Phillips Exeter Academy

Phillips Exeter Academy (also called Exeter or PEA) is a co-educational independent boarding school located on 471 acres (1.9 km²) in Exeter, New Hampshire, USA, one hour north of Boston.

Exeter slang and jargon

• 333 - The title of the American history course required of all uppers, and also the name of the paper required by the said course. The best papers are often published in academic journals.
• 7s - Nickname for punishment that requires the recipient to check-in at the dormitory at 7:00 p.m. instead of the usual later check-in. "My proctor caught me up without late lights, and he put me on 7s for a week."
• 10s - Jargon for the top decile of grade point average, which runs from 0.0 to 11.0. On the Exeter scale, A=11.0, A-minus=10.0, B-plus=9.0, ...C=5.0, and so on. A GPA of 10.0 or higher ("in the 10s") is roughly equivalent to one of 3.66 or higher on a traditional GPA scale. "In order to apply to that college, I hear you have to get 10s."
• Academy Life Day - A day set aside early in the fall term to allow students and faculty to engage in some special activities in dorm, adviser/advisee, or day student groups.
• A-U-Med Sleep-In - On Thursday mornings, the two class blocks of A and U, combined with the weekly Meditation given in Phillips Church, make for a rather welcome additional hour and a half (roughly) of sleep for those fortunates who have no classes during those blocks.
• Bubble - The semi-circular glass enclosure on the North side (facing Webster Hall) of Wentworth Hall.
• The Cage - Building across from the soccer and baseball fields which housed the indoor track, wrestling room, and provided indoor training facilities for numerous other sports during inclement winter weather.
• College suck - The cynical term for those clubs, activities, and leadership positions that one acquires, not because of genuine interest, but in order to pad one's resume for college applications.
• D-Hall - Either one of the Wetherell or Elm Street dining halls.
• Dick - A verb form of dickey, meaning both the act of a student missing a class and the act of a teacher turning in an absence slip, as in, "I dicked that class," and, "I just got dicked." The term dates back to the 1930s when Wells Kerr served as the Dean of Students (actually Mr. Kerr served in that position from 1930 to 1953). The students of the time viewed Mr. Kerr as being very honest and fair-minded. They made a connection between Mr. Kerr and Dickey Kerr, the one honest starting player employed by the White Sox during the scandalous 1919 World Series and so began calling Mr. Kerr, "Dickey." Notes received from Mr. Kerr (which were often about attendance) were eventually referred to as "dickeys," and the rest evolved from there.
• Dickey - An absence slip. (See Dick.)
• Discipline Committee - Also known by its initials, D.C., a committee composed of faculty and non-voting students who convene to determine the disciplinary response to a rule violation after hearing from the student(s) involved.
• D.H.M. - A term used by students to describe their quest to understand a text--that is, to uncover or discover the Deep Hidden Meaning of a text. One of the hallmarks of the English Department.
• E.P. - (See Evening Prayer.)
• Evening Prayer - Also known as E.P. A non-denominational service, held weekly (Tuesday evenings, 9:30pm) in Phillips Church. Typically quiet and candlelit, this service usually involves performances by student musicians or readings from various traditions. Very popular with students, perhaps because of the inspiration found in a typical service, perhaps because underclassmen can check-out of their dormitories for it, or perhaps because it is known as a nice way to spend some time with someone you like very much or on a first date.
• Exonian - A student or alumnus of Exeter, or adjective describing something belonging to Exeter. ("My uncle was an Exonian" ; "That is not Exonian behavior") Also the name of the student newspaper, the longest continuously published secondary school newspaper in the country.
• Fac-Brat - A term used to refer to the sons and daughters of faculty, usually those who live on campus.
• Fac-Proc - A regular meeting of the faculty and proctors of a dormitory. Here the well-being of individual students as well as general dorm issues are discussed.
• Fat Block - Class meeting of 1 hour and 15 minutes, each format has one of these per week, used for labs, extended classes, or testing.
• Fishbowl - Windowed dining room in Wetherell Dining Hall.
• Grill - Snack bar found in the basement of the art building. Traditionally, Exonians omit the article ?the? when referring to it, as in: ?Let?s go to Grill.?
• Harkness Club - An unofficial 'society' of students who have engaged in illicit activity involving one of the school's many Harkness tables; considered a very elite and very dangerous designation.
• Harkness Warrior - Cynical nickname for student who dominates discussion around the Harkness table. The Harkness Warrior is the first person to interrupt another student, disagree simply for the sake of disagreeing, and speak endlessly with no discernible point in order to boost his or her participation grade.
• Illegal V?s - Visitations (see definition under ?V?s? in this lexicon) that do not enjoy faculty permission and may be outside the allowed times for visiting. In simple terms, having someone of the opposite sex in one's room without permission.
• JSmith - Short for Jeremiah Smith Hall, which houses the PO, College Advising office, the offices of the Deans and Principal Instructor, and the offices of Personnel, Bursars/Registrar.
• Late-lights - Preps and lowers who have not completed their work by 10:30 may ask faculty on duty to extend their bedtime (varies from dorm to dorm).
• Marking Period - The points in a term when teachers report a student?s progress in his courses, done at the midpoint and the end of each term. Midterm grades are not final, but are used to gauge students? academic progress.
• Meditation - Thursday mornings, Phillips Church, speakers from Academy community talk for 20-25 minutes about something important to them, more or less a reflection on life. Each year during the spring, a handful of seniors is chosen to read their own meditations, which they wrote for their last required English class the term before. Attendance is not required, but certainly recommended.
• Lower or Lower-Middler - A 10th grader, sophomore.
• Midnight Scream - This ritual involves yelling out the nearest dormitory window at midnight on the last night of each term.
• Opt - Sports option. An upper or senior can choose not to participate in a physical education activity or sport for one term each year. Doing so is referred to as ?opting.? Also, Music Opt; a reduction in class load given for attendance at private music lessons.
• Out-of-Towns - Written permission required for students to leave the Academy for a day trip out of the Exeter area or for an overnight visit somewhere. Out-of-towns are not required for any of the Academy-sponsored trips to Shaw's, Fox Run Mall, etc.
• Package Slip - A notification placed in a student's mailbox that he/she has received a package; always an exciting event for boarders.
• Party On - A popular farewell, used by students parting ways. Especially popular with current pricipal Ty Tingley.
• PEAN - The yearbook. Greek "pæan" is a "song of praise"; a pun on the name of the school.
• Petition - If a student needs to miss a required Academy appointment (class, sport commitment, Assembly, dormitory check-in, etc.) for any reason, she should complete a petition form as early as possible. The Deans consider these requests during their regular meetings.
• P.O. - The Academy Post Office. When Exonians refer to it, they omit the article ?the.? For example: ?Are you going to P.O.??
• PG - A post graduate student. A student that has already graduated from another high school and is doing an additional year of high school.
• Probation - Academic Probation, the highest rung on the school-wide disciplinary ladder, short of requirement to withdraw. Probation is meted out for a variety of infractions, usually lasts for a period of eight weeks, and ends only upon review by the Discipline Committee.
• Probes - Nickname, see Probation.
• Proctor - Student leader and mentor within the dormitory, usually a senior. Proctors are chosen by the faculty, based upon a proven level of responsibility, and are generally well-respected by the other students in the dorm. Once a week, they have the task of managing the dormitory in lieu of the faculty, coordinating check-ins and lights out. Perks of the job include first pick in the room selection lottery.
• Prep or Junior - A 9th grader, freshman.
• Principal's Day - Since the school's snow removal budget exceeds that of most southern cities, there is no such thing as a snow day at Exeter. The only surprise day off is chosen once a year at the discretion of the Principal and proclaimed the day before in an inventive way. Most recently, Tyler Tingley had a message written on the local theater's board showtime board. One year, Principal Day was announced from a marquee pulled by a plane over Exeter.
• Psych - Little treats, notes of encouragement, signs, etc. given to athletes by teammates, managers, coaches, or friends on the day of a contest.
• R.A.L. - Reporter-at-large paper written by uppers for their English class.
• Red Bandits - Students (usually seniors) who aim to ignite school spirit at athletic contests, particularly the Exeter/Andover contests. Accompanied by the stuffed red lion mascot, the Red Bandits often cover themselves in red body paint, scream, and bang on trash cans.
• Restrictions - The lowest rung on the scale of school-wide punishments, also the most common. Nicknamed stricts, the punishment requires students to check-in at their dormitories at 8:00 p.m. every evening for two weeks, including Saturdays. The most common infraction committed by students on stricts is missing three required appointments in one trimester, or getting three Dickeys. ("Do you want to go to Grill?" / "I can't. I'm on stricts!")
• Requirement to Withdraw - Expulsion. Also called R.T.W for short.
• Smurfs - A nickname for Andover students. (Their school color is blue.)
• Spaz - a.k.a. prep-spaz or Prep Program. A fond nickname for the ninth-grade physical education program required of all preps not playing a varsity or JV sport in a given term.
• Stricts - Nickname, see Restrictions. (also "Stricts with Review")
• Study Card - A restriction placed upon underperforming students, requiring them to stay in their room during study hours with no distractions from others. Like Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter, the card itself is the size of an index card, taped to the outside of the student's door, warning would-be callers to move on.
• Study Hours - Those periods of the day when classes or Assemblies are normally held, and after 8 p.m. every night except Saturday.
• Universal Free - a block of time in the afternoon each weekday from 3:45pm to 4:10pm (except Wednesdays, which are half-days) during which time no classes are scheduled.
• Upper or Upper-Middler - An 11th grader, junior.
• Visitations or V's - Visitation privileges required to have a member of the opposite sex in one's dorm room. An unauthorized visitation is called an Illegal V, and can result in disciplinary action.