<p>A recent article in The Exonian caught my attention. It talks about how all of Exeter's recent changes are reducing the quality of the school. What do you think? Are the recent changes pros or cons?</p>
<p>The</a> Exonian</p>
<p>For those who aren't subscribed, you can log in by using the username "Exonian" and the password "BigRed". The username and password are case-sensitive.</p>
<p>There was some discussion about copyrighting, previously on this forum, about posting articles in their entirety from “The Exonian”. I think it would be best if you edit your post and remove the article. Leave the link and you can quote segments of the article that really stood out but I’d suggest not posting the entire thing.</p>
<p>All right. Thanks, btw.</p>
<p>Please don’t post usernames and login information. The procedure is to call the office and ask for it. I don’t think they meant for it to be posted for thousands to see. You’re class of '15? It wouldn’t be that hard from prior posts to narrow down your identity.</p>
<p>Forewarned is forearmed. If they wanted the site to be “public” they wouldn’t have created a password for it.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware I wasn’t allowed to. I simply assumed because they publicly posted the username and password on their site (that’s where I got it from; I never called and asked), that it was public information.</p>
<p>I’ll ask the mod. to take my post down.</p>
<p>After looking around on the website, I found that the password was actually given- so markalex didn’t do anything wrong. Interesting article though!</p>
<p>1’000 Post !!!</p>
<p>I found the page you are referring to. The point is that the password was supposed to be deactivated. That it has not been doesn’t negate the fact that it wasn’t meant to be posted on a “searchable” public discussion board.</p>
<p>If you don’t learn these lessons now, you’ll be bucking up against some interesting rules violations when you get to BS. Testing the limits when asked to respect them isn’t a good way to start.</p>
<p>I asked the mods to take it down as well.</p>
<p>Markalex: I read the article too (and yeah, it’s pretty easy for just anyone to find the username and password at this point, so I don’t think posting a link is a big problem. I do think they’ll make it subscription-only at some point). </p>
<p>Two of the three changes the writer describes are experiments. The shortened schedule was a winter-term experiment; they’re back to the regular schedule now. I don’t think any decisions have been made about whether the schedule will be shortened again next winter–it was all part of a major sleep study that was conducted at the school this winter. </p>
<p>Fewer Saturday classes is also an experiment for next year. As Neato pointed out on another thread, the reduction in Saturday classes may have more to do with faculty preference than student; the students seem pretty divided on the issue.</p>
<p>From the principal’s talk on Parent’s Week-end this year, it’s my sense that the even terms is here to stay. We don’t have any experience with the other, longer fall schedule. The nice thing about the current schedule is that you’ll be done by Thanksgiving, so you’ll be able to have a real vacation.</p>
<p>Yikes! I didn’t realize until I read the Exonian that two of the biggest issues at Exeter are marijuana use and banning the Red Cross from campus.</p>
<p>The Red Cross thing IS interesting–do you ban a group that everyone thinks is doing essential work because their policies (banning gays from donating blood because of a higher HIV infection rate) violate the school’s anti-discrimination policy? Personally, I think they made the right decision, particularly since, as the article points out, students who want to donate blood can just walk down the street to do so at a local church.</p>
<p>By the way, Exie, if it helps–the Exonian is fully aware that its articles have been published on CC–there was a reference to it in one of the recent Exonians. If they saw it as a problem, I think they’d make the site inaccessible.</p>
<p>Exie, once again, I’m sorry about putting up the username and password. I had good intentions; I was simply trying to save time for those looking to see the article so they wouldn’t have to go hunt down the username and password. I don’t want this thread to go in the wrong direction, but please don’t comment on me personally. </p>
<p>“If you don’t learn these lessons now, you’ll be bucking up against some interesting rules violations when you get to BS. Testing the limits when asked to respect them isn’t a good way to start.”</p>
<p>Like I said, I had good intentions, and I already said I was sorry. I realized what I did was wrong. I wasn’t trying to “test the limits”, and I’m sorry. But there wasn’t any need to suggest I’m a bad student and will likely be in trouble while at Exeter. I appreciate your concern, but trust me, I wasn’t in any way trying to do something that would upset “The Exonian.” Thank you for trying to save me from trouble, but please, I’ll handle things from here. And anyways, since using that specific username and password will soon be disabled, it really doesn’t matter that it’s out in the open as it won’t be usable anyway.</p>
<p>Getting back on track, personally, I think some of Exeter’s recent changes aren’t necessarily bad. I really don’t think Exeter’s changes will decrease the rigor/quality of the school. And regarding the author’s comment about how Exeter will become a ghost town since everyone leaves on weekends, I think this is not necessarily true, and even if it is, it won’t affect the students that much since they will be the ones leaving anyway.</p>
<p>Even with no Saturday classes, 40%+ of the students play varsity or JV sports on Saturday afternoon. Also, Exeter has made leaving campus much more difficult. Must file Out of Town permission (with parent signature) with the Dean by Friday, even if just leaving campus with parents for the weekend. May be some marginal impact, but certainly not a ghost town. With travel times and homework, you usually only see significant student numbers leaving for 3 day weekends.</p>
<p>If you think that the purpose of Exeter is to build character and to challenge its students, then you probably want to keep Saturday classes.</p>
<p>If you believe that the purpose of Exeter is to provide a good education/learning opportunities and that more sleep leads to more efficient learning, then you probably want to reduce the number of Saturday classes.</p>
<p>Why would the Exonian prefer to be private? It’s a good publication. It would only help people to become more interested in the school. If it’s concerned that not every article is a glowing tribute, it shouldn’t be. No one expects that or wants it. I like the paper for its different views and the way it wrestles with controversial subjects. I think that says something positive about the school and its students.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s so much a concern about privacy, ThacherParent. Students pay for their subscription to the Exonian–it is, if I’m remembering correctly, self-supporting, and so I suspect that they’ll go to a secure site for financial reasons.</p>
<p>Wow…I didn’t realize that Exeter made its own students pay for the newspaper. At the HS level, I still believe it can only be a good thing to “give away” the news, good for the kids, the parents, the alumni, would-be Exeter family members etc.</p>
<p>The email I got was $75 a year for a subscription. I found that stunning, frankly.</p>
<p>But I digress - one, @Markalex, we’re cool. My response was aimed at a different poster.</p>
<p>Second, I’ve been talking to other Exeter alum who wonder if Exeter has become a victim of its reputation. Where it was once an intense, but diverse and broad experience, it seems to be attracting a larger subset of students who may be taking things to the extreme, stressing themselves out, and their instructors.</p>
<p>So the attempt may be to bring balance to the campus, but frankly, I think they should revisit how they choose their student body.</p>
<p>Exie: As other recent threads point out, that subset of extreme, stressed-out kids is probably reflective of current high school students in general, not Exonians in particular. I don’t see it in the general tone of the current students posting on this site–and editorial writers do tend to live on one extreme or another…</p>
<p>I was surprised when the Exonian showed up as one of those hidden bs fees at the beginning of the year–not sure why it isn’t subsidized. My kid just declined his subscription and reads the ones lying around the school.</p>