**Non Sibi at PA** To The Editor: I read with interest last week’s editorial commenting on the talk I had given at All-School Meeting several days before. I can certainly appreciate that my optimism about youth in general and PA students in particular could be seen as “commendable” but “out of touch.” That point of view is clearly supportable. Nevertheless, I stand by my optimism (I hope not naively). Andover students and alumni display a remarkable degree of non sibi. Is it possible that students are so caught up in the craziness of college admissions that they fail to credit their own altruism (rather than “resumé building”) as a motive for community service? As I said in my talk, if it were only about looking good for college, students would stop “doing” service as soon as they leave Andover. That does not happen. In fact, over and over again, I meet and talk with graduates who continue to serve throughout their lives. Give yourselves credit; just because community service is something the colleges care about does not necessarily devalue it. Given the unprecedented pressure of the college admissions game these days, I marvel at the idealism, joy in learning, and spirit of generosity you bring to your lives here. I marvel at the degree to which you mostly avoid cynicism. Maybe, just maybe, service (non sibi) keeps idealism from souring into cynicism. Think about it. Your optimistic Head of School, Barbara Chase **In Defense of Work Duty** To The Editor: In last week’s Phillipian, Harrison Hart ’09 characterized the work duty program here as a waste of time, but I think he’s wrong. Perhaps work duty doesn’t fit smoothly into your extremely busy schedules, and perhaps you’d be better served studying during that time so you can get 6s on your Math exams. Maybe your lives aren’t improved at all by the program, but it’s not about you. It’s about spending time doing something for others. It’s about making time for the greater good, and it’s a good habit to develop. It’s also a lot easier to do with a smile on. Sincerely, Kennan Daniel To The Editor: The article “Enough With Work Duty” by Harrison Hart ’09 describes work duty as pointless, but has missed the very core of work duty’s mission – non sibi. The admission office, PACC, mail room, Peabody Museum, and many other offices on campus benefit from the time students give in the true spirit of non sibi, and their efforts impact the PA community at large. Let’s try to look beyond the immediate gain of GPAs and Ivy League acceptance and instead see the importance of students with the value of non sibi strongly ingrained in their characters. I am open to suggestions on how the work duty program might be modified to better achieve the goals of developing selflessness, diligence, and participation in the care and functioning of one’s own community. Sincerely, Vimala Mohammed **Addressing Anti-Semitism** To The Editor: I would like to thank Erica Segall for her Commentary article this past week. Her thoughts, believe it or not, were much of the original planning behind staging the show at PA. I stage-managed the show, and very early in the process, Mr. Heelan questioned: if Shakespeare’s selected minority had been an ethnic, rather than religious minority, would anyone have called into question the merits of producing the play in a high school? We imagined so. But anti-Semitism, as “culturally-rooted” as it is, is often overlooked. Worse yet, it is often excluded from the list of so-called “-isms.” To my knowledge, not once did the school administration or community question our production of the play. Not once was the anti-Semitism addressed outside of rehearsals and the department. Maybe that means that we’re extremely tolerant of all kinds of theatre and points of view — that we wouldn’t dare censor any play of such weight. I sincerely hope so. But maybe anti-Semitism goes so overlooked, particularly in this play, that we have become numb to it. At any rate, thanks for noticing. And, most of all, thanks for talking about it – that’s the most important result of our work. Sincerely, James Flynn The Phillipian welcomes all letters to the Editor. We try to print all letters, but because of space limitations, we recommend brevity and conciseness. We reserve the right to edit all submitted letters to conform with print restraints and proper syntax. We will not publish any anonymous letters. Please submit letters by the Monday of each week to The Phillipian mailbox in G.W. or to The Phillipian newsroom in the basement of Morse Hall, or send an email to phillipian@andover.edu.
