Weekly Assembly at Williston is a long held tradition which contributes significantly to the school’s identity. The Stevens Chapel is a landmark on campus. The main level is used almost exclusively for Upper School assemblies. Assembly begins promptly at 8:30 and seating is assigned by advisory group. The goal of Assembly, as stated in the Student Handbook, is “to watch other members of our community perform as well as to disseminate information.”

Despite the weekly assembly’s important role at Williston, many student frequently bemoan its existence. One junior, who preferred to remain anonymous, said, “assemblies are horribly boring, and I say that with the utmost care and compassion as is utterly possible.”  The general complaint amongst the student body seems to be simple: assembly is too bland and humdrum to capture their attention.

Long strings of announcements are the most cited cause of such complaints. As junior Gabe Jacobson points out, “almost everything they say can be sent through an e-mail.” A few other students felt announcements at assembly were rendered “pointless” by the existence of e-mail.

Others, however, felt assembly announcements remained important. “I know, myself, and a lot of kids don’t open all their e-mails,” post-graduate Jack Najarian admits. “Assembly forces you to listen to things that are important that you wouldn’t know otherwise.” Assembly is a more direct way to make sure the school knows about news and events around campus. Freshman Tomasz Paluchowski says, “I like the announcements because they let me know what’s going on.”

Many students proposed a compromise. Keep announcements, but make them easier to sit through. “We need tight, scripted content with a dramatic tone to capture attention at the inhuman hour of 8:30,” senior Brendan Hellweg explains. Three other students suggested the announcements be kept “short and sweet” to have the maximum effect.

The second goal of Assembly stated by the handbook is to “watch other members of our community perform.” Though performances are occasionally made in assembly, this year most notably in both Mr. Ryan Tyree’s and Mr. Joshua Harper’s musical performances, they seem to take a back seat to the many announcements made each week.

“I wish [Assembly] was more of a platform for being together as a community than for announcements,” English teacher Logan Brown says. “I think it should be a time when people can showcase their passions.” Ms. Brown, an emphatic proponent of  Cultural Identity Nights at Williston, says, “I wish we had CID’s at Assembly. We could use that time to share stories or have kids stand up and give ‘this I believe’ statements.” An increase in student participation and performance during Assembly just may be the solution to all the yawning and snoozing that occur during weekly Assembly.

This type of assembly has already been applied to the junior class’s assembly, with reported success. Junior Class President Loren Po explains, “Last assembly was a combination of announcements that were needed to be said mixed with demonstrations of talent from the class.”

The hour long gathering featured an interview with Gabby Thomas; magic tricks by Anthony Leung; a musical performance from Evan Stark, Nick Dalzell, and Norio Chan; along with an inspiring personal story told by Mrs. Bridget Choo.

“We were trying to make an assembly that was really laid back, something people didn’t walk away from thinking they had just wasted an hour of their life.” Loren Po says. Junior Jen Carellas is one of many who enjoyed the assembly. She says, “I really liked it. It was nice to have an assembly that was actually interesting and fun.”

To an extent, Williston students are in control of our Assemblies’ content. With approval from the deans, students or faculty can make any announcement or performance they want. Post-graduate Jack Najarian notes, “They give everyone the opportunity to speak, so [the subjects are] very open.”

Senior Brendan Hellweg is a fan of student participation in assembly if done well. “Student presentations can be either the highlight or the laggard of an assembly. Prepared well, they provide a break from the expected pattern of announcements and can be hilarious,” he says.

“I wish we had assembly every day because I love the energy of gathering as a community,” Logan Brown says. Assembly is one of the aspects of campus life that give Williston its strong sense of community. As students and teachers, it’s in our hands to make sure we don’t waste an hour of our time every week. It’s time to show off and support the amazing people we have at Williston and we are allotted the perfect time to do so. So next assembly, tell a joke, show off what you’re good at, or tell people what you are passionate about. Assembly could be your chance to get involved.