BREAKFAST
One staple of the advisery experience at New Trier is the much-beloved Friday breakfast. Every Friday morning, students enter their advisery rooms and are greeted by a variety of different breakfast foods, such as donuts or bagels.
For most students, advisery breakfast can be traced back to one of the most scarring parts of freshman year. For advisories that participated in “speed-dating,” a Panera bagel symbolizes the occasionally awkward moments that they experienced at the Northfield campus.
At the Winnetka Campus, however, this standard practice is far from casual. According to junior Isabel Machlin, her advisery takes a systematic approach in order to feast in an ideal fashion each Friday.
“Each girl in my advisory is assigned a Friday during the year to bring breakfast. We prefer that the designated girl brings bagels. Sometimes girls bring in other things like coffee cake, muffins, and fruit juice too,” said Machlin.
As to the benefits of the tradition, junior Michaela Maday said, “It’s a good way to end the week. Girls in my advisery really look forward to it.”
While “food Fridays,” as some students call it, are a hit among most students, it has its naysayers. Junior Ben Weinstein dislikes the effect that it has had on his advisery.
“I’ve never been a fan of advisory breakfast,” said Weinstein. “Sure, donuts are great, but my advisory ends up turning into savages in the epic struggle for the last long john.”
Also, parents aren’t always receptive to the idea of spending money on food that, on occasion, goes to waste. However, Maday hasn’t had the same problem.
“We’ve spent up to $100 before,” she said. “But it was because my mom really wanted to bring the girls in my advisery a healthy, quality breakfast.”
Regardless of whether or not you’re a fan of advisery breakfast, it’s here to stay. According to Machlin, when there’s twenty-plus advisery mates depending on you for a second breakfast of sorts, you don’t want to let them down.
“You definitely don’t want to be the girl that forgets, said Machlin. “There might be some unhappy and hungry girls starring you down- which is not a good combination.”
HOMEWORK
Everyday I get to school at about 8:10. I go to my locker and enter my advisery just before the bell rings. Because I am typically one of the last people to get in the room, I get a chance to see what most of my fellow advisees are doing.
The overwhelming majority of them have a binder open, pencil in hand, and a look of pure exhaustion upon their faces. They seem filled with regret from not being able to power through all of their work last night. Sophomore Ted Oh has a packed schedule, and he explained how he uses his time in advisery.
“Whenever we don’t have anything planned in advisery, I usually take advantage and finish all of the homework that I didn’t get to the night before,” said Oh. “It may not be the best idea, but it works.”
He is not the only one who uses this time for leftover work. Junior Will Smith also cherishes every second that he can to get work done at school.
“If I don’t finish all of my homework the night before, and we’re not doing anything in advisery, of course I’ll do my homework. Why wouldn’t I? I can get more done in advisery than I can late at night. It’s phenomenal.”
While the purpose of advisery certainly is not to offer busy students another free period, in some cases it’s used as one. For the 25 minutes each day, as long as there is not an itinerary, students can get some quick studying in before a Chemistry test, or read a chapter in their History textbook. As students’ lives continue to become busier, this practice will only grow stronger.
PLEDGE
Every advisery at New Trier is vastly different, but one aspect that remains the same throughout the school is the ongoing issue of whether or not to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance.
In most cases, it’s a bit of a grey area, and practice varies depending on the adviser’s view of the situation. Schools are technically not allowed to make students stand up, but many students and faculty understand the importance and significance of the pledge, what it represents both in this country and in our everyday lives.
In senior Chase Silverman’s advisery, few boys stand for the pledge. “Only 3-5 kids stand up everyday with our adviser,” said Silverman. “I personally choose to stand out of respect for our country, but it’s clear that not everyone feels the same way.”
Senior adviser Jamie Atwell encourages his advisees to stand up, but said, “I don’t make them; I simply request that they stand up. They do not have to say anything but they have to show respect for the idea and the purpose, purely out of respect.”
Both Silverman and Atwell’s approaches are fairly common throughout each advisery at New Trier. Advisers either let students choose on their own if they wish to stand up, or make it a priority that the students show respect for their flag and their country by standing up.
Junior Nick Cornejo chooses to stand up and recite the pledge to honor his own country. “I stand up for the pledge each day because it is important to respect the people who have sacrificed so much to ensure the freedom that we enjoy each and every day.”