Some students view SAA events as fun ways to spend their weekends, meet up with friends, and even make a few new ones. However, many were unable to participate during the fall, with attendance differing drastically between day and boarder students, as well as underclassmen and upperclassmen. To address this issue, the SAA plans on adding more incentive for a diverse spectrum of students to attend. But is this a temporary phenomenon or a deep-rooted problem? And at the end of the day, how do students make sure that they have fun?
One of the most popular events hosted by SAA is Beatnik, a student run event where students share art–generally music or poetry–with their peers. The Friday showcase allows students to show off some of their talents. Events such as these bring students closer together while entertaining them with breathtaking performances. One noteworthy performance during the most recent Beatnik was from Maya Walsmith ‘26, who performed an original song titled Thunderbird. She also recently released her own original album Waiting Patiently, available to listen to on streaming services. Attendance at Beatnik goes through the roof every time; boarders and day students alike pack the seats in Straus library, afraid to miss the spectacle.
What about other SAA events? Elizabeth de Ramel ‘26 has noticed that “on Fridays we get lots of day students; however, over the weekends, the trips are almost entirely [attended by] boarders.” Day student Anna Avdiu ‘29 echoed this observation: “I mostly have attended the Friday events, and I feel like the large majority of students [on Fridays] are day students.” On the other hand, another day student Kaya Howeler ’29 observed that “the majority of kids attending weekend events are definitely boarders.” Howeler explained that this is because “the boarders live [on campus], and the day students have to drive in.”
SAA Co-Head Tiana Sandefur ‘26 expressed that these differences in boarder and day student attendance are not necessarily a problem, saying that “[she] personally sees [them] as just an aspect of the way our school is structured.” She explained that “our school fosters a culture in which day students don’t really need to come [to school] on Saturdays.” She sees this as “merely a factual aspect of our school.” She summarized “I don’t think it is a reflection of [a problem in] our community in any way.”
Academic commitments also influence students’ decisions about whether or not to attend an SAA offering. When asked what he did over the weekend, William Nass ‘26 reported that he didn’t attend any SAA events, but added that, “I wish I had gotten to go to the Boda Borg event. That seemed like a lot of fun. I remember going sophomore year, and it was just a blast. But this year I had to prioritize my work.” The disparities between the workloads in grade levels may account for why so many more students that attend SAA events are underclassmen. Sandefur expressed that “some weekend trips are easier for underclassmen to attend because they might have a lighter workload or because they aren’t worried about college apps.”
However, Sandefur also mentioned that the days of spending entire weekends on arduous college applications are “almost over,” and expressed optimism about the temporary low attendance of upperclassmen in SAA events. She also said that the demographics that attend events are quite arbitrary, and that she has seen Boda Borg trips with “all boarder upperclassmen”, sometimes all of them in one friend group.
According to de Ramel, a lot of time goes into planning SAA events, as its representatives strive to make sure that students are consistently offered events that become fond memories. “We consider tons of things,” she said. “Attendance, day of the week, time of year, and also what is popular online. We want to make sure that the events are relevant.” De Ramel also adds that “way more kids come when there is a kind of incentive or prize.”
When asked how students should handle balancing work with activities, de Ramel advised students to “do [their] work earlier in the day, [and] get it done so that you are free to attend events, which are generally late in the afternoon or at night.” Additionally, Sandefur mentioned that since “workload characterizes the type of events [students] are able to attend,” every week, SAA meets to plan events, with the goal of ensuring that “each person on campus feels like they have something to do.”
Finally, Sandefur remarked that “our time at Milton seems so long, but it really is so short.” Given this realization, she suggested that students enjoy fleeting time at Milton, appreciate the fact that not a lot of other high schools have such a wide variety of activities, and learn to utilize all the resources that Milton offers, SAA being one of them.