In a student-conducted poll surveying both Phillips Academy faculty and students, an overwhelming majority opposed an informal motion to shift sign-in to 9:30 p.m. on all school nights. Last Thursday and Friday during lunch, Christian Anderson ’09 and Daniel Glassberg ’09 asked students and faculty to sign a sheet indicating whether they support or oppose the shift. The results of the poll showed 479 votes against 9:30 sign-in and 25 votes in support. Anderson and Glassberg organized the poll in response to an informal proposal raised in early January by Paul Murphy, Dean of Students & Residential Life. Murphy suggested shifting final sign-in to 9:30 on all evenings before school days. Anderson said, “I feel that… the student voice was largely being ignored, so someone needed to do something about it.” “I’m objecting to the way this decision is [being] made. I feel that Dean Murphy is unilaterally imposing this on the students,” Anderson continued. Other student organizers of the poll were Jake Romanow ’10, Katie Rivera ’11 and Amanda Wang ’11. Romanow said, “The voices of students and house counselors should be heard on an issue that involves students and house counselors.” The organizers attempted to not influence voters with their personal opinions during the polling. “As a day student, I had a relatively neutral stance. Hearing the arguments on both sides led me to formulate my opinion,” said Anderson. The poll organizers plan to present the results of their survey to members of the Senior Administrative Council. Several students also opted to write a short letter expressing their opinions about the new policy. According to Anderson and Glassberg, voters who opposed 9:30 sign-in offered many arguments against the policy. The arguments included less time with resources in the library, Elson Art Center and Graves, an earlier closing for math and science study halls and more difficulty coordinating projects with groups of mixed gender or residency. “A lot of out-of-class academic commitments, such as films shown in the evenings, will also be harder to schedule with this new sign-in policy,” said Wang. Voters who supported 9:30 sign-in said that students do better work in dormitories and that a 9:30 p.m. sign-in time would establish a better academic environment for the school. Murphy said, “I think [the poll] is great. It’s helpful to know what the majority of the people [are thinking] and we’re getting feedback.” But the results of the poll have not changed Murphy’s stance on the sign-in policy. “[The results] are not a [big] surprise to me. I am surprised that 25 people voted for this policy,” said Murphy. “As in any other part of the program, it is unlikely that we will get full agreement from students.” Murphy has discussed the possible 9:30 sign-in policy in several Student Council meetings. He also raised the idea of an earlier sign-in with house counselors during the January 12 faculty meeting. Shawn Fulford, Instructor in Math and a member of the Housing Committee, said, “I am 100 percent for [this policy]. The dormitory will be able to quiet down quicker and we will be able to hold dorm meetings earlier [just as we can on Thursdays and Sundays].” “It will definitely send the signal that the school wants students to go to bed earlier,” added Fulford. Jeffrey Marzluft, Associate Director for Instructional Services in the OWHL, approved of both the student poll and an earlier sign-in. “It’s a great idea. [Students] should make polls and express themselves and let the administration know of their opinions,” he said. Marzluft said that, although the library would close earlier with 9:30 sign-in, students always have the option of coming to the library before study hours. “Perhaps [students’] entire afternoon schedule might shift [earlier],” said Marzluft. Teruyo Shimazu, Instructor in Japanese and a house counselor in Paul Revere, said, “I can foresee conflicts with extracurricular commitments, [but an earlier sign-in time] is a better idea than a later start time for the class day.” Shimazu said that she believes students will start studying a little earlier with a 9:30 sign-in policy. “I’d rather have students work earlier and feel healthier and have the kids discipline themselves to do the work earlier [rather than procrastinate],” said Shimazu. Murphy will discuss the possible 9:30 p.m. sign-in policy at a faculty meeting on March 2. The school will not reach a decision on sign-in in the near future, said Murphy. He said, “Voting [on this new policy] is not imminent. It can be in early spring or weeks from now.”
