by Griffin Callaghan, Staff Writer, April 2021
Throughout this year, we have spent a lot of time worrying about our freshman. Worrying about our seniors. Even going so far as to make sure middle schoolers had space for Spikeball nets on the beach. And yet it seems that an oft-forgotten class has continued to be forgotten in a year when we need them most. They are even more irrelevant than they already were, and if you haven’t figured it out by now, I don’t blame you because it’s tough to even remember they exist.
Our sophomores have diligently and silently gone about their work this year. As they began their hybrid school year (once again the youngest group of students on campus) they continued to serve as background figures – and we continue to treat them as such. I fear that their relegation to second-year freshman is not even the greatest offense we have committed against them. And for this, I must apologize.
What is even worse is that throughout this year we have reinforced everything they have been hearing externally. That they are not good enough. That sophomores don’t matter. How could we do this to them? Now before you get defensive, as I myself found myself at the start of this article, think back to the last time you spoke to a sophomore.
Do you remember the last time you asked them how they were doing? Have you ever asked them what their hopes are for next fall? Can you even name a single sophomore? If you’re anything like me, and of this I am truly ashamed, you had not even thought about the word “sophomore” in months. You might need a refresher on the definition. Well, too bad, because the time for peaceful reconciliation might be over.
I think this might be the year the sophomores finally fight back. The Class of ’23 is not afraid to do something drastic to prove their worth. We have backed them into a corner and taken away all other options. It becomes more and more likely by the day that we will have an exodus of sophomores. Allow me to say that again. An exodus is coming.
Nobles will simply have to skip that graduating class, as we will not be able to fill the spots. On athletic teams, in classes, and even on the beach, there seems to be a place and a future for every member of our community, and yet we have overlooked such a crucial part of what makes this place run.
Can we stand to lose these important – if sometimes boring – cogs in the Nobles wheel? Worse, can we stand to see these brilliant minds thrive somewhere else?
From time to time I find myself wondering is there anything we can do to stop this exodus from happening. Can we invite them into our hacky sack circle? Can we spend more time just learning about them? It seems like we might have to.
I also wonder if they may be more afraid of us, and of themselves, than we are of them. Thinking about their immediate ascent into the role of upperclassmen from being freshmen twice in a row, it would not be surprising to learn that some of our sophomores have their own anxieties about the future. Similarly, I know I would be terrified at the prospect of missing the Head of School Dance, so I am feeling for them at the moment. As these poor kids emerge from their research-paper-induced hibernations from happiness, we should all make a better effort to let them know that we love them. Because we do love them, and we really do need them.
