New students are exposed to a lot in their first few weeks here at Andover. Though some aspects of PA life may be initially intimidating, to many it seems a new world has opened up, complete with its own language. The words “munch,” “ASM” and “Ryley” take on personalities of their own and become integral parts of the PA experience. “PAPS,” “Babs” and “Gee-Dubbs” enter freshman repertoires. Then there is “catboner.” One of my earliest memories of freshman year is leaving Rockwell, waiting at the crosswalk for the light to change, then beginning to cross only to be nearly run over by a car full of people I would soon learn to call “townies,” all of them screaming “CATBONER!” at the top of their lungs. Given the nature of the epithet, I was not sure whether to laugh or reply with another phrase in kind, perhaps “puppygrundel.” This was my introduction to the age old PA-AHS rivalry, an arrangement resented by some and embraced whole-heartedly by others. Though I would occasionally be “catbonered” walking down Main Street, I never gave the matter much thought after Junior fall, until I was informed that a small student group was working with Kennan Daniel to plan a joint PA-Andover High social event sometime this December. I wrote an article about this proposed event, an ice cream social, a week ago, reporting the facts and the thoughts of others. Now I am sharing my own. School spirit and traditions are part of what makes the Andover experience fun and special. Andover-Exeter has been an excellent example of friendly rivalry for more than one hundred years, but the Andover-AHS rivalry is of a somewhat darker nature, and I applaud efforts to diminish its hostility. There have been instances of townies striking PA students with eggs and similar projectiles, and many people remember the Catboner group on Facebook and the fallout of that kind of interaction. It is good something is being done to prevent conflict from happening in the future. Though relieved to learn of this initiative to bridge the gap between our schools, I am troubled by the cynicism among many of my friends. I wrote in my article that reactions to the idea of greater PA-AHS interaction were mixed, and they were: some people are sanguine about the ice cream social and hope for a dance to follow; however, a great many people do not believe the social can work. I have to disagree. It can work, but it is entirely dependent on our attitudes. Many AHS students are excited for this opportunity to get to know us. Their Junior Class Board of Directors has made it a priority to get these proposed social events off the ground. They seem genuinely curious to meet us and find out what students at Phillips are really like. Should we write this gathering off as a failed experiment without even so much as heading downtown to investigate, we will be reinforcing the notion held by a minority of the AHS student body that we are snobs. Indeed, we will be guilty of that accusation of snobbery. Some have conjured images for me of Old Town Hall filled with people, music and ice cream and absolutely no interscholastic interaction. PA kids on one side of the room, AHS on the other, glancing awkwardly across that vast divide. It is certainly a possibility that the whole thing will be awkward and the ice will not be broken, but then again that is a possibility at regular PA events as well. We are a large school, and students here see new faces and meet new people every day. Pep rallies, presentations in Kemper and even Ryley dances are filled with strangers, yet that does not stop most students from attending. Why then should the prospect of this ice cream social be so intimidating? At worst, students will go downtown with their friends, get some ice cream, decide the social is lame and go to Starbucks. But then again, maybe the music will be bad, causing a townie to make a snide comment that makes a PA kid laugh and remark in return. Maybe those two will begin to talk. Maybe one kid’s friends will come over and introduce themselves, and that small group of brave fraternizers will become a larger group. Maybe, just maybe, friendships will form, numbers will be exchanged and that vast divide between Phillips Academy and Andover High might get a little smaller.
