everything they have on the line in a race for each other,” C. Venci said. “That is one of the ingredients of a highly successful program.

As a captain, I have done everything that should be done to push your teammates....so very little. I show up to practice ready to go and hype my teammates up when they need it. I want to give recognition to all of the seniors for being supportive, for leading by example, and for being great role models for the younger swimmers on our team.”

This positive team atmosphere was present for prep Drew Smith since the very beginning of his season. “On the first few days of practice, I looked over at the returning divers and thought to myself, ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ I was extremely nervous and didn’t think I could learn everything I needed to, but the returning divers, Genesis, Katie, and Jamie, as well as our two coaches, quickly assured me that it was possible to learn everything I had to.”

Prep David Kim echoed his thoughts. “Coach Van Wright and Steve both helped all the new divers to make the transition from not knowing anything about diving to qualifying all of us to New England’s.”

Girls’ Swim Wins Half of Games

By HENRY LIU While the rest of the school boards buses headed to the airport to take them home for spring break, the Girls’ Varsity Swim team boarded the bus behind the gym with a different purpose. Big Red was on its way to Hixon pool at The Hotchkiss School for its final championship meet of the season. Led by senior captains Wynter Sands and Maddie Machado, the team powered to an eighth-place finish in a field of very strong competitors.

Leading up to that point, the team had a solid final record of 4-4 (W-L).

In the wins they had, three of the four were dominant victories against Dana Hall, Milton and Northfield Mount Hermon School, absolutely shutting down the competition. The last win was against Deerfield, where Big Red entered as the underdogs, and came out with a win over Deerfield by just 4 points.

Lower Andrea Luo and Prep Sofia Morais both named the Deerfield meet as the standout dual meet. “Our dual meet with Deerfield was definitely my standout meet [because] we placed 1st in both the 200 yard relays,” Luo said.

“All the upperclassmen were telling us how Deerfield was going to be a tough meet, and Lundy had told us to try our best, whatever the outcome,” Morais said. “But, throughout the meet, everyone had amazing swims and we dropped lots of time and scored lots of points. We ended up winning the meet by a small margin and I remember that Lundy was so happy with how we had swam.”

While the team graduated many seniors the previous year, lower Lindsay Machado described/ “The culture of this season’s team was inclusive

and lighthearted,” Machado said. “We had a large influx of new swimmers and as the season went on, we bonded quickly and became one cohesive team.”

“I think this season really set a great standard for our team environment,” senior co-captain Maddie Machado said. “I have a lot of faith that our experienced members will continue to set a great example for the younger swimmers and that will set a foundation for some future success for NEGS (New England Girls Swim).”

In this new and young team, two consistent standouts were lower Sydney Kang and prep Claire Fu. Kang’s achievements this year include an Interschols title and numerous New England and school records. Fu, only a prep, placed second at Interschols and had numerous first place finishes throughout the season.

“Sydney Kang is always giving it her all in and out of the water, swimming doubles and going to the gym on top of all our workouts,” Fu said.

“Her attitude towards swimming has reflected positively on our team, helping us stay positive and determined.

She has also broken numerous school and new England records and always comes out on top, an inspiration to us all.” At the same time, Luo praised Fu’s effort and work ethic that contributed to the team: “Claire Fu was also a wonderful addition to the team.

She never failed to try her best in practice no matter how tired she was or how hard the set was. She placed in her events at almost every meet, and was often one of the last ones standing in our challenge 100s sets.”

M. Machado also shouted out upper Ursie Wise on her improvement throughout the season. “I was very impressed with how much Ursie Wise

improved her distance swimming this season,” she said. “Her and I have been swimming distance together for several years and it was incredible to be in a lane with her and see how hard she was working. Swimming with her challenged me to work harder, too.

Ursie had a really fast 500 at Schols and I hope she’ll keep her momentum going next winter.”

Concerning the captains, the team only had good things to say. “Maddie and Wynter were both essential members of GV swim,” senior Chloe Malikotsis said. “Without them, this season would not have been a success.

They fostered a welcoming and respectful environment. I couldn’t have imagined finishing my swimming career alongside any other two girls.”

“Wynter and Maddie were the absolute best captains,” Fu said. “They made the team feel like a family, cheering their hearts out at meets and pumping us up if we were nervous.”

Both captains had some parting words from the end of their four years swimming for Big Red. M. Machado, headed to Princeton next year, reflected on her time while leaving behind some words of comfort for the future team. “Since I’m not going to be swimming competitively in college, it was really bittersweet for me to swim at my last meet,” Machado said. “NEGS is a really special team and the success of the team depends on how much effort its members put in every day. Swimming can be frustrating sometimes but I think the ups and the downs of the sport are what shape Exeter’s swimmers into who they are. NEGS will always have a special place in my heart and I can’t wait to see how they do moving forward. I’m confident that our uppers are ready to become the next wave of our team’s leaders.”

Senior and co-captain Wynter Sands will continue her swimming career at the University of Rhode Island. “Over the past four years, this is the most positive, motivated, and dedicated group of girls I had the honor of swimming with,” Sands said. “Every day I would go to practice knowing the girls would be on the deck laughing together and ready to work hard.

I think the positive and motivated atmosphere of the team is a huge part of our successes. I am lucky to have been a captain of this amazing team.”

Stepping aside from the swimming side, the divers on Big Red also performed magnificently throughout the season. While the divers had a new coach this season, Coach Van Wright, lower Jamie Carlberg praised her dedication to the team’s success. “She really values hard work and coaches us as individuals and truly cares about our success. I also really appreciate her patience,” Carlberg said.

“The transition to Exeter has been good,” Van Wright commented. “I am so glad that Steve Altieri (who coached the divers last year) was willing to help coach again this year, as he was incredibly helpful all season and did a great job getting me caught up to speed with a lot of the logistical things. I had a really fun time coaching our divers this year, and I’m looking forward to the team continuing to grow in the years to come.”

Under her supervision, the Big Red divers achieved a feat that hasn’t been done in decades: beating Andover at the annual E/A meet. Senior and captain of the Girls Diving team Genesis Baez noted, “Diving won for the first time in 20 years against Andover which was a huge accomplishment for us, and it ultimately made the team pretty confident for New England’s.”

At that meet, Carlberg won the

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Throughout the season, the divers scored valuable points for Big Red, winning meets like the one against Suffield.

Smith complimented lower Jose Vivanco, also a new diver. “Jose always stood out to me because he was consistently brave throughout the season, always “sending” insane dives I couldn’t even imagine doing,” he said.

“Although he had no prior experience, that didn’t stop him from trying to do the best dives he could.”

Both Kim and Smith expressed gratitude towards their coaches. “Coach Van Wright and Coach Steve are the reason we all made such tremendous progress this season,” he said. “I can’t thank them enough for their support.

They knew when to push us or not.

They were fantastic at helping us approach a new or scary dive we were reluctant to do.”

“Coach Van Wright and Steve both helped all the new divers to make the transition from not knowing anything about diving to qualifying all of us to New England’s. I think it’s a big achievement as a team that we all qualified,” Kim added.

All in all, both the divers and swimmers on Big Red had a successful season filled with improvement, resilience, and growth.

“I love this team. I love the coaches.

I love the pool. I love it all,” C. Venci said. “As a swimmer, I have grown tremendously over the course of the last four years. And not nearly as much in the pool. Exeter Swimming has aided my development as a teammate and a friend. Obviously, I will never forget the grind that we experienced under the direction of Coach Mills and Coach Reavill, but I am proud to say that Exeter Swimming has made me a better person all around.”

diving portion, and Baez acknowledged her performances. “One of our best performers was Jamie Carlberg,” Baez said. “Although the whole team always gave 100% throughout every practice and meet, she really stood out because of her vast improvement from last year’s season.”

Another top performer this season was lower Katie Dowling. “Katie Dowling improved markedly throughout the season and learned some really challenging dives right at the end of the season, which will set her up well for success next year,” Van Wright said.

Carlberg also complimented her captain and teammate Baez. “Genesis has been a great captain and an even better healthy competition,” she said. “She and I were always very close in skill set and so we always worked harder because of that good spirited competition. She did a great job of making sure the team interacted in a friendly manner in and out of the pool.”

Similarly, Coach Van Wright applauded Baez’s outstanding leadership.“Genesis set the tone for a strong team dynamic right off the bat,” she said. “During pre-season/tryouts, she organized a team dinner for everyone to get to know each other better. She also planned fun games and activities for the team and helped run dryland practices throughout the season. I know the younger divers looked up to her all season and really appreciated her leadership and mentorship.”

While the season started slowly for Big Red, it gained momentum throughout the season and both swim and dive had numerous achievements.

“This season went beyond expectations,” Fu concluded. “Practices and meets always proved to be fun no matter the set or event, and throughout the season our swims also improved.

The team showed a ton of fast times at the end of the season, which I think were the result of a lot of hard sets and goofing off. So overall, a pretty stellar season with the best team.”

Girls’ Squash Rebuilds Varsity Ladder

By SOFIA MORAIS This past winter, the Girls’ Varsity Squash team introduced a large number of new girls to the team. Despite this, they were able to come together and create a welcoming community of supportive and encouraging teammates that were always ready and willing to put the work in.

Girls’ Varsity Squash finished the past season off with a record of 6 wins and 13 losses, giving it their all until the very last match. The hard work and effort the team put in the entire season, despite some wins and losses, paid off in the end at Interschols, where the team was able to secure third place, ending their season on a high note.

In addition to Head Coach Bruce Shang and Assistant Coaches Mercy Carbonell and Lovey Oliff, the girls squash team was led by co-captains uppers Catherine Fortin and Anne Brandes and senior Asha Alla.

Prep Isabella Vesely voiced her admiration and thoughts on the team’s captains. “In practice, our captains… helped lead warmups, motivate us on gloomy days, and did an excellent job leading by good examples!” she said.

“Our captains were very spread out through the team, so there was always someone there to help and cheer us on.”

Lower Leandra Sze chimed in with more praise for the captains’ work in leading the team. “All three of the captains worked well together and they did a good job motivating the team.”

Co-captain Catherine Fortin described what she enjoyed most about being a captain. “I loved how supportive this team was. When we had matches, no one was ever on their phone or distracted even if they had finished playing. Everyone would go to whichever matches hadn’t finished and cheer their teammates on,” she said.

Shang agreed with his players, saying how the girls were good role models and provided infinite encouragement throughout the season. “The captains… helped motivate the team,” he said. In addition, he looked forward to next year’s captains, adding that “next year the captains are Catherine again and [upper] Emily Baxter.”

During the season, the team agreed that there were multiple highlights from matches that will be remembered. Sze recalled an opponent that the team fought hard with: “I thought the team did really well against Middlesex. We were missing a few players but still managed to have really close matches.”

Vesely agreed, adding on that, “although we lost to them, I do think that one of the teams we played best against was Middlesex (final score was 3-4).

We were missing three of our top players, so most of the team had to play up by that many spots,” she said. “Many of the best-of-five matches went to the full 5 sets, and I think that everyone put forth their best efforts.”

In addition to Middlesex, C. Fortin believed that the team ended the season well at Interschols, as mentioned earlier. “We had a lot of difficult matches this season, but I think the varsity team played really well at Interschols and ended up placing third against some really tough teams,” she said.

Furthermore, on top of the nail-biting games and tournaments, the girls squash team looks back on some fond memories they had together. “One of my highlights was the bus ride to Nationals,” Vesely remembered. “It was a Thursday afternoon, and we were all in high spirits for our matches. It was my first away match where I made the cut for varsity (without needing people to be absent), and I didn’t really know what to expect since I wasn’t very close to anyone else. Luckily, even though the bus ride was a few hours long, the team got along very well! I really felt like I was a part of a team.”

Sze agreed, saying, “Going to Nationals and Interschols was a highlight of the season. We were proud to end up with a third-place trophy at the end of Interschols.”

Aside from the tournaments, Fortin described a fun tradition the team had.

“One of my favorite parts of the season was our twin day when we dressed up with our court partner and did psyche,” she said. “This is a tradition towards the end of the season leading up to our final match against Andover.”

Vesely added one more highlight of team bonding from this past season. “Another highlight was the team meetings after our matches,” she says.

“No matter if we won or lost, the whole team (including JV and Thirds) came together to compliment each other, eat snacks, and have fun!”

Even after the season was finished, Shang enjoyed catching up with the girls. “I really enjoyed the postseason,” he says. “I really get to talk to the players and watch them support each other on and off the court.”

Throughout the season, the team was eager to improve together and put in the extra effort. Fortin explained how hard work helped the team. “I think everyone improved over the course of the season. There were a lot of new players on the team, and our great coaches got to spend a lot of time on the courts with us,” she says. “Coach Shang let us set up the ball machine before practice to get in some extra hitting, and as the season progressed, more and more people arrived to practice early. Coach

Carbonell gave us great one-on-one instruction despite recovering from an injury.”

One player whose improvement and dedication throughout the season wente noticed by her teammates was Vesely.

“Isabella Vesely definitely stood out, as she worked really hard and improved a lot throughout the season,” Sze says.

“She was voted Most Improved Player by the rest of the team.”

Looking forward to the next squash season in the winter, the team’s hopes are high. “For next winter, we’re excited to improve a lot more and maybe try to move up a division,” Sze said.

Shang agreed, saying, “Most of the team is returning and I look forward to seeing them continue to grow.”

Vesely expressed her hopes as well.

“I hope we see players from all different levels, so that we can all grow together and have a lot of fun,” she said. She also remarked that she’ll miss the seniors, but anticipates meeting new teammates.

“Although I miss the current seniors who won’t be on the team next year, I am looking forward to seeing new faces join the team! Last year, at matches, we were always there to support each other and motivate those who might have had off days, and I hope that our team will maintain the same level of togetherness and unity!”

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GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

Wrestling Team Steps Up

By NAT KPODONU This past winter season, Wrestling didn’t let anyone in the Exeter community down this season. The team concluded the term with a great number of wins and notable performances from everyone from the very beginning to the very end of the season.

The beginning of the season proved to be a bit tough, but gradually, results started to show through the hard work everyone was putting in. “A challenge was definitely the beginning of the season where we got off to a rough start,” prep Riches Afolabi said. “We lost two of our first three matches, but the way we were able to come back and finish the season off very strongly, especially our performances in Class As and New England’s, was truly a highlight.”

Coming into each match, every member of Wrestling set high standards for themselves and for their teammates. “We expected and continue to expect to win every match we went into because we prepare and practice harder than any other team in New England,” senior and co-captain Tyler Morris said.

Lower Matt Indelicarto also put a word in on how he personally prepared himself for each match. “Each match I prepared by listening to music and warming up,” he said. “I try not to think about anything before I go into the match, it just becomes a distraction. My expectations for every match were that I was going to win. This helps with confidence and minimizing fear.”

That attitude seemed to translate into their wrestling as Big Red finished off the season with a total of 8 wins and 3 losses, including placing 23rd overall among over 100 other teams

around the country at Prep Nationals, a 7th place finish at the New Englands, and a 2nd place finish at the Class A Tournament. Not to mention the various wins against other schools such as Wilbraham, Worcester and NMH. Throughout the season there were many impressive performances and examples of leadership. Petry gave a shout out to a few saying “I would like to mention PG George Harrington for the huge work ethic that he brought to the room everyday,” Petry said. “He worked extremely hard and was an inspiration to the whole team especially the preps and new wrestlers. I would also like to mention Prep Chris MacArthur for how well he did in the 220 pound weight class, against mostly upperclassman wrestlers. He did a great job in meets and did very well for his first year of high school wrestling. Lastly, I would also like to also mention Tyler Morris mainly for his performances.”

Petry, along with co-captains Morris and Grant Goodall, brought their A game the entire season consistently placing among the top ten multiple times. Morris went on to finish fourth overall in the 106-pound division at Prep Nationals and placed first at New Englands and the Class A Tournament. Harrison also came in and placed second in the 285-pound division at New Englands, Petry placed third in the 106-pound division, Goodall placed fifth, and McArthur placed seventh in the 220-pound division respectively.

Although they did do very well, this wasn’t without crazy amounts of hard work and preparation. Prep Nate Puchalski spoke a bit about this saying “Prior to each match those that were close to their target weight

or a fraction of a pound above, were expected to make good meal choices and burn off any excess weight.”

This dedication seemed to come naturally to them though, as Indelicarto spoke of the practices as one of his better moments throughout the season.

“My highlights throughout the season were all in practice,” Puchalski said. “I had a great wres-

out about a few of the hardships saying “some challenges included going without practice for a couple weeks over Winter break.

We had worked hard for a good month and it was important that we stayed in shape over the Holidays. A lot of wrestlers also got injured in our first meet against Tabor, forcing a lot of the younger guys into the starting lineup.”

Even with all the preparation and hard work, these performances couldn’t have been done without the help of the coaches.

I“Our coaches were amazing throughout the season. This is

Spectators observe a wrestling match. tling partner who pushed me to become dedicated to the sport.

Everyday was a unique challenge, every practice required more energy than I was able to give. I also loved watching my teammates win or place high at tournaments.”

Winning may seem like the ultimate goal, but for almost all students, starting out a new sport is never easy, and this season there were many newer wrestlers. Puchalski, speaks

Courtesy of the Communications Office

shown through the growth of our preps,” Indelicarto said. “The most inexperienced kids have learned the fundamentals and are starting to develop technique.

The coaches helped me a lot as well. They had patience when I would make a mistake and they would not get upset, but rather explored my mistake and helped me understand my fault.”

“Coaches were hard on us, as wrestling is a demanding sport, but we stuck through and the

Boys’ Hockey team rallies after a goal.

This past winter, Boys’ Varsity Hockey had an unforgettable season with 16 wins, 13 loses and 2 ties, including wins in both their games against Andover.

On and off the ice, the team maintained a positive and encouraging mindset that pushed each of them to strive for improvement. “I truly felt like the older guys on the team helped me a lot, taking me under their arm and showing me the ropes,” prep Jack O’Brien said.

“Throughout the whole year I felt like there was always a positive atmosphere on and off the ice, there was very little to no bad blood between teammates.”

Each individual’s drive and willingness to put it all out on the ice was admirable, making the team stronger as a whole. “I hope that my players work hard and compete, both individually and collectively as a team. And that is exactly what

this group did,” Coach Brandon Hew complimented.

A couple of their biggest wins this season were against Andover, the first of which was a 6-3 win in January. But, out of all of the close games and victorious wins, one match stood out in particular to the team- the team’s final winning match against Andover during E/a weekend.

Through the loud spirited cheers of Andover students in their home rink, the Exonians in attendance cheered and screamed for Big Red. The team did not fail to deliver, with co-captain Reese Ramirez scoring the first and only point of the game with 39 seconds left on the clock.

“They played the game the right way and capped off the season with one of the most memorable wins I’ve been a part of, beating Andover at Andover in the last minute on E/A,” Hew said.

This game was also the culmination of an outstanding career for

keep the same intensity in the room and hold each other accountable like we did this year,” Morris said. “We have everything to be one of the most successful teams in New England, it’s up to the boys to keep the train rolling. Seniors and Uppers need to step up, we had a young team this year that was able to produce and I hope to see that in the future.”

Courtesy of Communications Office

Boys’ Hockey Dominates the Ice

By JOY CHI

work paid off,” Puchalski said.

“The coaches have been doing this for a good while so you have to trust them. Having the team there to do conditioning, ex. was crucial. We motivated each other to keep pushing.”

Morris also credits their humor for helping them power through the season. While they did have a great season this year, it’s never too early to start thinking about next year’s season.

With a few seniors leaving, they left some words on what they’d hope to see and continue to see.

“Next year I want the boys to

co-captain Ryan Welch. As Coach Barbin detailed, Welch set every goaltending career record at PEA. “In his four years he was the starting goalie all four years and finished with the following statistics, all school records: He played 5,735 minutes, he faced 2931 shots, he made 2701 saves for a .922% save percentage. He allowed just 1.9 goals against/game over his career and most importantly he led Exeter Hockey to a combined record of 8237-7 during his four years,” Barbin said.

Upper teammate Michael Young was voted co-MVP of the season as the leading scorer with 26 goals and 25 assists for 51 points.

The 11 seniors, including the captains Ramirez, Colon, and Welch, all leave their team after their final victorious play against Andover with lasting impressions after contributing so much to the team’s success.

Seniors Ramirez, Danny Colon

and Ryan Welch were the three captains for this year’s team. They led the boys in games, practices, and team bonding, helping to create a vigorous and competitive team unafraid of facing challenges.

“We approached every game the same, we never underestimated an opponent based on their record but instead treated every game like it was EA day,” O’Brien said.

Also for the first time in over five years, Exeter’s Boys Hockey team introduced a prep into their varsity lineup. This title went to prep O’Brien, who had earned himself a spot among the other varsity team members.

The starting line up this past season was stellar, including a present offensive and defensive system throughout the whole term. Despite the hard work and talent the team presented with their 16 wins and 13 losses, it didn’t match up as well as the previous years. But Coach Hew highlighted, “The win-loss results

might be disappointing to the players and others close to varsity boys’ programs (they’ve set a high bar the past few years!), but because of the players’ efforts, they put themselves in a position to win each game.”

No matter the slight disappointment of falling slightly short of the high bar the previous teams set, this team’s spirits lasted through the season in their determination to win the next game. “We had a great start, quickly becoming one of the top teams within prep schools, and then we started to falter, losing a few games we shouldn’t have here and there,” O’Brien said. “But overall, I think that as the season went on, each and everyone showed lots of improvement.”

Exeter Boys Hockey started off the term with 5 consecutive victories, each time winning with more than 2 wins over the opposing team.

Although this year’s team was largely made up of seniors who will depart the team, with new captains Michael Young, Sylas Oberting and Tommy Gannon, the future boys hockey team is prepared to carry on their incredible legacy into the 2021 season.

GRADUATION ISSUE – CXLII

JUNE 7, 2020

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Boys’ Basketball Ends with 16-5 Record

Another basket for Big Red.

By CHARLIE VENCI With seconds to go in overtime and the score tied at 62, lower Josh Morrisette attempted a three-pointer under heavy pressure from the Andover defender. The ball sailed through the air and nicks the left side of the rim, an extremely uncharacteristic miss for Big Red Basketball’s allstar shooter. The crowd went silent as the basketball disappeared from sight in a scrum of Exeter and Andover players below the hoop.

Finally, senior and co-captain Lucas Grandison emerged from the shuffle, ball in hand. He leapt out of reach of the surrounding Andover players and smoothly laid the ball off of the backboard and into the basket, just as the buzzer sounds.

Without hesitation, Grandison threw his hands in the air. Behind him, the Exeter bench rushed the court, closely followed by a sea of students roaring out of the stands. The scoreboard showed the result that the boy’s varsity basketball team has been working towards all season: Exeter 64 - Andover 62.

Big Red’s iconic buzzer-beater victory over Andover marked the end of what can only be described as yet another high caliber season from Exeter’s varsity basketball program.

“There is nothing better than beating Andover, especially when it’s a close game,” senior and co-captain Jasper Ludington said.

Courtesy of Communications Office Senior Paul Huisinga agreed with Ludington, and noted how wild the atmosphere was in Andover’s packed gymnasium. “The energy on both sides of the gym was like nothing I had ever experienced before. It reflected one of the things I like most about basketball: sometimes, despite months and months of preparation, it all comes down to who can keep ice in their veins and make the final shot,” Huisinga said.

The sheer excitement from the players on the court alone showed how much the win meant to them.

For upper Robbie Stankard, the winning shot was momentous as well.

“It was special to see a senior and captain who has put his heart into this program have that kind of moment,” he said. The infamous buzzer-beating layup will be a memory cherished by all members of this team for years to come.

According to Grandison himself, “the game-winning shot, even though it was nothing flashy, was probably my most memorable play in my high school basketball career.”

Although the E/a win was monumental, the basketball season was abundant with other high points.

The team finished the regular season with a final record of 16-5, picking up some notable wins against Cushing, Tilton, and Governor’s along the way. For senior and co-captain Kerick Walker, the 76-68 win over Cushing was a highlight of his sea-

son. “I would say the best moment of the season was beating Cushing at home, because they were the best opponent we faced all year,” he continued, “We showed that we could beat one of the top teams in the country when we all bought in and played together.”

For others, the best parts of the season were off the court. “[We took] a preseason trip to the beach where we did a tough workout by Coach Fish, had a few team bonding competitions, and ate some good food. This moment had me really excited to grind out the season and I got really close to a lot of my teammates,” lower Fawaz Omidiya said.

Another moment that Stankard recalled was the bus ride back from a 56-50 win over Choate in a heavy snowstorm. “It was a blizzard and we moved at a generous 20 mph on the highway the whole way. Between dance offs to freestyle battles we really became closer than ever,” he explained.

Amidst all the success, the Big Red varsity squad faced some adversity during the season, which culminated in the heartbreaking loss against Andover in the first round of the NEPSAC Class A playoffs. The team suffered its first loss against New Hampton after a sweeping 10-0 start to the season. During the game, senior and co-captain Niko Rocak tore his meniscus. This injury rattled the team and proved to be

a major setback while Rocak sat on the bench recovering.

“It was especially hard to have our center and captain Niko re-injure himself,” Huisinga explained. “This forced us to re-organize the team positionally and challenged us to keep the energy up going into the next couple games,” he said. The major challenge was filling the massive 6 foot 9 inch hole that Rocak filled in the starting lineup, as he was the big man in the paint.

According to upper Lucas McEachern, this marked a period of growth. “With him out, the whole team had to adjust and adopt new roles. There was a big learning curve that resulted from his injury,” he said.

Although Rocak’s return was a motivational force going into the E/a win, the team still fell short when it came to defending their Class A Title from 2019. In front of a home crowd during the first round of the playoffs, Big Blue eclipsed the rampant lions with a final score of 73-63. The end to the season felt too abrupt for a team that had enjoyed a fantastic journey to the playoffs.

Morrisette described the locker room after the game. “We didn’t want the season to end and we didn’t want to leave our locker room. It was a moment I’ll never forget because we didn’t want to leave each other. It showed how close we all

really were,” he said.

In spite of the tough loss, the seniors all have illustrious careers to look back on during their time at Exeter. Walker discussed what he will miss most about playing in the maroon jersey. “I will miss the camaraderie the most. In each of my four years playing for Big Red, I have had special team experiences and have had the opportunity to play with amazing people and for amazing coaches,” he said.

For Grandison, his departure from the squad marked the beginning of a period of gratitude toward all those who helped him along the way. “For those who I spent all three years with, for those I met because of basketball, for those that helped me grow up, for those that got me better, for those who let me mentor them, and for those who were as dedicated as I was, I would like to say thank you and I love you. The entire process of being a part of the basketball program was humbling, eye-opening, and invaluable,” he said.

Moving forward, the squad’s future is bright in the 2020-21 season, even though it is graduating a number of talented seniors. McEachern, a future captain, is excited to get the ball rolling. “Next year I look forward to adopting a new role, being a leader to this team. I see a lot of opportunity for growth and lots of fun experiences ahead. I want to take the guys under my wing and lead us to a championship,” he shared.

Morrisette hopes to carry the legacy of the class of 2020 forward, with sights set on the 2021 NEPSAC Class A title. “We have a good group of guys coming in that understand what it means to put on an Exeter jersey. What I’m looking forward to the most is finishing the job that this group of seniors started. They didn’t go out as champions but we plan on winning it next year, and these seniors are going to be just as much a part of that championship even though they didn’t get to play in it,” he said.

It is the inspiration, the comradery, and the cooperation between generations that continue to power Big Red basketball up the rankings season after season. Omidiya quoted Coach Tilton while describing the shared motivation to keep on fighting. “As Coach T always said, ‘The Story Continues’, and I want to continue the story that those before me started while creating one with my teammates for whoever comes after us,” he said.

Boys’ Squash Champions Hard Work

By ERIC ZHANG With a 15th place finish at Interschols, the Boys’ Varsity Squash team ended their season with a 12-11 record. The team did not go into the season with high hopes, facing the loss of 5 seniors from last year’s varsity squash team, but their hard work and dedication paid off.

Boys’ squash faced many impressive opponents such as Deerfield, St.Paul’s and Hotchkiss. Unlike many other squash teams, the Exeter squash team relies mostly on hard work rather than incoming talent. Win or lose, the team worked diligently and made many close friendships. During the season, Big Red was able to conquer many schools such as Groton, Choate and Tabor, and ended its season with a 11th place finish in its division at the US High School Team Squash National Championships which resulted in a 27th place overall in the United States.

“The special part for me was how well the new player mixed with the returning players and became a big part of why the team did well this year winning the close matches,” Coach Freddy Brussel commented.

This allowed this year’s squash team to best last year’s 8-9 record. “The team has its ups and downs but I think that is due to the collective winning

mindset we have,” upper James Manderlink said. “I can’t think of one person on this team who is ok with losing. We all come out everyday with the desire to win, and anything less than victory is failure. This has led to a few disagreements in the past, but overall, I think it can lead to a healthy team environment.”

“I believe that squash is the sport to have some natural competition among teammates,” senior and Captain Sam Lew said.

“This is how we push ourselves to become stronger and better players. In truth, I think in my four years it has improved to the point that I think our team was much closer towards the end.

Less divide among teammates.

More support for each other rather than focusing on individual success. I hope that this continues and we continue to create an atmosphere of competitiveness where we strive to improve for the benefit of the team.”

“I learned that even as number one, my role wasn’t to win every match but to play my absolute best to perhaps inspire the younger teammates,” Lew said.

He certainly has done so.

Manderlink explained how he looked up to Lew. “All season he battled injuries while giving 110% in matches while also helping to teach our young team,” he said. “Throughout my time on the squash team, Sam has always been super supportive and helpful. He gives advice

on how to get better, and generally will hit with anyone on the team, regardless of ladder position which is rare, especially among number ones.”

“Ever since I started here at Exeter, the seniors have had a huge impact on this team,” Manderlink said. “As an upcoming senior, I am excited to continue this, and make next year the best it can be. I think we will have a really competitive team next year, and with the right attitudes and leadership I think it can be the best season yet.”

Prep Sean Wu also had similar feelings about his captain. “ Going into interschols, I really did not expect much from any of our players,” he said. “For our number one seed, Sam Lew, he really had to work to win as he was competing against all of the other top players. Sam never settles, he always thinks that didn’t play as well as he could have. I think this mindset is what makes him the beast of a player he is.”

Many of the matches that the boys are playing are against players that are top 50 in the country in their age groups. The boys squash team has a tradition of relying on hard work and dedication rather than talent. Coaches Greg and Ben from The Osman Group (TOG) always taught the boys to “make your opponents play harder than they thought they were going to have to. This will give the Exeter squash team a reputation of respect and hard

work.”

“There were some really difficult practices,” Manderlink said. “After a long day of school, going to a grueling practice isn’t always the most fun. Although these practices were difficult, I think they helped us grow and connect as a team. We all had to work together when doing sprints, as if one person didn’t finish we all had to do them again.”

Brussel noted that his high points of the season were “the 4-3 wins over Groton and Nobles, winning close matches means to me that the team is willing to fight which is all a coach can ask for.”

“The high point of the season is when we get to play Andover,” Manderlink said. “Even though we didn’t win, it is one of the only matches where all of us get to play. In these moments you really get to see all the hard work pay off. Every day we all work hard in practice, and getting to watch and cheer on those outside of the top 16 who don’t get to play as often is always a highlight to my year.”

Lower Jean-Francois Gilardoni also enjoyed Andover. “I was very fond of the nicknames we gave each other. My favorite moment during the introductions at our last game, which was away at Andover, was when Ryan announced our nicknames,” Gilardoni said. “It was really funny, especially because our oppo-

nents were extremely confused.”

The team built really strong bonds with each other over the course of the season. “The whole team was extremely supportive,” prep Sean Wu said. “They are like a family to me. I can comfortably share things with them that I would never want anyone else to know, and I felt like I could really talk to them.

We were all super supportive of each other and were focused on improving together.”

“If we are fortunate enough to return to campus in the Winter, I would undoubtedly be most excited to see my teammates,” Wu said. “What I miss the most about our team is our energy. I miss laughing with them and vibing to music with them.”

Captain and Senior Ryan Xie said that “leading the team felt more like hanging out with a group of friends. I don’t like telling people what to do, but I hope I set a good example.”

With the season behind them, the boys are looking forward to improving and having a better season the next year. They will miss their seniors but are also looking forward to welcoming new players. “I never really set expectations or know what the incoming players are going to be like until I see them for myself,” Brussel said. “After the first practice, I start to set my goals for the season, this way my expectations are realistic and achievable.”

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Spring Sports in Review

By MICHAEL POPIK

reach.

While the Academy’s attempts at distance learning have replicated many facets of Exeter life, athletic teams have not been able to compete amid the coronavirus pandemic.

First-time and returning players alike mourned the loss of quality minutes on the field, snatched away in a single email. It will be another year before Exeter’s spring teams take the field. Nonetheless, the Exeter community can honor their hard work over the past season, readying them to dominate next year.

Girls’ Varsity Crew Captains: Amelia Demopoulos and Shelagh Coombs

Boys’ Varsity Baseball Captains: Will Coogan, John Hawkins and Noah Jankowski The Boys’ Varsity Baseball team has held biweekly Zooms this term, in addition to Canvas team workouts, this term. “To put it simply, missing senior season sucks. I was really looking forward to this year, I think we had a very good team and a realistic chance [at] repeating as champs,” senior co-captain John Hawkins said.

“The guys on this team were special and I’ll remember them for the rest of my life.

Asked about life advice for his teammates, Hawkins offered this: “If you’re lucky enough to have a season next year, appreciate every moment, you might not get another.” When the team competes again next year, these words will certainly ring true.

Boys’ Varsity Crew Captains: Milo Walshe and Alex Urquhart It is hard to stay in peak crew shape without shells, ergs or weights, but Boys’ Crew has managed. Luckily enough, senior co-captain Alex Urquhart has an erg. “All I have in my house is an erg, so I’ve had to do lots of pushups and squats to keep my strength,” Urquhart said, hoping to stay in shape for the grueling water sport.

The crew team has faced extra heartbreak, given their “four-month long training season on the ergs” to prepare for the term. Still, Urquhart urged the team to “think about next year and blowing everyone else out of the water.” Given the team’s commitment to staying in shape (they’ve agreed to log daily workouts to hold each other accountable), dominating next year seems more than within

Girls’ Varsity Crew hasn’t stopped working out during quarantine, either. Senior co-captain Amelia Demopoulos noted that the team is “running a workout competition, so we can see what everyone else is up to on a spreadsheet, while keeping it fun and competitive.” It’s not just crew workouts that the girls share with each other, either; food recipes make it into the mix, too.

Demopoulos wished the younger students the best of luck with next year’s season, all while noting her sorrow at a cancelled final season for her senior peers. “It would have been their last time rowing on such a competitive team, which is really tough,” she said. “I’ve fostered some of my closest friendships as a result of crew, and I miss the sport and the community immensely.”

Boys’ Varsity Lacrosse Captains: Kerr Heidinger, Zeb Tilton, Danny Colon, and Benjamin Peffer After adding key postgraduates Cam Barisano, Charlie Higgins, Aiden Glover and Cooper Higgins to the roster, playing alongside such key players as Griffin Walker, Alex Knopp and Johnny Bradbury, Phillips Exeter seemed poised for a dominant season. The offense was experienced; the defensive young, but hungry.

Over quarantine, the team has been organized into four teams, each under one of the captains. The team completes weekly footwork, wall ball and conditioning workouts.

Coach Bill Glennon even broke out “The Twist” for morale. Check out Peffer and Walker’s warmup playlist, “The Greatest Season That Never Happened,” on SoundCloud. It’s worth it.

Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse Captains: Abby Smith, Dennesha Rolle, Jenna Brooks, and Beez Dentzer One of the most tight-knit programs on campus, Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse has not lost their luster over quarantine. “We Zoom once a week on Wednesday as an entire team. It is very casual and we usually just re-

member funny times with our teammates, watch TikToks, or talk about our weeks,” senior co-captain Abby Smith said.

Like their male counterparts, Smith noted that Girls’ Lacrosse was on track for a dominant year. “I had really high hopes for the success of our team; I think we were going to do really well this year because we had so many talented players,” she said.

Smith encouraged the preps, lower and uppers who will be returning to “just return next year with more determination. Every team has lost their season, but what will set you apart is if you keep a positive attitude and look at this free time as an opportunity to improve.” Good luck to Girls’ Varsity Lacrosse next year.

Girls’ Varsity Softball Captains: Amanda Harris and Velen Wu Girls’ Varsity Softball senior co-captain Amanda Harris is not one to stay to the negative. “Obviously, that dream [of breaking Exeter records] will never get to happen, but I’m not going to dwell on that,” she said. “I just want other students to play their hardest every time and not just for their last game of the senior season.” The team has been Zooming to check in with each other and work out three times a week. Hopefully, this work will pay off next season as the girls try to live out Harris’ hope.

Boys’ Varsity A Tennis The Boys’ Varsity A Tennis team had not elected captains when the coronavirus pandemic struck the United States, but the team has organized around a Canvas page. “The tennis team has maintained a Canvas page with occasional discussion, trivia, ladder drills,” lower Alexander Morand said. “It’s really unfortunate to completely miss the season… [but] I play almost every day.” With this type of dedication, the team will surely come back stronger than ever for next year’s season.

Girls’ Varsity A Tennis Captains: Tia Stockwell and Mimi Lavin Girls’ Varsity A Tennis senior co-captain Tia Stockwell expressed a sentiment shared amongst her fellow captains. “I do feel sad that I have to miss the senior season, especially since I’ve really been working to

become captain since my prep year, but I know I can’t really control the situation,” she said.

Stockwell added, though, that staying positive has helped to control her disappointment. Like Boys’ Varsity A Tennis, the girls have a Canvas page with tennis-specific workouts each week, but the girls have added watching game film to the mix.

That’s a surefire way to better their play for next season.

Still, Stockwell encouraged her team to “enjoy your down time right now. Enjoy the little things in life.”

The Exonian is with you on that one!

Varsity Track and Field Boys’ Captains: Jinwoo Kim, Deniz Akman, and Matthew Wabunoha Girls’ Captains: Maddie Machado, Tise Okeremi, and Emy Li Disappointment hung heavy among the track and field captains. “Now, I have nothing,” senior co-captain Tise Okeremi said. “I feel like I didn’t make the mark I wanted to make, which is sad.”

Certainly, her co-captains shared these sentiments. “I wouldn’t be able to put down the times I had been working toward or get some closure during my last season,” Emy Li lamented.

“I wish I had the chance to prepare emotionally for my last race,” Maddie Machado added.

Even with this tragedy, the team has managed to stay together through workout challenges, from family member lifts to push-up competitions and half-marathons. “Don’t lose sight of your goals for the future in terms of your sport,” Li emphasized, “because when this is all over and you’re able to train and compete with your team again, you’ll be ready.”

If there is a silver lining, Machado has found it: “Being denied the chance to practice and race only makes you realize how much you miss it.”

Varsity Golf Captains: Kennedy Moore and Teddy Keller Like most varsity teams, golf has met weekly on Zoom. As one of the few playable sports amid the pandemic, golf has continued to be part of players’ lives. “I’ve been playing a bunch… with my brother to keep my game in shape,” senior co-captain Teddy Keller said.

Still, Keller could not help but

note that he was “devastated to lose my senior season, as I was looking forward to it all year.” Here’s to more games and better times.

Varsity Girls’ Water Polo Captains: Rose Coviello and Izzi Robbins Coming off a strong season last year, including wins against such rivals as Andover, Deerfield, and Loomis, Girls’ Varsity Water Polo seemed poised for another winning season. Headed by Rose Coveillo and Izzi Robbins, two regulars in the Downer Fitness Center, the team looked to avenge last year’s two losses to Williston and change a third place finish at the Liquid Four to first place. Alas, that never happened, but with nine rising upperclassmen on this year’s roster, raising the trophy next year is not out of reach.

Varsity Cycling Captain: Lhamo Dixey As the Exeter website boasts, “Big Red is one of the most distinguished cycling programs in the region, and [has] posted a top three finish at the New England Road Cycling Championships for eight straight seasons.” With seven seniors rostered this year, it seemed possible to repeat last year’s dominance, including a sound victory against Andover. Adding four new preps to the roster this year should have helped Varsity Cycling continue their domination without any need for rebuilding years; as seniors and other upperclassmen graduate, new cyclers who joined as preps will rise up to fill the new leadership roles and score points for the Big Red. Boys’ Varsity Volleyball Often touted as “Exeter’s Winningest Team,” it is not unusual for Boys’ Varsity Volleyball to go games or even a season at a time without losing. Last year marked five New England Championships in just as many years, all the while only losing five games. That is about a 10:1 ratio between wins and losses. There is no reason Boys’ Volleyball should not continue their domination next year, with twelve rising upperclassmen.

Good luck to the seniors continuing onto collegiate athletics, from club to Division I! Big Red teams will miss you.

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Alumni Advice

Friendship After Exeter

By ELIZABETH YANG ’19, ELA FEHANGIL ’19 and JANEVA DIMEN ’19 Elizabeth: As embodied by this joint article, the Exeter connection lives beyond attending the school itself. It comes in the form of lasting friendships and lifelong mentors, but also in unexpected bonds forged as alumni. Within one year of graduation, I have already encountered and befriended Exonians that I had rarely talked to on campus or never even crossed years with.

This phenomenon has emerged for me through older Exeter grads reaching out to share specific college advice and opportunities as well as through alumni gatherings in the Boston metropolis. But other happenings have taken me even more by surprise. On a senior summer trip, my friends and I found ourselves standing next to a 2017 Exeter graduate on a packed Bangkok Skytrain.

In my first semester at college, my closest peer in my math class was an Exonian who had taken a gap year and actually graduated five years before I did.

Beyond my individual experience, I know of future college roommates that are Exonians who lived on different sides of campus and friendships that first began at my class’s reunion during fall E/a. With this insight, I would encourage the graduating class to be completely open and receptive to this new form of an Exeter community.

Whether that means saying hello to that person in the airport with an Exeter hoodie or organizing a brunch for the Exonians at your college, I hope you will embrace this new community as much as you treasure the memories from your time as a student.

My heart goes out to the class of 2020, but may your reunions mean that much more and your friendships have something uniquely special to them that hasn’t been experienced before. Cheers to all of you for graduating!

Ela: I did not realize the impact Exeter had on me until I left campus after graduation. When I arrived at college, not being able to spend late nights in the Dunbar common room or go to Elm for dinner scared me.

A Ship at Sea

By JORDAN DAVIDSON ’19

I grew up at Exeter. As an only child, the friends I made at Exeter became substitute brothers and sisters who have enriched my life in ways not even the Exeter English Department could teach me how to express. I might as well call them my family. I hope that you graduate from Exeter feeling the same way.

At some point, you might

feel uncomfortable, conflicting emotions about life after Exeter. Often, I feel that the four years I spent at Exeter was the perfect amount of time while also wishing I could live in my Upper and Senior year forever.

I came back for E/a expecting to feel like I wouldn’t want to leave. I couldn’t have been more wrong. While I love my younger friends at Exeter, they lived in an Exeter I did

I tried to make college feel as much like Exeter as I could, getting involved in activities I used to and treating my freshman writing seminar class like a Harkness discussion. I soon realized, however, that college is not Phillips Exeter Academy.

At first this realization upset me. I missed my friends and being a senior, but once I was able to accept that college is a different yet equally amazing experience as Exeter, I started to find new connections to the Exeter community that I did not have before.

I grew closer to some incredible Exonians in college that I had not interacted with much on campus. I got to visit some of my best friends at their new schools and see what their college experiences were like. My fellow writers and I have even started sending around a belt to each other, inspired by the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, for one of us to wear on important days. The person wearing the belt knows, no matter how far away we are, that her fellow Exonians are with her in spirit.

My advice to you all is to look for new ways in which Exeter can be incorporated into your lives and to apply what you have learned here as you

move into a new chapter. It will look different, but it will be just as meaningful as your time on campus was.

Congratulations to the Class of 2020! You should be so proud of yourselves, and I am so excited to see what the future holds for all of you.

not know. It wasn’t my Exeter anymore, it was theirs. I felt more like a ship at sea still able to see the shore, but venturing at a steady rate toward the horizon. While that might sound cheesy, it is the best way I can describe a feeling I know other grads have experienced, too. You may very well have a similar feeling in the future. It helps me in those tough moments to remind myself that Exeter is still home in my heart, even if it is through friends and memories and not my physical presence with the people I love.

In the final episode of The

Office, Andy says, “I wish there was a way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve actually left them.” I couldn’t get that quote out of my head at my graduation. Today, you might feel the same. But the way I see it, that’s ok. Nothing can take away the lessons you learned and the friends you made. College might never compare to Exeter. It hasn’t for me. But, again, that’s ok. We are so lucky to have our relationships and memories. You will cherish them with a smile on your face, I guarantee it.

Janeva: The summer after Senior year, Ela and I were chatting with some graduates who had already attended their ten-year reunion. Like Ela and Liz, they had formed new friendships with Exonians in college, while maintaining their relationships from highschool. This group of friends gave me the best Exeter advice I have ever received: call your friends between classes.

I cannot tell you how many times a quick “Hey there!” from Ela or Liz has made my entire day. For some, college is easier than Exeter; for others, it is harder. Either way, it is not uncommon to get caught up in homework, new clubs, friendships, and unfulfilled let’scall-soon’s. That is where the five-minute phone call comes in. You might not have time to FaceTime your friends for an hour, but everyone has those

mindless minutes walking to the next class. Your friend won’t always pick up, but your name on her lockscreen is one of the best things to see after a grade-crushing exam, a diving practice of belly flops or even an acceptance to her dream program.

And that friend from prep year you haven’t talked to since? Call him too. It’s never too late to catch up. The Exeter connection is stronger than you think. Your classmates are the people with whom you’ve grown up, and living with your friends is a dream few can even imagine. After graduation, many Exonians long for that familiarity and fondly remember even the seemingly insignificant moments from years ago.

If you remember them, they remember you. So call those friends. It never hurts to try.

I call Ela and Liz because they are the role models I want my children to see. The Class of 2020 is full of role models.

And Exeter will never forget you. From a cancelled Senior Spring to an Assembly of one, you have handled this year with incredible grace and fortitude.

As Liz said, yours is a connection few can claim. So keep it.

Here’s to your friendships.

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Put It in the Bank

By HANNAK PAK ‘19

Growing up, after a hard run, my dad always told me to think about the run and “put it in the bank”: remember the experience of feeling tired and beat down, but still work hard and run fast.

This idea is so beautifully applicable to life, especially the Exeter experience.

I know 2020 feels like a sleep-deprivation-induced fever dream (you all would know about those). An impending third World War, ravaging bushfires, a modern plague, UFOs, the list goes on. Bleak as it may seem, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about Exonians, it’s that they are some of the most resilient people I’ve ever met. Despite the trials and tribulations, through late nights and 333s and missing home, you all have still managed to find joy and success. Success not as defined by good grades or college acceptances, but by personal growth and the cultivation of passion. I see this in your leadership. I see this in your kindness to each other and to yourselves, in your ambition and collaboration and especially in your fierce desire to push through an incredibly unpredictable and unprece-

dented spring term.

So, class of 2020, take a look back at everything you’ve accomplished. Think about the big stuff. The time you studied hard for that one test, or started that club, or scored that game-winning goal. Give yourself a smile and a pat on the back. But don’t forget the small and beautiful moments too. When you finally reached out to that one person you’ve always wanted to be friends with. The first time you made the *perfect* grilled cheese on the panini press, or managed to snag the last churro in dhall. When you won your first spikeball game, went rope swinging, or watched a movie in the academy center basement.

You’re allowed to be proud of the little stuff. Take it all, the major life events and split-second moments, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, the successes and failures and everything in between, and put it in the bank.

Because even though no experience is perfect, these past four years made you the beautiful, radiant, immovable people you are today. Whatever the world decides to throw at you next, just take a look in your bank. You’ve got this.

On Remembering Exeter After Graduation

By ADRIAN VENZON ‘19

In my first month of college, I found myself comparing everything to Exeter; my new dorm room was smaller than my emergency triple in Soule, shopping period (an amazing concept in theory) meant that I was fighting my new classmates for a spot in that elusive first-year seminar (if you don’t get in through the lottery, email the professor and ask to be placed on the waitlist ASAP!) and worst of all, I had to raise my hand in class to speak. I suppose it’s too late now to urge you to cherish Harkness while you can, so instead I will ask you to reflect upon your years of having this privilege.

What have you learned through the discussions Exeter prides it-

self on? What will you bring to the Harkness tables of your future?

Needless to say, I missed Harkness more than anything when I started college. I missed flipping through the pages of a book, deciphering the notes I scribbled in the margins. I missed asking questions, no matter how trivial they seemed, without fear of judgment. I missed those moments at the end of class when everyone in the room knew that what just happened was magical. I firmly believe that if Harkness isn’t the most fruitful teaching pedagogy there is, it’s probably as close to perfect as you can get. Unfortunately, this means that anything that comes after pales in comparison. I was lucky enough to be in mostly smaller classes compara-

tively, (probably because I’m not a STEM major, but that’s besides the point), but even then, seminars in college feel like glorified question and answer sessions. Imagine mastering the art of riding a bicycle over the course of four years then being forced to put training wheels back on, and that’s pretty much what it felt like. I was so frustrated with the way classes were taught that I left every class thinking I had learned nothing, only to grow more upset.

One morning after my firstyear seminar, I expressed my frustrations with a classmate. I explained that at my high school, every class was a seminar, and it was a real discussion almost completely student dominated. She looked surprised; before this sem-

inar, she had never been in a discussion-based classroom setting.

I like to think that I’m decently aware of the privilege that comes with having graduated from Exeter, but this time I had completely overlooked it. At risk of sounding cliche, I approached the next meeting of that seminar with an open mind. I accepted, albeit reluctantly, that I would have to raise my hand to participate, and found that the discussion, though less fluid and dynamic than Harkness, still encouraged collaboration between the participants. Even if this class wasn’t Harkness, I could still bring the critical thinking skills I’d developed through learning under that pedagogy for years. It wasn’t until I stopped pitting Yale against Exeter that I started to enjoy learn-

ing again.

It took me around a month to finally start experiencing college as separate from Exeter. Before that, I found myself constantly wishing I was back in high school, to the surprise of many if not all of my new friends. If I had to condense all of this into a piece of advice to you as you graduate, it would be as follows: There are parts of Exeter to which you will be happy to say goodbye, and there are parts that you wish you could keep forever. Cherish these memories, and know that you can still return to Exeter, even if it’s a little different from how you left it. In remembering this experience, however, resist the urge to compare Exeter to the new environment in which you find yourself. Instead, find places to plant new roots in and people to anchor yourself to. Remind yourself what it was like to be a prep, cringe as much as you need to, then accept that in some way, you have reprised that role.

Lean into that feeling of newness, of endless possibility, and maybe you’ll start making the most of college a month before I did.

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GRADUATION ISSUE 2020

let’s gooooo