The Quads strutted their stuff this past Sunday at Quad Day, an event they host annually. Last year was a change of pace with Quad Night and a performance by Zox, but this year Quad Day went back to its original afternoon time. The return to form went smoothly, and West Quad North and South’s dorms showed their pride, spirit and entrepreneurial spirit. Besides the dorms’ myriad booths, some of the main attractions at Quad Day also included a jousting set, a moon bounce and human foosball. Taylor Hall had their classic, annual kissing booth. “We made six hundred dollars, so that was good,” said Graeme Clements ’09. Other dorm booths included a Bishop slack line, Isham face-painting, Thompson House temporary tattoos and “Spa Adams” — or “Spadams” — at which the dorm’s residents sold massages and manicures. Many dorms had tables selling food, including Bishop’s grilled cheese, Bancroft’s “decorate-your-own” cupcakes and Eaton’s caramel apples. In addition to food and other entertainment, several live bands performed at Quad Day. Hours before the event even began, the strumming of an electric guitar could be heard echoing throughout the Quads. The first band was Seven Layer Crunch Wrap Supreme, comprised of Uppers Duncan Crystal, Bijan Torabi, Matt Renner and Phil Hofer. The next band was The Freshman, which included Peter Nelson, Zachary Fine, Theodore Drake, Charlie Oliva and Jeb Roberts, all members of the class of 2011. Despite these numerous events, the turnout was lower than at last year’s Quad Night. Many students could not attend Quad Day because of its relatively inconvenient time on Sunday afternoon. For most students, Sunday is a time for completing a weekend’s worth of work, so an afternoon event is not a casual commitment. “I thought [Quad Day] was at the wrong time,” said Julianna Aucoin ’12, “I wasn’t able to go.” “Last year’s [Quad Night] was so much better,” said Steve Kim ’11. “The fact that [Quad Day] was on a Sunday [made it worse], and there wasn’t Zox.” To many people, the highlight of Quad Night last year was Zox, a professional band that performed at Phillips Academy to an enthusiastic and appreciative audience. For many returning students, Quad Night brings back memories of Zox and other performers. The event last year was very well-attended, unique from many scheduled weekend activities at Phillips Academy. Quad Night, however, did pose some issues last year. It continued until very late, and the loud music coming from the amplifiers could be heard from far away. In fact, many faculty members’ children couldn’t get much sleep. The Student Activities Board had to resolve this issue, working to reach a compromise between the needs of students and those of faculty. At this year’s Quad Day, certain students complained because house counselors’ children were taking up a lot of the space on the moon bounce and other attractions. The general consensus on this year’s event however, is that Quad Night wins out over Quad Day. “It was fun, but there wasn’t enough stuff to do,” said Cliff Brannan ’11. “If you weren’t going around from booth to booth, then you were just standing there. I liked Quad Night better. Quad Night was fun because it was basically a dance outdoors.” One disadvantage of any boarding school, such as Phillips Academy, is that families live on campus. Therefore, faculty members expect students to treat the Quads the way that they would treat any neighborhood. Some people suggested that next year’s music and carnival event could be held in the Cage. Past experience has shown, however, that the acoustics in the Cage are mediocre. There is a lot of time, however, between now and next year to figure out where events like Quad Day — or perhaps Quad Night — should be held.
