News Reporter
In the challenging atmosphere of Choate, a break from high-intensity academics and athletics is crucial to maintain student’s health. Boarding students especially would find the school’s atmosphere overwhelming without social resources such as the John Joseph Activities Center. The JJAC, referred to by students as the SAC, has always put the student’s interests first, and this year is no exception. By observing student reactions, the JJAC is able to better the range of offered events and activities for the students returning to campus, and this year will be no exception.
The changes to the SAC this year aren’t extreme, but the differences surely show. More specialty entertainment in the form of hypnotists, comedians, and other individual performers will be brought to campus.
Jim Yanelli, Student Activities Coordinator, explained, “our other goal is to do the things we do normally but do them with greater attention to detail.” Popular events from past years such as game and trivia shows will sport fresh features.
The eternally popular Saturday night JJAC dance is also receiving a new twist. This year the dances will only take place three out of four Saturdays per month, leaving time to interject different alternatives. Mr. Yanelli listed shopping trips and various video screenings as some other alternatives in addition to the brigade of individual performers. He cited the change as a way “to do things in a more novel and interesting way so all weekends feel different.” The remaining JJAC dances will also features detailed decorations. Paige Seaborn ‘08 cited “because there are fewer SAC dances, more people show up making them more fun. At the last dance there were fans blowing streamers into the air providing a really cool effect.”
Seasonal events are always a festive way to celebrate the time of year, and many have quickly become student favorites. All of these will remain in place with visible improvements. This past weekend, for example, the JJAC sponsored a trip to Six Flags New England’s Frightfest, Lyman Orchards, and the Head of the Charles race. Coming up are the Senior Halloween dance and the highly anticipated events for Deerfield Day. The Deerfield Day extravaganza is coming together with greater precision and details this year. More professional assistance will be incorporated in an attempt to drastically improve such favorites as the bonfire and dragon building.
Perhaps most noticeably different is the extra email the student population receives in their inboxes once a week. The SAC is now using the school wide email to spread word about the activities going on each weekend. This will undoubtedly attract more students to weekend events also making it easier to add these fun outings into students’ schedules. Many students aren’t aware of the SAC-sponsored events taking place on or off campus each weekend, so weekly emails have already started to inflict changes. Will all the pressure of Choate life, the SAC is the perfect outlet for some simple relaxation and a lot of fun. This year’s changes and additions can only help increase its popularity.
