Tradition is engrained in the very nature of our school. However, circumstances occasionally arise that alter the commonalities we have come to know and love. For years, one of the most beloved traditions at Episcopal has been the annual EA/Haverford/AIS weekend. However, this year we will regrettably fail to experience the event as we have in the past.
November 7th-8th of 2014 will mark the prime time for competition between the Churchmen, the Owls, and the Fords. Yet, this weekend will also be characterized by hours of stressful standardized testing, as Saturday, November 8th is a nation wide SAT date. To make matters worse, Haverford, the host of this year’s games, also happens to be a testing site.
Photo Courtesy of Claire Smith ’16
Dr. T.J. Locke, Head of School, explained that Episcopal and Haverford, wanting to “send the message that we are academic schools first,” decided that the best way to combat this situation was to move all of the events back. Saturday will now begin with the Boys Cross Country race at 2 p.m., followed by the rest of the games. Regina Buggy, Director of Athletics, stated, “Both heads of school did not want to penalize anyone who wished to take the SAT, avoiding forcing student-athletes or fans who weren’t competing to have to make the decision of whether or not to take the test.” Nevertheless, it still appears that some sacrifice must be made in order to accommodate both the SATs and EA/Haverford day occurring within the same weekend.
Although the concept is that with a later start time to games athletes will not have to choose between competing and testing, realistically one cannot reasonably do both. For the girls competing on Friday, a long day of physical activity that ends with a school-wide bonfire is going to leave most exhausted, which is not exactly ideal for taking a 3 hour long test the following morning. Similarly, male athletes will not want to tire themselves out testing all morning, knowing that the outcome of one of the most important games of their season rests on their physical and mental state later that same day. Still, athletes are not the only ones who face a tough decision.
Many students who wish to be fully participating spectators at the events of the weekend will either be forced to forego some festivities or to skip the SAT. With this in mind, the competitions later in the day on Friday as well as the bonfire may loose fans wishing to go home and rest before testing the following morning.
Similarly, others who are tired from testing may not show up to support some of the events against Haverford on Saturday. The loss of spectators can alter the entire feel of the weekend, especially now that Boys Golf has been moved to Friday during the girls’ games due to the timing of the SATs, resulting in a possible splitting of fans between two locations.
The final alteration that the SAT makes to the weekend is in regards to the Can Dance on Saturday night. Although a chance for the students from Episcopal, Haverford, and Agnes Irwin to put aside the competition and come together to raise money for the Can Drive, this dance may be cancelled entirely or end up loosing a fair deal of attendees. Dr. Delvin Dinkins, Head of Upper School, noted that after getting pushed back, “the football game will now begin at 5 p.m.,” lasting well into the evening. Although Haverford has installed temporary lighting for the event, having a dance that is to begin at 7:30 becomes difficult. The Vestry and Dinkins have been in contact with Haverford and Agnes Irwin to set a time for the dance to take place. As of right now Tara Boyle ‘15, Senior Warden of the Vestry, stated, “We will either have the dance start later in the night on Saturday, which would be difficult for people to come to, or we will move the dance to another date that we have not yet agreed upon with Haverford or Agnes Irwin.”
Scholium understands that the date for EA/Haverford/AIS weekend was set before learning of the SATs and that the scheduling is ultimately up to the school hosting the games. We also would like to note that each school has done their best to combat the situation at hand. Nonetheless, we hope that future conflicts on this weekend might be better anticipated, allowing the games to proceed as well as they have in the past. Lastly, we encourage all students, whether testing or not, to come out and support your fellow classmates as EA/Haverford/AIS weekend only occurs once a year.