The posters are up. The campaign pitches are rolling out. Exeter’s student council election season has begun. As the newly announced candidates prepare to make their case, the campus is full of chatter about who will take on the school’s most influential student leadership roles. With promises of change, continuity, and more fresh fruit in Elm, the race for the next StuCo executive board is underway.

Every Tuesday after check-in, Michelle Soucy—a beloved three-year member of Hoyt Hall—hosts a smoothie night, giving Hoytians a chance to grab a healthy snack while they study. “I want them to have something nutritious, so I bring the ingredients in and make smoothies,” she explained. Beyond just a quick snack, her check-ins often spark easygoing conversations, making the Hoyt common room a natural gathering spot for students looking to unwind. Ms. Soucy has served as an instructor in health at Exeter since 2008, and throughout her tenure, she has become certified as a grief educator, a nutritionist, and a positive educator, as well as serving as an advisor for Fight Club. A veteran in the world of college health education, Soucy often saw Exeter’s campus on a drive to visit family who lived near the Academy. Following a job opening, Soucy applied but surprisingly did not get the job, a loss that would have cost the Academy dearly. “I was so excited. I was like, I want to work here. This is exactly what I want to do. And they didn’t hire me,” Soucy shared. However, a year later, the position opened up again, leading Dean Carol Cahalane (who was the Health Education Department chair at the time) to hire Soucy. Since then, Soucy served as dorm head of McConnell for 12 years and was the class advisor to the classes of 2013, 2016, and 2026. Unsurprisingly, the challenges of teaching health at a college institution are very different from those at a high school such as Exeter. “I mostly worked with college students. So it was very different in terms of working with students whose parents were more involved in their life as opposed to college students,” she said. “There was definitely a learning curve coming to Exeter and understanding what a boarding school life is like and what it meant to live and work in a boarding school.” Excluding the changes in life, Soucy also attributed Harkness to a “huge learning curve” from the typical lecture style you would find in colleges. At Exeter, Soucy has not only grown as an individual but as a professional in the health sector. “Exeter has been very generous in providing educational opportunities to me, for me to expand my knowledge,” she shared. “That’s the thing with health: it changes all the time. It’s not like you learn it, and it’s the same thing for 20 years. New illnesses come in.” For Soucy, health is a way to see how students can learn about their well-being and develop skills that help them stay healthy in an independent boarding school. Her tagline in classes is: “I’m not here to help you survive Exeter, I’m here to help you thrive at Exeter.” Soucy is a beloved and appreciated dorm faculty within Hoyt Hall. Many members of Hoyt had a lot to say about their appreciation for her presence in the dorm. Especially appreciated were her smoothie nights, a favorite amongst many Hoytians. Eli Pratt, senior and proctor in Hoyt, commented, “I love coming to the common room to chat with her and get a famous Soucy smoothie. Her smoothie Tuesdays and grape Saturdays are the best.” Ms. Soucy is often described as “down to earth” and genuine. Sofia Wang, also a proctor and senior in Hoyt, commented, “My favorite thing about Ms. Soucy is her down-to-earth personality and her genuine care for the well-being of students in Hoyt. She always makes sure to see everyone’s faces during duty nights and goes out of her way to check in with you about your day. She’s a very supportive and important member of the dorm community and I genuinely couldn’t imagine Hoyt without her.” Prep Abbe Sarpong noted her gratitude for the smoothie nights, adding, “It’s such a small thing, but it really shows how much she cares about making the dorm feel like a home.” Lucy Jung, proctor of Hoyt and senior, remarked on Ms. Soucy’s memorable duty nights and her innovative conundrum-solving. “Every Tuesday night, Soucy stations herself in the Hoyt common room, making herself available for any Hoytian who wants support, needs someone to talk to, or just wants to say hello. I usually stay in the common room with her on Tuesday nights, and I see her giving excellent advice to lowerclassmen, going ‘mom-mode’ on uppers who haven’t been getting enough sleep, and laughing with seniors,” Jung explained. “Her reliable presence supports all Hoytians. I myself have asked for Soucy’s advice on multiple occasions, sometimes at ridiculous hours, and she’s helped me through all those situations. I love talking through my conundrums with her—she is a fantastic and reliable confidant.” Many Hoytians enjoy having chats with her after a long and exhausting day of Exeter life. Thea Vaughan, lower in Hoyt, commented, “She’s one of those dorm faculty I feel comfortable chatting with. Like if I’m checking in when she’s on duty, I tend to hang around and talk to people because the environment is always so chill.” Soucy has succeeded in “creating a warm and welcoming environment in Hoyt so that it feels like a true home,” said Alyssa Wang, lower in Hoyt. Daniella Mendez, another lower in Hoyt, described Soucy as “supportive” and “not afraid to be real,” claiming that she’s like a fun aunt on campus. “Mom, mom, mom” were the three words Jung used to describe Soucy. ”During my lower year, I’d often check in with a proctor and go to sleep around 10 pm. Every Tuesday, Soucy would always wake me up with her stubborn knocking, and I had to work my way to my door in pitch-black darkness to reassure her I was in the dorm. Now, as a senior, the dialogue between Soucy and me that happens almost every Tuesday night is: ‘So-and-so hasn’t checked in.’ ‘They checked in with the proctor-on-duty, Soucy.’ ‘Yes, but I haven’t seen their faces. Let me go check on them. I’ll be right back.’ ‘You’re such a mom!’” Despite her comedic take on Ms. Soucy’s protectiveness and “momness” of Hoyt residents, Jung believes that Ms. Soucy is someone who is easy to admire and love. “Though I love to tease her, I do have a genuine respect for Soucy’s protectiveness,” Jung noted. “I am constantly in awe about how much she cares for everyone in Hoyt and their safety—you can tell that she cares not just because it’s her job but because she loves each and every one of us. And that is the reason I love her so much.” On Campus, Soucy also advises Fight Club, a group that helps students deal with grief. In the same way in which she supports students in her dorm, Soucy does the same for those in the group. “It’s been really nice to be able to help students who don’t quite know what they need when they’re grieving. Sometimes, their loss is eight years ago. Some of it’s really new. So I just try to connect with students when I hear that they’ve had a loss.” Adhering to her philosophy of helping students thrive at Exeter, Soucy elaborated on the process. “So I’ll reach out to that student and just explain Fight Club and that you’re welcome to come anytime. Sometimes, we even have meetings at my house just to make it more “homey” and comfortable. So it’s been really nice to be part of that group.” For Soucy, teaching health and being a teacher at Exeter is about the aid she provides for her students. Her most common piece of advice to students on campus is: “You’re doing great. You are enough, and you are smart enough. You’re supposed to be here.” She said, “I know students doubt that sometimes. Every single student who’s here, I believe, deserves a seat at the table. I want students to hear that from an adult so that they believe that they are in the right place.” This method of showing care for her community has bettered the community of Hoyt. Sarpong commented, “Ms. Soucy’s ability to be there for us, even in small ways, has taught me the value of being present and supportive of others.” Through the support she provides both in and out of the classroom, Ms. Soucy has guided her students to thrive at Exeter.

On Monday, Feb. 3, the Town of Exeter Select Board held their bimonthly meeting, following up on the yearly deliberative session held on Saturday, Feb. 1. These two gatherings are critical functions of the Town of Exeter’s government, each one serving roles to give townspeople voices and carry out important responsibilities of the government. The Town of Exeter operates under the SB2 (NH Senate Bill 2) system. The Select Board, elected officials that serve as the town’s executives, is given input from various town committees and petitions from citizens. This input serves to create the town warrant, a public document listing the issues and articles to be discussed and voted on for New England towns. The Select Board meets twice monthly, culminating in the first of two yearly town meetings, which consists of a deliberative session. Each event is open to any town citizen – who in the SB2 system is the town’s legislators – where articles of the town warrant can be amended before they are voted on in the second town meeting. The select board currently consists of Chair Niko Papakonstantis, Vice Chair Molly Cowan, Clerk Julie D. Gilman, Nancy Belanger, and Daniel Chartrand. Selectman Papakonstantis gave insight into the deliberative session held on Feb. 1, sharing the agenda items and the decisions that were made. Firstly, a motion was made by a resident to “amend the dollar amount on the removal of Pickpocket Dam,” according to Papakonstantis. This amendment was “voted down by the deliberative session and not amended,” Chartrand shared. Papakonstantis said, “There was only one other motion to a warrant article, and that was on a citizen’s petition. The amendment was to revise the wording which actually passed. It’s very important to note that the petitioner herself just changed the wording to make it a little stronger.” He continued, “What that means is that all the warrant articles as proposed, with the exception of that one citizen’s petition, will now go on the ballot as originally written.” Then, regarding the Select Board meeting on Feb. 3, Papakonstantis said, “We interviewed two volunteers, and we appointed both of them. One was as an alternate to the Planning Board, and the other was as an alternate to the Pairpoint Park Stakeholders Advisory Committee.” Pairpoint Park Stakeholders Advisory Committee, according to exeternh.gov, has a mission to “focus on formulating recommendations for the Select Board regarding transforming the property at 23 Water Street from an abandoned lot to a downtown community park.” Also, according to exeternh.gov, “The Exeter Planning Board is entrusted with the task of encouraging and directing appropriate land use in the Town of Exeter.” During the meeting, the Select Board nominated a resident of Exeter onto the Exeter-Squamscott River Loval Advisory committee. This committee advocates for the protection and preservation of the river and its wildlife. Papakonstantis added, “We adopted the 2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan that was submitted by our emergency management director.” The Hazard Mitigation Plan “describes the natural hazards impacting Exeter, identifies existing programs and plans that mitigate the impacts of natural hazards, and recommends new actions to strengthen resilience to natural hazards,” according to exeternh.gov. Papakonstantis elaborated that, “[The Select Board] considered a proposal to revise the charge for our Tax Increment Financing [TIF] Advisory Board, and after discussion and deliberation, we sent it back to the town manager and economic developer to add a few things for us to consider in a future meeting.” A TIF Advisory Board is a group of individuals that advises a local government on how best to utilize increased tax revenue for economic development purposes. In light of the recent changes in state and federal government, local governments have faced concerns regarding the funding of several projects. Papakonstantis explained, “We just wanted to get our finger on the pulse of where we were and how that might affect projects. It’s been up in the air, but we feel confident that most of our projects will continue to be funded.” Papakonstantis detailed, “I put it on the agenda because, at one point last week, President Trump froze everything [all federal funding] and rescinded it 24 hours later. We just want to show the public that we’re keeping our eye on this and that any money that’s been promised to us, we are going to fight to keep vigorously.” There is, however, some pushback to the board of selectmen system, especially in a town as large as Exeter. “A downside [to the SB2 system] is that … you are making decisions one time a year for a $35-$40 million operation …. It was a form [of government] that was put of town operations was much smaller,” described Selectman Chartrand. Despite this, none of the calls to reexamine Exeter’s government have found any footing. Chartrand continued, “There was a citizen petition in the mid-2010s to study our form of government. The voters voted that down overwhelmingly …. This is the way we’ve been doing it since the 1600s …the legislative body [citizens of Exeter] could change the form of government, but they have shown no inclination to do so. They like their town meeting. The upside is it’s probably the most radical form of democracy.” Voting day is on March 11, when this year’s town warrant – currently composed of 37 articles, including citizens’ petitions – will make its way to the voters. Selectwoman Belanger mentioned Articles 21 and 24 — intended to improve sustainability — as some of the many articles that could have meaningful impacts. Article 21 outlines adding EV charging stations to the municipal parking lot. Article 24 would lead to establishing a styrofoam condenser that could mitigate waste at landfills by condensing styrofoam into little packets. “There’s actually a market to sell that product,” continued Belanger. The Exeter Select Board’s recent meetings covered a variety of important topics. During the Feb. 1 deliberative session, several articles in the town warrant were discussed and amended, with one citizen’s petition passing after revising its wording. The Select Board also appointed volunteers to committees, adopted the 2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan, and reviewed the status of state and federal grants, ensuring the town remains prepared for potential funding changes. With important decisions around funding, sustainability, and local projects, the deliberative process allows the community to impact the direction of their government directly. Members of the Exeter Select Board encourage any Exeter resident who is of voting age to vote in the upcoming election. As Exeter heads into the March 11 voting day, all eligible voters need to engage with the town warrant articles and make their voices heard.

Ecstatic chants and the rhythmic beat of a drum shook throughout the Gwangju-KIA Champions Field as fans, draped in loyal red and white as pictured on the jumbotron in bated breath, all eyes set on pitcher Jung Hai-young on the mound.

On Oct. 29, Director of Global Initiatives Patty Burke Hickey took the assembly stage. After introducing the programs Exeter offers over each vacation and during the school year, Burke invited students who attended Global Initiatives programs to share their experiences on stage. In the evening, leaders of Global Initiative programs set up booths in Powell Hall in the Forrestal-Bowld Music Building for a Q&A session with interested students.

Philosophical Master Have you heard of the philosophers Diogenes or Empedocles? Well, neither have we! But if you really want to win a debate and sound really smart doing so, you should consider learning from obscure philosophers. You should make sure you have a quote from them perfectly memorized and ready to recite, then somehow connect that to your argument on which dining hall is better. Most likely, your opponent won’t know how to reply, which means you win by default.

On Feb. 14, retired Air Force pilot Scott “Kidd” Poteet took the Assembly Hall stage, sharing how his dream to become an Air Force pilot propelled him to eventually lead the Polaris Dawn’s 2024 space mission. Poteet reflected, “I was just so amazed by the sheer power and control demonstrated by these fighter pilots. I was just like, ‘I want to do that. I don’t care what it takes, I am going to commit the time, energy, and resources necessary to achieve that goal — that was the fire that lit inside of me.”

In the winter of 2024, a conflict which ended with a ceasefire has reignited the flames of war. The conflict in question is the Syrian civil war, which stopped for four years from 2020-2024 as a result of a negotiated peace between various factions within Syria negotiated by Russia and Turkey. On November 27th of 2024, the various Syrian forces commonly referred to as the Opposition launched an offensive from the city of Idlib towards Syria’s second largest city Aleppo, ultimately resulting in a shocking overturn of the Assads’ 50 year regime in Syria.

For many Americans, the holiday season is not the same without its staple movies. Having many relatives over with so little to do, spending time watching films with family will never fail to add festivity to the already joyful merrymaking. A common tradition in plenty of homes across the country is to watch movies such as “Elf”, “Home Alone”, “Die Hard”, and “Miracle on 34st Street.” But the joy of the season is not exclusive to America. Multiple other countries such as Japan have their own traditions to celebrate each winter, eventually extending to pop culture. One piece of media, displaying the Christmas spirit in a new light is “Tokyo Godfathers” (2003) which explores the idea of love and family.

Exeter’s Mock Trial Association has always been a staple club on campus. From the assortments of awards and national rankings to all of the amazing people on the teams, it is hard not to be awed by the grandeur of such an impactful club. Plus, we’ve all probably had that one friend who can never seem to get dinner with you because of Mock.

This year marks the five year anniversary since Exeter students were forced to migrate into an online learning program, learning Harkness through online classes in their dorm or several thousand miles from New Hampshire. The discipline of collaboration, engagement, and enlightenment evaporated as Exonians locked their doors and weathered the invisible hurricane of the pandemic sweeping across the world. Thus, the participation in both the school curriculum and extracurriculars plummeted. But now, in the 2024-25 school year, Exonians seem to have fully transitioned back to the Harkness table and recovered from the plight of the virus. The paths and dining halls are bubbling with excitement, and the halls of the Academy echoes with the same cheer. The same resurgence in activity on campus soon extended into Exeter’s student led clubs. With more than 180 clubs and more than 1000 students, Club Night on Sept. xsx was an extravaganza. Clubs ranged from competitive quiz bowls, to intense runs and relaxing tea-times, highlighting the diverse Exeter Experience. In many of these clubs, coheads have reported an increase in participation. Upper Abi Sagna, cohead of Academy Belly Dancing Society noted, “I think we had a lot of new kids come to our tryouts this year, which is surprising so we’re really excited for this new year. We weren’t expecting that.”

Over three hundred delegates from many schools in New England rush onto Exeter’s campus for PEAMUN each year. A strong community, Exeter’s Model United Nations runs many committees dedicated to simulating real-world problems. Additionally, students learn valuable academic and life skills while competing at the highest level.

One of the most distinctive opportunities that Phillips Exeter Academy offers is the Global Initiatives Program, which allows students to explore new cultures, meet new people, and learn about topics they’re interested in. Similarly, many athletic teams provide the opportunity for their players to receive some extra training before the season. The work that goes on behind the scenes to prepare for all of these trips is tremendous and often overlooked. For this edition, The Exonian explored the process of planning the preseason and global initiatives trips.

A decade ago, it would have been ridiculous to suggest that a foreign nation’s video-sharing app would become one of the world’s most prominent social media platforms, going toe-to-toe with tech giants Meta and Google in the United States. But TikTok, pioneered by Chinese company ByteDance Ltd., emerged onto the scene in 2016 and took the world by storm.

A woman walks through a dimly lit green hallway illuminated by shallow electric candles lining the walls at head level. She turns the corner, her disheveled, dirty-blond hair whips around as she turns, pistol in hand.

On Jan. 20, 2025, at 12 p.m. EST, President Donald Trump, alongside his running mate Vice President J.D. Vance, was inaugurated as the forty-seventh president in the rotunda of the United States Capitol.

Every Friday, students receive an email with an overview of weekend activities, ranging from arts and crafts to karaoke events. Student Activities works with the Student Council to plan these events, which provide students with fun opportunities to connect with friends. They also plan the logistics and ensure these activities are enjoyable. Though many students enjoy these events, others also believe they can improve further.