Summer of 2011 brought along many changes at DHS, from the new turf field to the hiring of nearly a dozen new staff members. But summer of ’11 also marked the elimination of a tradition that DHS held dear to its heart: ARENA.
Once upon a time, ARENA was the yearly tradition of waiting in line for hours to talk to a counselor for three minutes in hopes that enough complaining could change your schedule. Spoiled students everywhere grew to love the clearly North Shore tradition, and would camp outside of the Athletics entrance hours before ARENA even began in an attempt to be the first to whine about their schedule. However, this year Deerfield decided to teach their students a lesson in commitment and revoked ARENA, leaving many students feeling trapped and betrayed by the administration.
Senior Jamie Carlisle has a fourth period free and is not happy about it. She was hoping to do what many have tried to do but few have succeeded in: getting 1st period free. “It is like, really important that I have 1st period free” says Carlisle. “I mean, it takes me a full hour for my latte to sink in. I just can’t be in class that early!” Un-fortunately for Carlisle, her latte will just have to kick in a bit faster this year, as her counselor will not budge—not even for a $25 Applebee’s Coupon.
Despite ARENA’s removal, some students have tried to work around the system. Junior Dan Freeman began an underground class swap in the area behind the screens in the E-Hall lecture rooms. In order to participate in the scheme, students must put a full list of their scheduled classes in an envelope and place it behind the good drink-ing fountain in M-Hall and can retrieve it there two days later. The procedure is risky, with no guarantee of what classes will get switched. One senior was able to drop AP Psych but was unfortunately switched into Freshman English Survey instead. In addition to the severe risk, the service is pricey, costing as much as an over-priced DHS parking pass.
For students who wish to stay on the good side of the administration, they are forced to stay in their current classes. DHS Counselor Joan Peretti gives some advice on the matter, saying “you made the decision to take these classes, and you should learn to live with your choices. Don’t be such babies.” Soon after saying this, Peretti asked The Flipside not to print it, but we instructed her to live with her choices.
