The Collins Room, once a carefree lounge where a Disney movie was always playing, is now a dreary hole, devoid of its previous warmth. This year, juniors have been forbidden to watch DVDs in the room, and the blinds are to remain closed at all times.
The blame for these new rules can be firmly placed upon the backs of the Class of 2012. Last year, on one fateful Morning at Marlborough, aka Fishbowl Friday, a group of girls were kicking back in the Collins Room with the blinds wide open, watching Superbad. You can imagine the horror experienced by Director of Upper School Laura Hotchkiss when several prospective parents witnessed the movie’s crude images through the glass walls of the Room. To prevent further incidents, Hotchkiss banned all movie-watching. No longer shall we walk through the halls and glimpse a group of juniors munching on Popchips and watching the last half of Mulan (for the second time that day).
The general feeling in the Class of 2013 is one of frustration. Lauren ’13 sums it up: “I think that every class should get a fresh start, and not be punished because of the previous class’s mistakes.” She continues with a smart suggestion. “They could put a PG-13 limit on all the DVDs watched.” That way, there wouldn’t be any danger of parents getting spooked by the occasionally vulgar tastes of Marlborough girls.
We know, of course, that the Class of 2012 is practically perfect in every way (as I am merely a sophomore, I am required to say this). So what led the class of 2012 to watch such crude material?
Well, perhaps…
1. They were testing the prospective parents. The parents that laughed, instead of gasped, had clearly raised a daughter hearty enough to attend Marlborough.
2. They were reminding themselves of just how lucky they are that they have no time to party.
3. They were studying where not to go in Los Angeles.
4. The Netflix envelope said it was Pochahontas. Silly Netflix, always messing up the labels!
5. It was a particularly clever way of studying for AP Bio, what with all of the high-quality images of human anatomy.
I believe that it’s time to give the current juniors the benefit of the doubt, and if they mess up, then take away the privileges. Also, most importantly, I want to be able to watch movies as a junior. Please, Ms. Hotchkiss?
