A Call to Action

By Cassie Goundrey ’24

I love many things about Westy, but Saturday morning tests are not one of them. Now, we all hear a lot of talk about Saturday classes, and in my two-and-a-half years at Westy, it has continued to remain somewhat of a hot-take for some and others’ inevitable future. I will say that the class schedule has improved since my freshman year. On my first fall on Williams Hill, all way back in 2020, we actually had classes seven days a week. Anyone who was here will grimace, as we’ll never be able to forget those dark, dark times of Sunday night Zoom classes.

But I must ask, how long should it take to make the transition to a five-day class schedule? So many of our peer schools have successfully shifted to a five day week, so why can’t we? If Loomis Chaffee, Avon Old Farms, Ethel Walker, Choate Rosemary Hall, Miss Porters, and more have already successfully made the switch, so should we. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating for these changes to happen overnight, but I do think there’s something we can do as students to show our distaste for Saturday morning tests.

What I’m asking for is a call to action! A student-led movement! Could it have been a coincidence that The Hunger Games trilogy was available on Netflix for the month of March? I think not! It was a sign, an omen, a calling: what for? A revolution!       

Okay, maybe that’s extreme. But nonetheless, we, the students of Westminster School, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, and amend for life without Saturday class!

Instead of having the same conversation at family-style lunch every week about how everyone is exhausted and longing for regular five-day weeks, we can commit to a movement!  Together, we have the power necessary to create change! How many mental health days and therapy dogs will it take for us to realize that we are dancing around the real issue here? We’re taught that change is hard, which makes it all the more necessary to fight for the causes we believe in.

All we need now is a name that can be shortened to a catchy acronym, perhaps “WISH,” Westminster Individuals for Saturday Happiness, and a game plan, then we’re good to go. So let us go down in the yearbooks of Westminster– “WISH saves Westminster from the crippling injustice of Saturday Class!” Of course, I’m open to suggestions if anyone needs to track me down about this glorious cause; I can usually be found procrastinating homework in the Perry room. Thank you in advance to my fellow comrades.