We enthusiastically applaud the new School Meetings in the Hess Auditorium. It is clear that considerable time and thought have gone into improving these weekly assemblies. After all-time low attendance last year, partly due to the location in the West Gym, the new Hess Center provides a space that is comfortable and just the right size. However, that is not the only change.

The content of School Meeting has been adjusted, and has redefined our purpose in meeting as a community. As opposed to last year, when students would dread what tedious announcement would drag on or repeat the same idea heard the week before, we have, so far, had consistently interesting and engaging content. Paulina Sengeridis ‘15 performed an amazing solo, Nate Steele ’17 gave a virtuosic Bach piece, and Sean Yu ‘18 played some beautiful piano pieces. Additionally, Deerfield Talks by Matt Morrow ‘15 and Ken Park ‘15 have piqued student interest in the passions of their peers, while the video from Emily Yue ‘16 and Xander Li ‘17 poignantly captured the spirit of Deerfield. It is clear to anyone at School Meeting these days that those very same school cheers that were subdued last year are now much more enthusiastic.

Not only is there more interesting content, there is less repetition from meeting to meeting. We at The Scroll thank the administration and student participants for creating this time and space in which we can all come together as a community and connect in meaningful ways. We believe that our responsibility as a student body is to respect the effort that is going into School Meeting this year and approach it with our full attendance and complete attention. We are excited to see where these meetings will take us as a community in the future.