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Re-imagining MMI’s freshmen orientation Most of us probably have long-standing family traditions that get us excited for various holidays and life events. Whether it’s Aunt Mary’s green bean casserole on Thanksgiving, hanging a pickle on the holiday tree, exchanging gag gifts, or diving into grandma’s homemade apple pie at family dinners, there are things that make us all look forward to certain events and gatherings. But sometimes, those traditions have to change. Maybe a marriage brings in new traditions, maybe grandma can no longer make the apple pie, maybe the pickle gets misplaced… but you still go forward and maybe, just maybe, the compromise you make leads to a new tradition being born. Freshmen Orientation has been a long-standing tradition at MMI. Looking back at old yearbooks, “Freshmen Initiation” is documented from the early 1940s and dates back even further in the Flashes. It’s no wonder that when the tradition faced some scrutiny there was alarm over how it would turn out. Early in the school year, the senior class was faced with the task of re-imagining Freshmen Orientation to comply with Pennsylvania’s anti-hazing laws and the inclusion of secondary schools and the school’s new anti-hazing policy. As tasks go, it was a big one, but they took it on
with grace and poise. The newly re-imagined Freshmen Orientation led to two days of activities in late September designed to create a bond between the freshmen and seniors that should last well beyond the current school year. It began with a “trust walk” where seniors walked their blindfolded freshmen partners to the fields for a morning of team-building games. The freshmen took the lead on the trust walk back to campus where they enjoyed a pizza lunch and a group costume contest. Later in the afternoon, the re-fashioned Pajama Parade, with both seniors and freshmen continuing the famous jaunt through Freeland in their PJs, was met with much excitement by students, parents, and community members. They were even joined by Interim Head of School D. Scott Wiggins, who donned his sleepwear and fell in step alongside the students. After the traditional group photo on the steps of Old Main, the seniors lined the sidewalks leading up to the entrance and welcomed the freshmen one by one in a “Fresh Walk” where students’ names were called as the seniors cheered them on for their entrance into Old Main to officially begin their high school journey. Seniors asked (continued on page 6)
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