Editorial

The Development of Traditions

While students are usually wrapped up in current campus life and plans for the future, occasionally an anecdote from a teacher or a wild rumor of an extinct practice reminds students of the 232 years of history that lies behind them. Traditions like Head of School Day prompt some students to wonder how Andover traditions have changed over the years.

During Orientation, students may hear stories about the hazing rituals that Andover has long since replaced with informational meetings and bonding activities. Fifty years ago, instead of guiding new students as Blue Keys, Seniors would have participated in the Cane Rush, a tradition of charging at underclassmen and beating them to promote toughness.

A bin of candy placed outside the library causes students to buzz about the Secret Societies that once formed an intriguing underground network at Andover. Beginning in the 1870s, Secret Societies reigned on campus, holding hushed midnight ceremonies and graveyard initiation rituals until Headmaster John Mason Kemper shut them down in 1949. These long-gone institutions left a lasting impression on the school, for society houses, such as Benner House and Graham House, still stand today.

At Andover-Exeter in the fall, students remember the early roots of the rivalry. Some gawk at the daring pranks students pulled off in the past, which makes the current ones seem tame in comparison. For example, over 20 years ago students unleashed a swarm of mice that had been spray painted blue into Exeter’s library days before the competition.

The traditions the Andover community practices contribute to the school’s ever-changing identity. Andover has always maintained a universal school spirit, but old traditions point to a campus dynamic defined by exclusive entities within the school.

Societies with restricted entrance and pranks accomplished in secret created a campus culture focused on small groups rather than classes or the entire student body. This might have led to divisions, but it also created strong bonds and school pride.

Today traditions have moved in a direction to encompass the whole community. Modern Andover culture promotes collective identity over individual. The Midnight March brings together all new students and creates Andover spirit. Barely a single student is clad in anything but red on Exeter Geek Day. The Commencement circle, a tradition adopted from Abbot Academy, unites the Seniors symbolically one final time.

The school seems to have done away with the most radical or risky traditions. Students no longer pelt Freshmen or burn a wooden A in the fall term. While sometimes students sorely wish for the seeming lack of rules of the past, many changes seem to have been made for the better. While old boy networking and hazing create some wild stories, students agree that the school better embodies an inclusive approach to education without these practices.

As some traditions die and new ones are born, Andover’s identity changes. Though students don’t often have time to stop and think about it, those here today are part of this spectrum. 50 or 100 years from now, people will look back on today as a part of Andover history.

This Editorial Represents the views of The Phillipian Board CXXXIV.