Soffer Preaches the "Resideresy" Gospel
by Sarah Soffer
Photography Editor
Through the six years that my class has spent together at Burroughs, we have seen both great and seemingly miniscule changes take place around campus; the retirement of renowned JBS faculty members and the beginnings of others, the addition of ultra-high-tech vending machines to the back of the Commons and the removal of the slowly degrading tennis court next to the pool. But one change that our class has observed is unfortunately not a positive one, but instead a grave decrease in the presence of a quality for which Burroughs has long since been and should continue to be known.
This quality can best be described by a combination of three of the most revered values at Burroughs; respect, consideration, and courtesy. The most fitting title for this quality, I suppose, would therefore be "resideresy" (re-si-der-us-e).
Perhaps a simple anecdote would be sufficient to suffice in conveying its definition in more detail. At the start of my seventh grade year, after witnessing my first Burroughs assembly, I shuffled, along with 600 other schoolmates, out of Haertter Hall and into the open quadrangle to get to my first class. As I made my way over to the main building and joined the long line of people waiting to walk through its doors I looked up with some surprise to see two brightly smiling teachers holding the doors open to better accommodate the massive influx of people.
My first interaction with this resideresy left a great impression on me and sparked within me the idea that actions such as the mere holding of a door were integral features of the status quo at Burroughs. It also made me believe, whether in error or not, that there is a standard here at our school that should be upheld and that every student should be expected to exhibit the signs of this resideresy.
In many instances during my time at Burroughs, this belief of mine has been validated. When my JBS big sister would stop me in the halls just to say, "hello" and ensure that everything was going all right, my belief was validated. In my eighth grade year, when Franklin McCallie's story of devoting his life to the civil equality and well being of all people was met with thunderous applause and a standing ovation, my belief was validated. And each time the Burroughs community leaders, after a Potpourri week or Blue and Gold Dance, offered tremendous credit and thanks to the JBS maintenance staff, a group that constantly carries out some of the most arduous campus tasks but at some schools might go unacknowledged, my belief was validated.
All of these examples show manifestations of this quality at Burroughs but what is of particular concern to me is how lately it appears that this simple combination of respect, consideration, and courtesy, this "resideresy" is not as pronounced as it used to be. Certainly it is not nonexistent, as there are too many members of the John Burroughs community, both students and teachers alike, who are flawless embodiments of this quality, but I have noticed it has simply been less present.
Too often are the instances in which an obviously mis-navigated 7th grader has been ignored or brushed aside by better-oriented students who could have easily offered the lower classmen directions. Too often are the times when standing ovations, which should be respectful displays of appreciation, have been insolently administered as jokes to the chagrin of an assembly speaker. Too often are the times when trash has been carelessly dropped to the floor of the Commons without any regard for the trash can that is a mere two feet away or, more importantly, for the time that others will have to waste later to dispose of it. And too often are the times when doors have gone shamelessly unopened for the third trimester junior whose hands are filled with books all because sometime did not take the time to see who was behind them.
I suppose in many environments, such seemingly insignificant oversights as these might be written off as being acceptable or even the status quo. But after six years of having the Burroughs philosophy ingrained into my mind, I have been made to believe that we should not settle for what is "satisfactory."
We are taught from the second we set foot on the Burroughs campus to always strive for excellence and I suppose the maintenance of this resideresy should be no exception. But I have come to the long-avoided realization that, come September, I will have little power with respect to the preservation of this idea on the Burroughs campus. Instead, the burden of this task will be passed on to those who remain.
So I am left to make one final request of you who have taken the time to finish reading this one senior rant, be you 100 or 20 or maybe even just one: Do not let this quality become a thing of the past. You are the members of a school that has always strived for excellence, that has received accolades abound, and that turns out upwards of 20 National Merit Scholars a year. If all of this is so very true, then why should we even have to think twice about maintaining this quality, maintaining this, as I like to call it, "resideresy?"
This "preservation" is much easier than it sounds. Simple, everyday things actually have the potential to make the difference. Take time to check on your friends and those around you. Don't leave confused underclassmen wandering aimlessly through the science building. As juvenile as this sounds, throw away your trash! And finally, for the old times' sake of my first encounter with "resideresy," hold the door for the person behind you and (better yet!) say, "THANK YOU" when somebody does the same for you.
The retention of this quality that has, for me, become synonymous with Burroughs, this "resideresy," is up to those who will stay behind at Burroughs after the Class of 2008 has left. And it is a quality that is quite easy to maintain.
Don't lose it.