We have all sought a salve, some numbing, straightforward solution to heal something we aren’t sure of how to repair.
We have all, regardless of our class or affiliation with Alice, felt a loss, a feeling created when one of our fellow students no longer walks with us and when classmates appear tearstained or silent.
Andover teaches us about the world and how to live in it. It schools us in the details of Physics and the nuances of historical events. It tries to instill a sense of non sibi and finis origine pendet. But it can’t prepare us for the death of another student.
As Head of School Barbara Chase said in her speech to students, “This is not the way the world is supposed to work.”
It has been hard. For most of us students, fourteen to eighteen years old, death is frightening, unfamiliar. Grief, raw and surprising, can overwhelm us. And in its devastating course, we are only certain of one thing: the significance of Alice for each of us and our community.
Alice was a member of the Class of 2011, 2012 and 2013. Through her presence in multiple classes, she touched all of us in some way, whether in a class, in a dorm or just through a wave while walking on the paths.
Alice was an invaluable contributor the Andover community, writing raps, organizing fundraisers and providing comic relief in math class. Even more importantly, she was a strong friend who retained relationships despite leaving campus to return to Houston for treatments.
Alice had a huge DVD collection, and anyone in Paul Revere who wanted an ‘80s movie would know hers was the door to knock on. She had a soda addiction, a huge tub of frosting in her room that she would eat with a spoon and a beautiful singing voice. Alice was one of us.
But just these details cannot capture her time on campus. They cannot capture the thousand remembrances, hundreds of unspoken memories or her irrepressible smile. They cannot capture the personal image each of us holds as we think about her. Each of us are remembering, reflecting and grieving a different Alice as we knew her.
As we reflect on the Alice we knew, we must bear in mind the message Dr. Alovisetti delivered at All School Meeting, that it is important not to judge each other for our reactions during these difficult days. People grieve in very different ways, and we need to respect how each manages loss.
Alice, her memory, her bold presence, her spunk, will remain with us as we pass through this chaotic time. She will stay with us and with Andover through our memories and the ways she changed us.
This Editorial represents the views of The Phillipian Editorial Board CXXXIV.
