Student Life Office Works to Sustain Student Culture

From the top &oor of the Main School Building, Associate Head of School for Student Life and Language Teacher Amie Creagh and Assistant Athletic Director and 10th Grade Class Dean Drew Philie answered the question, “What are the top three things stolen on campus?” “Bikes, Scooters, Food,” responded Mr. Philie. “Food, Scooters, Bikes,” said Ms. Creagh, rearranging the order of the short list. Stolen items on campus have been a longstanding issue, from unlabeled food to electric scooters suddenly going missing from charging ports. Many students have expressed their frustration with their belongings getting stolen on campus; in Layla Abdi ’28’s case, it was !rst her friend’s bike and then her own bike from the outskirts of Harold Smith. “#e !rst instance, I was using my friend’s bike, and I’ve been using it for a couple days, but she didn’t have a lock on it, so I parked it discreetly behind my building so that no one would take it,” she explained. A"er !nding out that the bike was stolen, she eventually found it broken outside of the Athletic Complex. “It’s not that bad this year because Shipping got moved to the Chen so we have security cameras,” said Mina Hata ’29, “but it might still happen from time to time.” At the Academy, community remains a central part of the culture, Ms. Creagh and Mr. Philie described—but stealing disrupts the core value of trust shared around campus. “I think that we have a pretty trusting community. I think if you look at this place in comparison to maybe other boarding schools and college campuses, this is a place where we know each other here,” Mr. Philie said. He added, “#at said, I think we’re seeing that less and less, right? And so, we make it a big point to talk about these things at our school meetings, and on a daily basis, which I think are good reminders for our students as we share the same space and we’re part of something bigger than ourselves.” He brought up the point that Deer!eld students are living in a shared environment, one that requires them to be conscious of their choices. As Ms. Creagh pointed out, “It’s when you’re thinking ‘this thing’ is more important to you than anybody else ... ‘I’m putting myself above everyone else at this moment.’” Today, she feels that the overall student culture overpowers instances of stealing. “#ose rare moments of ‘self-!rst’ are kept at bay by the kids making thousands of decisions to create the culture we have now,” she said, adding, “I hope a kid who steals something recognizes that they are an outlier and that they feel somehow, like, ‘Wait a minute, this thing I’m doing here is not helping me build the culture I want to live in.’” #e Student Life members emphasized the importance of students not just living in the culture they want but actively contributing to its creation.