The Whimawehs perform in front of the American flag at the 1964 Garden Party, before Choate and Rosemary Hall had unified as one school. PHOTO/ARCHIVES

It could easily be argued that spring is the most anticipated season at Choate—for seniors in particular. The collective desire for warmer weather, a lightened class load, and generally less stress can be felt radiating from 6th formers upon return from March break. Along with the sunshine and lifted load, spring also marks the advent Garden Party, and for the past two years Parden Garty as well. Recently, modification to these end-of-term occasions has been made by the Choate administration to the dismay of some students and faculty members.

Garden Party, one of the few traditions contributed by Rosemary Hall upon its union with Choate, provides an occasion for each 6th form girl to invite a 5th form girl to join them as they pass their positions as leaders onto the next class. Ceremoniously, the senior class hands down such symbolic items as the rosemary banner, a whistle, and a scarf. The event has been modernized to include each senior’s invitation to a male or female faculty member of their choosing, a designated time for socializing and taking pictures together, as well as a slide show featuring the senior girls throughout their lives at Choate.

Since the union of Choate and Rosemary Hall in 1971, Garden Party has existed without an appropriate male counterpart event. The administration has attempted to assemble an event for 6th form boys with the same air of tradition as Garden Party, but nothing seemed to stick. The experiment of the past two years as been Parden Garden, a gathering similar in nature to Garden Party. Both events have the culminating slide show in common.

Once again, these end-of-year festivities have undergone some construction. Parden Garty, cited as an event with “very little tradition behind [it]” by Mr. Ford, Dean of Students, is being eliminated. Garden Party on the other hand, will take place as always, but the 6th form boys will join the girls after their own traditions have taken place as usual. The girls will meet the boys outside for “a little bit of gather around and a little chit-chat,” as Ford described it. The closing event will be the picture slide show—but this year it will be co-ed. As is customary, the entire 6th form will depart for the senior-faculty dinner afterwards. These changes have spurred rumors and controversy amongst Choate students, particularly upsetting the upperclassmen who will act as the guinea pigs in this experiment. Mr. Ford, speaking for the administration, commented, “I think that as a school that went co-ed more than 30 years ago, we’ve done a poor job of finding a way to end the year with a co-ed event—one that everybody can be happy with. “We’ve had 30 years to think about this Garden Party thing, and we haven’t come up with any really good solutions in terms of how to take an event that [Rosemary Hall] brought and make it part of what is now a co-ed school. This is our attempt this year.”

The consensus amongst the 6th form boys is one of annoyance and regret to lose the fun event they called their own. Zach Sheldon ’07 explained, “Parden Garty was a great time last year, and we could, with great sadness, eliminate the expensive snacks and make it virtually cost free if that’s what it takes to save it.” Likewise, the senior girls share similar opinions. Tora Fischer ’07 succinctly summed up the general student opinion: “Don’t fix what isn’t broken. I don’t think [the administration] should mess with something that works; both the girls and boys like it the way it is.”

For the time being at least, Parden Garty has been put to rest, and Garden Party has been modified to include the 6th form boys as an adjunct to the event. Despite their disappointment, some students still look forward to modified event. Julia Mellon ’07 contributed, “While I think Garden Party should remain unaltered and a separate event for the boys like Parden Garty should take place, I am sure that all the senior girls and their dates are still looking forward to attending.