Lance Bowman ’26
marry!, measuring measured measures to remeasure mismeasured
measures.
Photo courtesy of Kris Aldridge
Life boils down to a few big, seemingly unanswerable questions: What is the meaning of life? What happens when we die? What is right? And what does the EQV actually do?
The Esse Quam Videri society is a senior-led student group that prioritizes fostering school-wide connections between grades and groups. Each year, a group of 13 seniors is elected through popular vote by their class. Through this voting process, the society hopes to be composed of serious community leaders who have a variety of connections and leadership styles. By acquiring such a wide range of students, the society starts each year on the best possible footing for representing the student perspective and fixing community problems through student-led initiatives. EQV member Nikolai Nawrocki ’26 states, “The EQV is a group that tries to help the biggest problems that we see at EA from the student perspective.”
Achieving such a goal starts with the underappreciated efforts of the EQV, because behind every event or initiative are plenty of meetings held and sacrifices made. Having been elected in the Spring of their junior year, the EQV took a three-day retreat on EA’s campus to unify the club and to collect their individual goals. Describing the retreat as a multiple-day brainstorming session, Nawrocki went on to say that the retreat helped the EQV “bond as a team and especially as leaders in the community, all with different characteristics and different personalities.” Having unified their diverse goals and perspectives, the club has led a wide variety of inclusivity and connectivity initiatives this year, under the guidance of the society’s faculty leaders, Michael Whalen and Kris Aldridge
As the faculty leaders, Whalen and Aldridge keep the club organized and focused, but make a conscious effort to let the student voice speak, as explained by Nawrocki. He went on to explain, “The faculty advisors help organize various things related to our initiatives. They kind of guide, but what they primarily try to do is have the students lead the society.” In a community that is almost entirely run by higher-ups who get more and more distant from the everyday life of the students and faculty, it is refreshing to have the EQV as a society that takes initiatives in response to the voice of the students.
In their bi-weekly meetings, the society discusses its goals, initiatives, and upcoming events. These events are the society’s main means of extending its goals of promoting connectivity across grades and also throughout the faculty. So far this year, the EQV has arranged a variety of events for the faculty, whether it is meeting new teachers or arranging department parties. One of these parties included a movie-watching party as a thank you to the History and English departments. While these may be small gestures, they are also gestures of the student body’s gratitude for the teaching staff.
On the student side, the EQV has led a series of initiatives to promote school-wide unity and inclusivity. Behind the scenes, the EQV helped organize the logistics of the lower school Halloween parade, leading the lower school students through the upper school hallways. Another event to promote unity through the upper school was this year’s brand new Senior-Freshman Pancake Breakfast, in which seniors made pancakes for the freshmen, giving the usually distant grades a comfortable platform to interact and enjoy a meal together.
The EQV has also taken the initiative to support the academic side of student life as opposed to just the social aspect. With the lounges in the upper school becoming such a social space, the library has become a refuge for many students seeking a quiet study space. Unfortunately, the library was slowly becoming a social space, making it difficult for students to focus on their academics. The EQV launched a Quiet Library initiative to support those students who need a quiet study space. Through this initiative, the EQV promoted socialization in the lounges and academic achievement in the library.
In the coming weeks, a google form will be sent out to the current juniors. Within this form, junior will have the opportunity to select up to ten of their classmates that they would like to see in next year’s EQV society. Being selected onto EQV is an honor within the EA community, so voting is to be done thoughtfully.
In the hustle of EA life, the EQV dedicates time to slowing down and evaluating what the community needs. Whether it is showing gratitude for the faculty or uniting the school across grades, they act on behalf of the students in as comprehensive a fashion as possible. With most of the EA lifestyle being subject to the decisions of people who live adjacent to it, the EQV is the refreshment and representation we all need.
