Students describe the winter term as the most draining term. To help students make the most out of it, the Deans have recently promoted different initiatives to improve community engagement and wellness. As cell phones are consuming more of a student’s day, the Deans are trying different incentives to help reduce the dependence on technology, but also help bond the community closer together.

Some days you just wake up and wish you were just a little bit taller. You can only dream because height comes from genes: something which is impossible to change with present day technology. As the world progresses, though, humans have found ingenious methods to alter this status quo. The most recent of which, CRISPR, has already been tested on a limited number of humans with incurable diseases.

On Wednesday, Feb. 4, Phillips Exeter Academy’s Institutional Research sent out a “Community Research Survey” to the student body to gather data about a series of topics, including AI usage, time management, and student well-being. Designed in a multiple choice format, the survey was spearheaded by Director of Institutional Research Kari Hart, who explained that she focused her efforts on “aligning with Exeter’s mission and institutional priorities.”

From the second week of December 2025 to the end of its third week were the ‘hell weeks.’ Instructors across all subjects strive to cram in major assignments resulting in a bulk of tests within this short period. Exonians have varying opinions on hell weeks, due to differences in grades, course rigor, daily schedules, and levels of academic commitment.

On Saturday, Oct. 17, the varsity cross country team had its first and only home meet. The girls and boys both came in first overall. Being a home race, “it was really nice to have that extra energy,” lower Annika Nystedt remarked.

The Fall Fest culminated the day, and from the plethora of fall foods to the well-loved activities, it felt like a small carnival — one that anyone would have gladly paid to attend elsewhere. But of course, it was the spirit of the Exeter community that made Fall Fest feel so meaningful.

After four weeks, over 100 student clubs on campus have settled in and met several times. However, there has been a lot of confusion for both club co-heads and members to sign up for and organize clubs through the Blackbaud software.