Academy Life Day

By TEDDY CAPOZZI, ISABEL EVANS, AHAMED HAMAD, CHRISTINA  HU ELLEN JIN, ALLEGRA LAI

On Tuesday, Sept. 19, Academy students spread far and wide for the annual tradition of Academy Life Day (ALD). Formally introduced in the fall of the 1995-1996 school year as “Residential Life Day,” the day was designed to give students a day off and allocate time to grow closer relationships with both faculty and peers. All respective dorms have their own destinations and activities planned for the day.

Senior and New Hall proctor Sophie Zhu expressed some discontent toward ALD and its ability to achieve camaraderie amongst dorms. “I think ALD has the potential to be a really good bonding experience but it’s really up to the students to reach out and hang out with people they haven’t met yet. It’s really easy for people to go off into cliques.” 

Prep Alyssa Wang in Hoyt Hall agreed. “It did help us create a sense of community and I feel like I did bond with my dorm mates, but since we were split up in groups, I didn’t really bond with the whole dorm.”

This appeared to be less of an issue between smaller dorms. McConnell senior Audrey Sim felt her time picking apples at Hillcrest Farm gave ample time and opportunity to connect with both new and returning students. “I had lots of fun with my friends and we got to explore the orchard and just hang out. I feel close to my dorm now.” 

Generally dorm faculty choose what the dorm will do and where, though this has created some strife amongst students. Senior Knight House proctor Heesung Jung questioned his dorm’s decision to go to the beach. “We went to the beach and we did not go

into the water. I’m not even kidding. What is the point of going to the beach if you can’t go into the water?” 

Across the road in Dow House, upper Evie Gaylord explained that her dorm came to a mutual agreement on their destination for ALD, which seems to have generated collective content from both students and dorm faculty. “We decided as a dorm where to go. There are only about 14 of us, so we decided amongst ourselves, then told the faculty, and they were happy with it.”

In Amen Hall, this year’s plans for ALD were very different from the past ones. Instead of going apple picking per usual, they took a short trip to Amesbury to have flatbreads from Flatbread Company. Though this change left many feeling disappointed, some were still excited about the new experiences they would have.

Senior Amen proctor Silja Pope thought it was a good opportunity to build stronger bonds within the dorm. “For many years now we have gone apple picking and I think people wanted a little bit of a change — something that could bring new groups of people together. So we decided to forgo that this year, and do something at Amesbury instead.” 

Wheelwright Hall also switched it up this year, staying on campus, going to the fields, and playing a series of games titled the “Wheelympics.” Lower Sophie Yu gave her thoughts: “I would’ve hoped that it was more inclusive to people who weren’t as enthusiastic about sports. I do wish we went off campus, but I think it was pretty fun still. I don’t think everyone was interested in it. A lot of people wished we went off campus, including me.” 

Wheelwright proctor Ellie Wang gave some insight on the planning process for a big dorm. “We wanted it to be engaging but not require an athletic baseline to be able to play. The main motivation behind this activity was doing something a dorm with more than 60 people could do (so no escape room or water jetting) while keeping it engaging for everyone.”

This year, Lamont Hall also strayed from their normal activities for ALD. For many of the past years, Lamont Hall visited and hung out at the beach, but this year they went apple picking at Applecrest, a nearby orchard. During their first fac-proc meeting, Lamont Hall decided that, while the beach may be fun, it doesn’t allow for proper bonding. 

Instructor in Science and dorm head of Lamont Jeanette Lovett expressed her thoughts about the students’ experience at the beach as an ALD trip location. “We had some concerns about the beach not being the best mingling experience for kids, because sometimes returning students gravitate towards their friend groups and don’t necessarily get to know the new kids, which is a big goal of Academy Life Day.” 

As a day student proctor, E. Wang also touched on the effect of having the whole dorm together “My favorite part was being able to spend time with the whole dorm, which doesn’t happen often for us day students. I got to meet new students and see the day students mix in with everyone else, too. It feels nostalgic being a senior and a proctor organizing things for the dorm to do, because not long ago I was on the other side of things, looking up to my proctors.”

This new experience was a positive one for the dorm and helped build stronger bonds among the dorm; however, some students felt as though there could’ve been more efficiency and input when choosing the location for ALD. 

Sarah Huang, an upper in Lamont, expressed her thoughts on this year’s ALD. “There are certain activities that are super fun, like go-karting and Dave and Buster’s. Those were more fun than what I did, especially because I’m allergic to apples. I would like to have a say because there are more fun things to do than what we did. I’m not sure how much input the proctors have, because I feel like typically the dorms just do the same thing every year.”

When asked, many students expressed that they would like to have a say in what their dorm does or be able to give their own input. Many had their own ideas of where they wanted to go. Yu said, “I think the student body who’s going to be participating in these activities [should have a say].” 

Huang agreed, “But I would like for it to be a larger dorm communal vote or suggestion box kind of thing.” 

However, new students expressed their content over what their dorm did. Main Street prep Anthony Papathanasopoulos said, “I think Main Street has a tradition of doing Capture the Flag. I think that’s kind of a cool tradition going from the years. So I wouldn’t really change where we go.” 

Wang felt similarly. “Yes, I think we enjoyed it. It helped [us] connect with people [we] don’t usually talk to.” 

While ALD is one of the first events to kick off the year, there have been mixed reactions to how the day was spent this year. Whether they were new or old to this tradition, many students thought the day was well-spent and helped them connect with the new students and the day students. Some students felt that the day would’ve been more enjoyable if the dorm was to collectively decide on an activity. On the other hand, dorm faculty have raised concerns about certain activities preventing students from bonding with each other, especially if some of the returners have already established friend groups in their dorms. Overall, ALD has always been something students have looked forward to in the fall, and with some minor changes, it can remain a beloved tradition on our campus in the years to come.