In last year’s student body president election, almost all candidates promised a return to normalcy. The Class of 2023 recollected the “good old days” of their Third Form years, where Sixth Formers were friendly, approachable, and led by example to demonstrate Haverford values.
Student Body President Luka Sekulic set the tone for this year with the theme “Integrity,” hoping to strengthen bonds of brotherhood and the sense of togetherness within the Haverford community. But there’s a part of this movement back to the old ways that students liked less: the crackdown on dress codes and attendance.
Nostalgia glorifies the past. In the first upper school assembly this year, many leaders mentioned specific VI Formers in the class of 2020 who left an impact on them as a III Former. These members of the class of 2020 acted as personal mentors for III Formers in academics, extracurriculars, and life in general.
People tend to forget how these bonds and sense of community were forged in the first place. It starts with the basics: arriving at school on time, valuing the dress code, and respecting fellow students. Arriving on time strengthens one’s connection with the campus; valuing the dress code enhances one’s attachment to the Haverford values; respecting one’s peers maintains the legacy of the brotherhood. These seemingly difficult actions are, in truth, prerequisites for a healthy and comfortable community people yearned for.
Learn to like the old ways—their liberties and their rules
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