For most, winter term at Choate can be dreadful, consisting of harsh and often unpredictable weather that, much to our dismay, bears little sunshine. Most notably, however, the cause of the distress of Choaties at this time of the year can be attributed to the fact that winter term is the longest of the trimesters. Spanning from late November to late February, it is not surprising that students and faculty members alike will find themselves wishing for a break, something to slow down the pace at Choate during the busy weeks approaching midterms. Thus, amongst the frigid wind chill and dark days of the January months, it is not uncommon to hear rumors of the random day on which Mr. Shanahan will cancel school in the tradition that has become known as “President’s Day.”
President’s Day at Choate is not a holiday which honors the founding fathers of the United States. Instead, it is a tradition started by former headmaster Charles Dey. About twenty-three years ago in the mid-80’s, as estimated by Mr. John Ford, Mr. Dey, without consulting other members of the administration, decided to cancel class for the student body and faculty members unexpectedly. This relieved the stress most Choaties were experiencing during the pre-midterm crunch and the entire campus rejoiced. The following year, students recalled what Mr. Dey had previously decided to do and anticipated a day off at around the same time. Mr. Dey prevailed and that year cancelled class yet again. From then on, it became a tradition for Mr. Dey to cancel school in the middle of winter term on a holiday deemed President’s Day. After Mr. Dey retired, Mr. Ed Shanahan has made a point to keep the tradition alive and he, too, cancels a day of school during the winter term.
Mr. Shanahan is aware that for students and faculty to fully benefit from a day off, he must call it at a time when we are particularly stressed. This means that if midterms are approaching and we have not been given a President’s Day, President’s Day becomes the subject of much speculation across campus. We make conjectures regarding when would be the most logical time for Mr. Shanahan to cancel school—and to do so, we must know when we have been given a President’s Day in the past—this allows us to rule out certain days, making our guesses more accurate. First, we realize that by cancelling classes on a Friday, he would be giving us a three-day weekend, and hence, students would undoubtedly go home for the long weekend. Also, students would not benefit as much from a Wednesday being President’s Day, for it is already a half day, and giving us a Wednesday off from school would be considered “cheap” and will affect athletic activities. Finally, we realize that in the past, Mr. Shanahan has often cancelled school on a Tuesday or Thursday, yet rarely has he given the day off on a Monday. Hence, when on the night of Sunday, January 13th, we all received an email from Mr. Shanahan announcing President’s Day to be the next day, a Monday, the student body, along with an unsuspecting Choate faculty, was taken by surprise.
When, then, did Mr. Shanahan cancel school on Monday, January 14? According to Dean of Students John Ford, not only was that week tough academically, as midterms were approaching, but also, the decision to have President’s Day on a Monday had to do with a weather issue. “Mr. Shanahan knew that there was a predicted snow storm on Sunday night, so day students might have had a problem getting to school on Monday anyway.”
While Mr. Shanahan felt that Monday, January 14th was an appropriate day to give us the day off, students and faculty members have mixed feelings about the decision. Ayaka Okawa ’10 said, “I didn’t like that Mr. Shanahan cancelled school on Monday because since it was so unexpected, we didn’t get that anticipation of President’s Day that makes it so exciting. Also, I think that we would have needed it more later in the week.” Jeremy Davidson ’10 seems to agree with Okawa ’10, “It was useful now but it would have been nicer later.”
In contrast, there are some students who thought that President’s Day came at the perfect time, and that the lack of anticipation made President’s Day more exciting. Morgan Monz ’10 said, “I thought this year was better then last year because no one saw it coming so everyone was more excited about it!” Teachers also seemed to have agreed with Mr. Shanahan in giving us that Monday off. John Ford said, “Mr. Shanahan made a good choice. I am happy that it’s over with so I do not have to worry about it anymore.” While math teacher Thomas Day was distraught by that fact that “Monday meant that we have 3 Mondays off” he ultimately backed Mr. Shanahan’s decision. “The good part from the teacher’s point of view is that one third of the kids here are day students and if it were snowing many of them would have had a difficult time getting in.”
Whether it came at the utmost beneficial time or not, the midterm period is always a difficult time at Choate. Ultimately, students had the chance to unwind, catch up on much-needed sleep, or get ahead on homework. President’s Day, as always, proved to be a peaceful break from fast-paced Choate life.
