Seniors and juniors have been allowed to leave campus throughout the school day for years. According to Upper School Director José Melgoza, seniors traditionally received privileges first, after Outdoor Education week, followed by juniors later on. In 2024, the Upper School changed its policy to allow all students off campus starting on the same date after trips week.
This year, the Upper School administration has decided to return to a policy of gradually providing off-campus privileges throughout the year. According to Upper School Dean of Student Activities Laurianne Williams, the administration plans to give the privilege to seniors after the first quarter and later to juniors. Under the new policy, sophomores and freshmen may be able to go off-campus later in the year.
Melgoza consulted with grade-level deans, faculty and the same committee that oversaw the new phone policy to make the decision to revert to the previous policy. He shared that the change was intended to create a stronger sense of community.
“While we did see some benefit and that students reported enjoying the extra freedom and responsibility, we did see overall a decrease in on-campus community-building, and we needed to return to that,” he said.
Melgoza said the increased flexibility in seniors’ schedules influenced the decision to give them off-campus privileges first. Upper School Dean of Students Jen Cardillo further clarified the rationale.
“For our newest students, our ninth grade, they haven’t had as much time on this campus. The stagger gives them a bit more time to find those routines and rhythms, whereas our seniors have had time on this campus to establish themselves, to get comfortable, and to find their place,” she explained.
Of the staggered approach, Cardillo said, “I want people to know that there’s nothing punitive in it. It’s nice when the campus is lively and people are getting to spend time together.”
Nevertheless, student reception to the new policy is largely negative. Sophomore Delilah Rich attributed the change to off-campus incidents, including students behaving irresponsibly and some safety concerns, noting someone once followed her on the street.
“I think there are things to do regarding teaching people about safety rather than just not giving them the privilege,” Rich said. “Being off campus was a [way to connect] for a lot of people.”
Senior Owen Taylor pointed out a benefit of the new policy, although he doesn’t fully support it.
“People get to interact with each other more,” he acknowledged. “But it might be nice to, after a long day or stressful test, get a drink [off campus].”
More students seem to be purchasing Epicurean for lunch with the reduced off-campus privileges, leading to long lunch lines.
Junior Michael Patzakis said of the policy change, “It’s definitely a bit extreme. It would work better for lunch here at campus if people were allowed to go off campus because they could get lunch out there and the cafeteria [Haaga House] wouldn’t be so crowded.”
“With the increase of off-campus privileges, … we saw an increase of food deliveries,” Melgoza explained. “It went against our ethos of trying to be more environmentally conscious and decrease traffic, so we needed to return to what we previously had.”
