Where’s Ariel?

It doesn’t matter how many years I’ve worked at Fletcher, the transitions between vacation and the semester, or between the semester and exams, is always surprisingly abrupt.  A week ago, the Hall of Flags was still filled with activity.  Today, it’s very quiet and nearly empty.  Students go through the critical phases of visible (in classes); hiding (studying and taking exams); and gone.  Many have already taken off, though others are still enduring exams and papers.

Occasionally one of our student interns pops into the office for an hour of brain-clearing application filing, but we mostly don’t see them much during exams.  In fact, the last time I saw Ariel (the last two times, in fact), she was singing holiday songs with the Ambassachords (Fletcher’s a cappella group).  Then she went back into hiding.  Thus, the Dear Ariel feature is on hiatus.

With the students goes the school’s energy, but sometimes it’s good for us administrators to have a chance to recharge.  We know it won’t be long before the students return and, by then, we’ll be ready for a busy Hall of Flags.