Jack Muhlhauser ’25
Contributor
Is the School’s Response to World Events Adequate?

Blatantly, our current world is filled with violent conflicts and strife that often seem inevitable in our society. But how should Loomis Chaffee approach discussion on these controversial current events, given that our community comprises faculty and students from all over the nation and the world, each with unique perspectives, cultural customs, and political beliefs that can drastically deviate from one another?
Numerous tragic national and international events have occurred in our nation and worldwide in the past year. While addressing these issues is necessary, it is equally vital to recognize that people have differing opinions and views and that some may be personally affected by a particular cause.
Following a challenging global incident, Loomis considers its significance before informing and assisting students via email or a school-wide meeting. Additionally, there are student-run affinity and support groups in the community that provide needed assistance to students. Mr. Trenchard, the Associate Head of the School, stated, “From my perspective, the school makes such decisions while weighing student and community needs, inclusivity, the common good, and what is practical.” However, is the school’s response to these significant events enough?
Oftentimes, the normalized use of social apps for news threatens all students: the widespread misinformation and bias found on these platforms. With the influence of social media in today’s world, many teens consume news about current events from various platforms like Instagram and TikTok. Frequently on social media, when controversial events occur, the respective sides can alter information regarding those events to gain attention and reactions from vulnerable groups, like teens, creating division among our generation. This can result in unintentional ignorance and the spread of misinformation among our peers. For example, when I first heard about the recent conflict between Israel and Palestine while scrolling through Instagram, I saw many of my classmates posting various Instagram “stories” that represented their support and devotion to one particular side over the other. They ranged from different sources, accounts, and sides, proving how easy it is to sway our opinions online. The impact of social media is dangerous, as it can be used as a weapon to manipulate information or sway individual opinions; such vulnerability should be accounted for by the school in its responses to current events.
This example is an excellent chance for the school to encourage and instruct its students and community members to advocate effectively for the causes they support. By providing the opportunity for more in-depth school-wide conversations and proctored smaller discussion groups, we can better understand our roles and expectations as students while discussing sensitive global topics. It is vital for Loomis to teach its students how to discuss such events, how we can inform ourselves with trusted information, be inclusive and open-minded to other opinions, and acknowledge the differences we have with others while forming a common ground. If we emphasize these skills, we can demonstrate our community’s strength and continue striving for the common good.
Overall, the school does an excellent job of being inclusive and supporting students. However, as explained, we still have room for improvement in the presence of world events to teach students how to become better advocates of our school’s mission.