As announced at an assembly meeting earlier in the week, students were informed that there was going to be a Walmart trip on July 6th, at 5:15. There were only a certain number of seats available, so summer Exonians would have to sign up online that day to secure a seat for themselves.
After that announcement was made, there were many comments regarding the speed at which the Walmart seats became no longer available. Many were upset, some just found a different solution, while others actually made the list. From the perspective of someone who made the trip (myself), the Deans of Fun caused attitudes that aren’t associated with the word “fun.” This was ironic, because the Deans Of Fun are suppose to be producing, well…fun, but instead angered many students.
So, one might ask: “What are solutions to all of this anger?” Or, “How do I know if there is going to be another Walmart trip?” Well here is a student who has quite some answers, and Exeter didn’t even hire him as a Dean of Fun. Kenny Walker, from New York, shared great ideas, and opinions that many would agree with. He was also a students who didn’t make the trip but wasn’t bothered at all. Kenny stated he felt, “Okay,” but then questioned, “Why is there only one Walmart trip on the list?” (There wasn’t — read on!) If students knew there were going to be future trips, they wouldn’t feel so upset about not making it to the first one.
Furthermore, depending on what a student may need, seeing the future trips on the list could help them better decide, do they need to go next week or this week? Kenny also described the feeling of being “left hanging.” For those who didn’t make it, what do they do now? Students weren’t given enough information to let them know what will be happening next. Lastly, having only one trip on the list may lead to constant checking. Sometimes verbal information regarding trips can be unclear, so many just decide to keep checking the list to see whenever another pops up.
Those who missed the trip weren’t the only ones who missed an event. Those who went on the Walmart trip, missed The Cookout Dinner, which was held that exact evening during the exact same time frame. Did the Deans Of Fun just expect scholars on the trip to naturally eat the air and become full? Sounds like fun just thinking about it, huh? It looks as though they didn’t think out everything thoroughly.
At Walmart, many students picked up fans, bug spray and even a few items to entertain themselves, but now they had to buy snacks that would be their dinner for that night and snacks for the future. So they had to buy food, when usually Philips Exeter Summer School supplies them with breakfast, lunch and dinner. When they realized this, some students were disappointed. They were hoping to come back and at least be fed some food. Others weren’t bothered, simply going to their dorms after arriving on campus. Others bought food at Subway, a submarine sandwich place within Walmart.
In the end there were announcements of future Walmart trips — and the Deans of Fun still work at Exeter for the summer and deserve their name.