A petition to make the three-day freshman trip optional comes up short, but Patton addresses concerns

By Annie Liang
Gargoyle assistant editor
Published Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2006, Gargoyle, news

On Dec. 2, Director/Principal Kassie Patton received a copy of a petition asking her to make the April 26-28 freshman field trip to Allerton Park optional.

Patton replied to the entire freshman class in an e-mail sent Friday evening. She explained that since the field trip is a curricular trip with all the academic areas taught, it will remain required. Patton also said that many of the issues the petition raised were misunderstandings, which she believes she has now cleared up.

In November, 27 freshmen (45 percent of the 60-member class) signed the Allerton petition, which criticized Isaac Chambers, the author of the Allerton proposal, for not involving the freshman class officers sufficiently.

“I can understand why your class officers would be displeased at being left out of the loop initially, but I can also understand why Isaac came directly to me,” Patton said in her e-mail.
One of the steps Patton has taken to address the concerns of the petition is the creation of a planning committee that includes herself, the freshman class officers, Chambers, and health teacher DeeDee Wright.

According to freshman vice president Nate Kim, the planning committee met before winter break to discuss possible activities and financial issues.

“As a freshman officer, I feel that it is my duty to have as many classmates participate [at Allerton] as possible and have an awesome time there,” Kim said. “I just thank Mrs. Patton for giving the freshman officers a chance to show that we really care for our classmates and don't neglect our class stuff entirely.”

Freshman Jason He, a supporter of the petition, said that the “point of the petition was to make the trip optional, not improve it,” but he too appreciates the creation of the planning committee.
Funding and other logistics are still being discussed. Patton said that most of the money will come out of Uni's budget for curricular activities, but students will still have to pay an individual sum of no more than $50.

“I am looking forward to us all working together on this project,” Patton wrote in her e-mail. “If this is a successful experiment, your class may become known as the pioneers of another great Uni tradition.”