News of the Academy
School will let out for Spring Break tomorrow to the relief of everyone including the parents of applicants whose wait to learn whether a Deerfield education is in their children's future will be over. If the Admissions Office has gotten it right, approximately two-thirds of those accepted actually will enroll. Applicants this year will have been able to see Deerfield's most ambitious building project ever, the $60 million athletic complex. The question for inquiring minds, therefore, is similar to the line in Field of Dreams, namely, "If you build it, will they come?"
The question is not an idle one for those alumni who are distraught about the nine year losing streak to Choate on the football field and the decline of the once proud hockey program which hasn't fielded a winning team in recent memory. For what it's worth, the squash and the swim teams were strong again this term, which suggests that first rate facilities, at least in those sports, can make a difference. A disquieting thought in view of the substantial investment in facilities is that the traditional spectator sports whose success seemed so integral to school spirit in the past are simply unimportant in the grand scheme of college admissions for most and that more students are opting for co-curricular alternatives to the sports program.
The news which eclipsed all else this term is that Margarita Curtis, Deerfield's first "Head of School", announced that she would be stepping down at the end of the 2018-2019 school year after a 13 year run. Her exit is timed such that both our 25th and our 50th reunions will coincide with a changing of the guard. Prior to the arrival of Mr. Boyden as Deerfield's first "Headmaster" in 1902, Deerfield changed the "Preceptor" every two years on average. Each of the last four heads (excluding interim Head Russ Miller) has lasted longer than the 50 prior to Mr. Boyden.
In other news, The Scroll reported that the dress code is under review (again). It was so much simpler before the return to co-education and the introduction of a rule book that, like the tax code, only seems to grow longer over time. The issue, as you might guess, involves the definition of "Academic Dress" for the girls which, as the Head of School succinctly put it, "leaves itself more open to interpretation". No changes are going to be made without the involvement of the Board which views the dress code as a part of the Academy's distinctive identity.
News of the Class
As you know from my recent letter, the Reunion Committee has organized a series of coast to coast mini reunions which are scheduled to run from this May until March 2019. The first of these is a luncheon in Boston on May 3, a day after a campus visit by members of the Committee. The visit will include attending a school meeting, touring the new buildings, having lunch with the Head of School and meeting with the Academy's CFO.
This month marks the publication of the 57th edition of Patent Law Fundamentals, John Mills' treatise summarizing current developments in that field of law. Staying current will set you back ~$1,500. Lyn Lee writes that he is in the midst of a two year sailing sabbatical and will be back in Seattle this July. Tee Johnson has been living in Knoxville, TN since 2009 where he remains involved in the music industry. In January, Tee did a show with Three Dog Celebration, a spin-off of Three Dog Night, whose best known song "Celebrate" was released in 1969.
Classes resume on March 26th. Enjoy the break!
DWS
