I remember walking into Wilson Hall as a Form I student nearly every day after school to go to robotics practice in the library. Once the club ended, I usually had about an hour to kill until my brother was finished with his practice, so I waited in the community room and watched older students play Ping-Pong.
One day, I finally mustered up the courage to ask for a game. I could tell they were a little skeptical, but they let me play. I won, so I got to play again, and again, until I finally had to leave. It was exhilarating, so I played again the next day. As time passed, the original fear I had of approaching and talking to the big, scary high school kids went away. I played and talked to people I would have never thought to interact with.
At the tables, age and social status was irrelevant. It was just Ping-Pong.
The school needs this kind of community space. A place for students from all different backgrounds to come together and bond. A place to escape the stress of high school.
Luckily, the student council feels this way too and is working with the school to try and get them back.
“Mr. Kolade and Mr. Fifer seem to be supportive of [bringing the tables back], so we’ve reached out to some of the people who deal with Haverford’s storage to see if they still have tables in storage somewhere, and if not, we’re going to look into where we can buy one,” Sixth Form Student Body President Mitav Nayak explained. “I think it should happen soon.”
“The community room right now is empty and kind of just a dead space. Previously, it was a fun place where people just hung around in the building and just played some Ping-Pong and got to talk to each other… It’s the Community Room so it’s supposed to build some community,” Nayak said.
If the tables return, it will be a great leap forward in the restoration of the brotherhood we once knew. After an eternity of restrictions, we must rebuild the Haverford community to what we know it can be.
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