Proctor Pulse | Vol. 2 | Issue 1 | February 16, 2018 - Edited

PROCTOR PULSE Sophomores Speak | Proctor Academy | February 16, 2018 | Vol. 2 | Issue 1

Did it for the Donuts

By Molly Mueller

As a southern boy from Charlotte, North Carolina, who would have guessed that Alan McIntyre would carry on the Norwegian tradition of organizing polar swim every week? “There’s something about being outdoors at that hour and being in that element... wood and fire and ice and really simple backwood stuff, it’s a great resettling thing to do once a week.” Many members of our community wonder, “Why jump into a bitter cold pond at the edge of dawn? Why partake in this pure insanity?

In 2000, Alan took the job as the Environmental Coordinator here at Proctor.

Alan picked up where Nelson Lebo and Will Ames left off by continuing the then 16-year-old tradition of weekly polar swim.

Alan wants to share the feeling of polar swim with others. Polar swim gives students a chance to be in their own element and experience the physical shock. As Alan says, “It’s one of those raw, vulnerable moments.”

Over the school year, Alan and brave students experience the changing of seasons

in the rawest of forms. The cycle begins with the new faces and lukewarm water of autumn. It continues with the echoing cracks of the ice and numbing water. And finally, the Friday morning ritual closes with the birdsongs and overwhelming smell of rain in spring.

Some aspects of polar swim stay the same. Alan observes about the Elbow Pond site, “It talks, it sings a little, it yawns...there’s this elemental primal ‘back to the earth’ kinda thing going on there.” And for the plungers, every polar swim brings the faint smell of a sugary sweet, warm donut!

While organizing and inspiring polar swims, Alan really likes, “Watching these tiny micro-changes in the environment that occur over the course of time.” His spirit and energy in raising awareness about our surroundings, and how our actions affect the world we live in, is contagious. It’s easy to get caught up in the harsh reality of this world, but he still is able to find those moments of beauty. The simplicity of the dip is why Alan, and all of us who follow him, love polar swim.

A polar swim regular, observed, “Alan is goofy, energetic, and so passionate about polar swim and the work he does at Proctor.

He’s the type of person who doesn’t get sick of his job because he truly loves what he does, and loves this tradition that he has kept up.”

There is so much unspoken love surrounding polar swim and Alan McIntyre. It’s time for every Proctor student to come out and plunge to see what the numbing love and the delicious donuts are all about.

This feeling of connection is one that Alan hopes he can pass on to others by offering polar swim each week. Alan declares, “I feel connected, I feel reconnected, I guess, and that connection vibrates through me in a way that triggers nostalgia, as well as just pure joy.”

Alan McIntyre

Here’s to all the donuts and many more plunges into Elbow Pond.

And, here’s to Alan, for making all of this possible.

The Forgotten People of Proctor

By Cole Schwabacher

Does the Proctor community fulfill their core values with all members of our school? After talking to a member of Housekeeping, I worry that she and other staff members may be taken for granted and neglected. Proctor needs to teach by example by treating everyone in our community with the same respect.

Candi Adams has been working here for 17 years and I hope that our core values of respect, responsibility, honesty and compassion are extended to her and all of the staff, students and faculty.

Candi works very hard, coming in around 6:00 AM and leaving around 2PM after cleaning the library, Mac House, the Learning Center and the Annex. She has experienced many disappointments and she has learned to be patient and considerate. In the past, students have made utter messes that she has had to clean up - that is disheartening for her. It seems to me that some people in the Proctor community may overlook some staff members who have to tolerate selfish behaviors. It is annoying to think that some people will make messes, have it magically disappear, and not even know who is cleaning it up.

Housekeeping won’t clean if a really bad mess continues and may go to the dorm parent to share the situation. If this hap-

Candi Adams pens, Candi hopes that the dorm parent will take a harder stance with the dorm to be more caring and responsible. Unreasonably dirty dorms aren’t just gross, they are very disrespectful to the hard working staff that are trying to do their job. Ignoring people in our community breaks the core values of respect, compassion and responsibility. But as she’s gotten older, Candi’s begun to accept Proctor and the behaviors here. Some of it should not be allowed, but most of it is ok.

I’m doing. Being an introverted person I don’t feel like I need to be recognized in a big way. As Proctor has changed, I feel more are generous and grateful.” I hope the Proctor community will appreciate the cleaning staff and maintenance crew some way. Candi observed, “Proctor isn’t a place, Proctor is a community … we are all responsible for making Proctor what it is. And so that means being respectful of the buildings and the other students and the teachers and the staff.”

When I asked her, “Do you sometimes feel forgotten by Proctor?” Candi responded, “In years past I felt that way, but as I mature I get satisfaction in what

Candi does a great service to this community and I hope you get to know the people at Proctor who help you out.

Perspectives from the Past: Proctor Alums on Student Culture, Connections and Interactions

media. We hung out talked and got to know friends better on a deeper level...”

By Ingrid Cole-Johnson

What words would you use to describe Proctor? I asked this and many other questions to a handful of our very own Proctor Academy alums. One idea in particular that seemed to resonate through all of the current faculty was this overall feeling of abundance.

Learning Specialist Lori Patriacca’s first reaction was “Together.” Admissions Director Chris Bartlett described our community as “Unpretentious, Student-centered, innovative” Art teacher Corby Leith chimed in with, “Amazing.

Awesome. Nature.”

Curious about the changes in Proctor, I asked in what ways students changed in terms of how they interact and behave in the 1980s-90s versus now.

Here are a few remarks on most treasured memories that embody Proctor’s values.

Lori describes “The cheer - TOGETHER. We used to say it all the time. Before games. In assembly. When things were getting us down. It was a call to action. It was a reminder of what we were made of, how we were connected, and that we were stronger TOGETHER.” Erica remembers, “...we used to have to walk down to our [softball] field over the bridge. Those walks were always so fun just talking with teammates, stopping at Jake’s on the way home and just having no worries at all. I also loved orientation; I met some of my best friends on that trip and was so lucky to be able to work with Lori Patriacca. She was in my group and Michele and Terry were our leaders. It was so fun.”

The connection between all of these memories is that they are all as Corby puts it, “With friends.” These responses are truly a testament to the importance of togetherness within this community.

Corby explained, “... when I was a student we hung out more together...we were always outside or in the common room of the dorm, never Lori with students in our rooms. Today, students are in their rooms and the common room is never used. I also do not think students spend enough time outside exploring... Proctor students today... do not have as much free time...much more has been created to fill all the empty spaces of…the calendar.”

Chris Bartlett observed, “The biggest difference between students now and students “then” is the world they live in.

Technology has changed the way people interact (or don’t interact) and I believe that students are hungry to engage face-to-face with each other and adults. Seeing the impact of Mountain and Ocean Classroom really drives that home. I think it is the biggest challenge we face today as educators.”

Erica Wheeler of Student Activities remembers how “Student life...was a much simpler time... We would talk on landline phones. You weren’t able to make a call out after 11 so we would sneak calls and stay up late talking...We had activities like we do now but for me I liked to just hang out on campus on weekends. The biggest change for me is cell phone use here and in general...I think it really takes away from being present on campus and getting the most out of time from Proctor. We were friends with everyone and free time wasn’t used snap chatting or keeping up with social

Chris Bartlett

David Rayno

Wisdom From the Warming Hut: A Spotlight on Spanky

By Tommy Harrell

You won’t find him unless you go to Blackwater Ski Hill, but if you do find Spanky, make sure you talk with him.

Spanky is the guy who sits in the small, wooden shack perched at the top of the T-bar. On cold days, his hut is a typical place where us Eastern skiers let our frostbitten toes warm up and our exhausted bodies take a break. Each time I enter, I am greeted cheerfully with a radiating smile from Spanky. This is usually followed with a quick chat filled with lots of laughs from the skiers.

All of the skiers know Spanky, and Spanky knows everyone.

But none of us know anything about Spanky. At least, I didn’t. So I asked Ben Blanchard, a member of the Eastern Ski Team, what he knew about Spanky. Ben replied, “I don’t know too much about Spanky, but I know he enjoys company from the ski racers who like to warm up in the shack. He’s a pretty cool dude.”

Spanky’s real name is David Rayno. He was born in New London in 1940. He grew up in Wilmot Flat, and attended New London public schools through high school. From

there, he joined the Air Force for four and a half years, which he loved. Spanky told me he is “strictly a military person.” Afterwards, he came back to the area and became a meat cutter at a local market.

Spanky has been skiing since he was ten years old. He reminisced, “There was a hill across the street from my house, and we’d strap on the old wooden skis and go out and ski.”

He started ski patrolling in 1966 and was a member of the National Ski Patrol for fifty years. I asked Spanky if he liked his job at the top of the ski hill, and he answered with a resounding “Yes!” “Tommy,” He said to me, “I wouldn’t have been here since 2002 if I didn’t… so yeah, I do.”

From what Spanky told me about his past, I can tell he was a hardworking man with one goal in mind: helping people. From serving our country to patrolling the ski slopes, Spanky has been helping others.

And to anyone wondering about his nickname, well he doesn’t like to tell. His only hint to me was it has to do with the Little Rascals character from an old TV show. Whether that’s good or bad, Spanky will still be everyone’s favorite guy on the Ski Hill.

Color Me Green! Color Me White!

Rethinking Our Graduation Traditions

By Izzy Tonneson

Are there consequences in continuing to practice customs if their intended meanings have been forgotten? Do traditions created years ago take on a new interpretation with time?

On the morning of May 27th, Proctor Academy observed its 169th Commencement celebrating the Class of 2017 as its 109 members congregated in Alice’s Garden under a banner of spring sunshine, soaking up their last moments as high school students.

The gathering broke off as excited seniors sought out a place in line to begin the graduation procession. A flood of smiling girls dressed in white— white robes, white caps, white dresses— promenaded down the walkway, filing into the first two rows of seats followed by a trail of boys in green—green robes, green caps—occupying the successive rows. Two different colors of apparel, divided into two different seating areas, according to gender, a tradition that has raised some questioning eyebrows among Proctor students and faculty.

Pilar Galvan Fiona Mills (Co-Head of Diversity Committee, English & Social Science Depts.) comments, “I don’t know why we are doing that, and if we don’t know why we are doing that, it is problematic in and of itself. I’m not a big fan of doing things just because of tradition. We’ve evolved so much as a society around gender identity that it seems why don’t we evolve this as well.” Proctor’s ultra-traditional graduation attire visually links students to a gender, and in so doing undermines many aspects of what graduation intends to honor.

Graduation is a time for students to look back on their Proctor career and acknowledge the amount of individual achievement and personal growth they have made over the years. Fiona continues, “I think of [graduation] as a marker of students accomplishing a certain academic level and that students are reaching that benchmark through rites of passage, are transitioning into the college arena, or heading off into adulthood— completing their formal education. I do think it is celebrating the individual.”

The green folder of a Proctor diploma is a marker of everything that has happened over the past four years as well as all of the opportunities that await on the horizon.

The visual differentiation between the green gowns and the white gowns, some feel, have separated students into two groups, the girls from the boys, at a time of year when Proctor is commemorating a graduating class of students as a unified whole. As Kelly Griffin-Brown, Gender Committee Head puts it, “We are the graduating class so we [should] all wear the same color. It’s not that these are the girls graduating, and these are the boys graduating. We are a group.

We are the class of 2000 whenever, and as that group ... you’ve gone through all these things together and you’ve really gelled.” Highlighting a student’s position within the ceremony on the basis of gender, when they get to walk, and with whom they get to sit, breaks up the group dynamic that makes graduation memorable.

Mandating the gendered dress code at graduation demarcates the boundaries of where male and female, and femininity and masculinity begin and end.

As noted by Pilar Galvan, Senior, Class of 2018, “If you specify through gender the color that someone is wearing...then they feel like they have to be put into a box... I feel like we have to break down the stereotypes of people who present as being more feminine or people who are more masculine and the expectation of female versus male and I think that a way to do that is to make it less about gender and to make it more about who you are as a person.” It is widely touted that Proctor’s vibrant and diverse students are the backbone of its community, and it is through graduation that these students are honored for their individuality and contributions to the school.

As the class of 2018 takes to the graduation stage in recognition of Proctor Academy’s 170th Commencement ceremony, it is time to consider changing this outdated tradition.

Crowd Surfing or Couchsurfing? Proctor Dances: Hit or Miss

By Teagan Reilly

Girls shop for their costumes weeks in advance, guys put on anything they can find. They’re searching for who can look the best and match the theme. Student activities works long and hard at setting up streamers, blow up zombies, and various decorations.

Beach balls roll aimlessly on the floor waiting to be thrown and abused by sweaty hands.

A Proctor dance can be considered a hit or miss. To avoid these awkward get togethers I went behind the scenes to find what we can do to make all the Proctor dances successful.

Our Head of Student Activities, Erica Wheeler observes, “I think sometime the dances are great, when you guys dance. But sometimes you are just listening to the music and hanging out as a group,and it isn’t as fun.” Sometimes they are the highlight of the term, though other times it is twenty kids sitting around waiting for the fun to start. There are three major components to create success: atmosphere, music, themes and decorations.

Of course music matters. We are so lucky that we have our very own Kai Pilla to D.J. We have found major success with Kai because he knows exactly what to play and when. Never once do we have a dull moment when Kai is behind the music. Siri Warren, the student rep in student activities said, “When the music starts off as old hits from when we were younger mixed in with the newest songs ... we have the best time.”

Without decorations and costumes, dances are boring and uneventful. Siri explained, “What makes it more fun is, obviously, when it is a little more out of boundaries and it isn’t just a typical dance.” Kids are looking for a wow factor, it is the happy atmosphere that provides such a thing.

Get excited for the events coming up in the spring! Who knows, maybe you will be the next one to crowd surf.

Kai Pilla

Proctor’s Hidden Voices

By Sean Slick

Democrat or Republican? There is a small percentage of students and faculty here at Proctor who are conservative. I am one of those people and have noticed a stigma towards right wing thinkers. We all hold our own opinions which are sacred and it is our right to have them, and we should be able to express our opinion, right?

Haven’t we noticed that to have a successful community we need a multitude of different voices that push us and question us to the core in order to find an answer? Often, the voices and conversations reveal more than just an answer by creating something greater because we were able to find common ground.

Proctor takes no stance in politics and religion, it is an awesome place to learn.

It is important however, that students be allowed to develop their own opinion and not be swayed into one ideological mindset.

After being at Proctor for two years I have noticed often there is bias and little room in conversations for a different opinion. One of Proctor’s core values is honesty. How can we all be honest with each other if some feel threatened at the type of reaction they will receive for sharing their opinion?

themselves.” he also made a point to say that the only political conversation people have with each other is about hatred towards our president. “Nobody is interested in discussing politics unless it’s about how much they don’t like Trump and Republicans.”

Time and time again we see presentations, speeches that aren’t neutral but are biased like a video and presentation talking about NFL players kneeling in protest. It seems to me some faculty try to sway the audience.

Teachers are entitled to their own political opinion. In the classroom however, teachers are educators. Teachers should be trying to push minds to think about

Senior John Tilton, when asked how he feels about politics on campus stated, “It’s definitely one sided… sometimes I feel locked up.” Jon agrees it is important to consider everyone’s views. Jon also said that when he started sharing his opinion it helped him. Although that is not the case for everyone.

A classroom is where we should feel free to express our opinions and learn and engage with others. More importantly, we should be taken seriously. I believe that those who share conservative thoughts are disregarded. I spoke with Ross Young, a faculty member here on campus who stated, “It’s not easy. It’s not a friendly environment for conservatives or anyone that likes to think for

Republican Club

Seeing the World through A Hornet’s Eyes

By Tristan Auyang

You look at Jerome from a distance, his skin is black. He’s in a studio painting a portrait, not playing on a basketball court. You see Zhang Yo around the corner; his skin is yellow.

He’s the quarterback of the football team, not doing calculus problems in a classroom. You see Kareena behind you; her skin is brown. She’s running a marathon, not practicing medicine in a hospital. Racial stereotypes are not only still active in the world at large, but they are also lurk in the Proctor Community.

Proctor’s student body is split into two groups; the more significant domestic students and the smaller group of international students. These two groups have both integrated with the Proctor community, yet there seems to be a great divide that may not be visible to some.

However, both groups are aware of stereotypes. “Personally, I think a stereotype is the concept of people adding their general idea of a certain group of people to an individual.” Says International student Ellina Zhou. On the other hand, local student Geoffrey Herring says that “I define a stereotype as something that people believe to be true but isn’t true...”

However, some people have stereotypes that aren’t accurate, and that’s where Chinese Teacher Jon Beard comes in.

All students at Proctor have lived and grown up based on stereotypes. These stereotypes are either taught by parents, the community they grew up in, or from the world at large.

However, the student body is lucky to have Chinese teachers like Jon Beard to help students understand cultural sensitivity through studying a second language.

John Beard Jon told me that he is trying to help both local and international students break the barriers of stereotyping at Proctor.

“Finding ways to have a meaningful conversation with [people of] different backgrounds from you is really important. I would also encourage people to take a second language because at least it exposes you to some cultural understandings.” As our society gets more and more divided, we must band together and understand where these stereotypes are coming from.

A micro-aggression is officially defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as, “a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.” I feel this is something that has become rampant at Proctor. By understanding microaggressions, Proctor can be reeducated about stereotypes. I believe that the first step to help educate Proctor is if the apparent imbalance between the domestic and international students can be strengthened.

We can strengthen this relationship between the two student bodies through the development of an international student club or a international awareness gathering where both domestic and international students can share their thoughts and opinions on race and our world today through mutual discussions, thus creating more understanding between the two groups.

Ellina Zhou

Proctor is a fantastic place, but if Jerome can be in a studio painting a portrait and not playing on a basketball court and if Zhang Yo is the quarterback of the football team and not doing calculus problems in a classroom it can become an even better place.