Wllllam nelbergall

Paverford's Ponor Code

lor mosL of my llfe, l have had Lhe prlvllege of belng a parL of a relaLlvely flexlble
and supporLlve communlLy. Many of my frlends haven'L been so lucky, cerLaln culLural
pracLlces and famlly LradlLlons l've noLlced ln my youLh have afforded a greaLer
posslblllLy for confllcL Lhan l ever had Lhe mlsforLune of encounLerlng. lronlcally, lL's my
freedom Lo pursue my academlc and pollLlcal lnLeresLs LhaL ulLlmaLely seL me aparL ln
cerLaln dlsLlncL ways from Lhe sLandards of my communlLy. As an upperclassman aL my
hlgh school, my lnLellecLual pursulL of a more consclous orlenLaLlon Loward soclal [usLlce
lssues has goLLen me lnLo some amounL of Lrouble as of laLe.
Lvery year, a rlvalry fooLball game beLween my hlgh school and a nearby school
ls prefaced by a week of llghLhearLed [osLllng, as boLh schools' campus organlzaLlons
encourage sLudenLs Lo dress up ln unusual or humorous ways Lo bulld solldarlLy ln
anLlclpaLlon of Lhe blg game. CusLomarlly, Lhe Wednesday before Lhe game ls an
opporLunlLy for sLudenLs aL my school Lo dress up as deprecaLlng carlcaLures of sLudenLs
aL Lhe rlval school. usually called 1empe Plgh nerd uay," lL's Lhe response Lo a slmllar
day celebraLed aL 1empe Plgh called McCllnLock uork uay," Lhough Lhls year
McCllnLock's sLudenL councll changed Lhlngs up a llLLle blL. 1he name of Lhe day was
abrldged Lo 1empe Plgh uay," and Lhe acLlvlLy was adverLlsed on flyers and vldeo
announcemenL segmenLs as an opporLunlLy Lo dress up ln a cholo" or gangsLer" sLyle
Lo lampoon 1empe Plgh's sLudenL populaLlon. An unforLunaLe facL Lo whlch Lhls splrlL
day" seems Lo respond ls LhaL of Lhe dlsproporLlonaLely hlgh Plspanlc Amerlcan
populaLlon aL 1empe Plgh ln comparlson wlLh all of Lhe oLher schools ln Lhe 1empe
unlon Plgh School ulsLrlcL, glven LhaL Lhls gangsLer" sLyle was esLabllshed by a largely
Plspanlc and black populaLlon as a moLlf of wesL coasL gang culLure alongslde Lhe
developmenL of hlp-hop and reggaeLon as arLlsLlc medla.
1he depravlLy and lndlgnlLy ln suggesLlng LhaL a nelghborlng school deserves Lo
be playfully LaunLed for Lhelr hlgher mlnorlLy populaLlon ls especlally offenslve ln our
supposedly enllghLened pollLlcal Llme. l regarded (and sLlll regard) Lhe slLuaLlon as an
example of unforglvably unregulaLed culLural approprlaLlon, buL l'd learned from
experlence LhaL knowledge and Lheory were pracLlcally useless lf noL acLed upon. l
wroLe a leLLer. lL wasn'L a long leLLer (lL was probably shorLer Lhan Lhls essay), and lL was
respecLfully wrlLLen wlLh Lhe knowledge LhaL Lhe audlence would be comprlsed of my
school's admlnlsLraLlon. AfLer sendlng Lhe leLLer Lo a couple frlends for revlew by way of
Lhe collaboraLlve Coogle urlve plaLform, l reLurned Lo lL only Lo noLlce LhaL lL had
accumulaLed sevenLeen addlLlonal slgnaLures afLer mlne, lL was never lnLended Lo be a
peLlLlon, buL Lhe senLlmenL held wlLhln had resonaLed wlLh many sLudenLs as Lhe leLLer
was passed around. lL was only a maLLer of mlnuLes before Lhe Coogle urlve chaL
wlndow for Lhe documenL was a llvely dlscusslon beLween over 60 sLudenLs. Cnce l
percelved LhaL Lhlngs were geLLlng ouL of hand, l closed Lhe documenL and senL lL ln an
emall Lo my school's admlnlsLraLors and sLudenL councll represenLaLlves, buL lL was Loo
laLe Lo be dlscreeL. My 1wlLLer feed was full of fellow sLudenLs' oplnlons abouL my
leLLer.
l'd been Lold before LhaL soclal medla could be dangerous, buL l never Look LhaL
cauLlon serlously unLll l declded Lo use my lnLellecLual freedom Lo geL lnvolved wlLh
soclal [usLlce. 1he publlc clrculaLlon of Lhe leLLer made me flnally reallze [usL how
dlfferenL my own bellefs were from Lhose of my communlLy, l was publlcly shamed and
mulLlple sLudenLs speculaLed LhaL my moLlves ln wrlLlng Lhe leLLer were more slnlsLer
Lhan l leL on. Cne LhoughL LhaL l [usL haLed fooLball, one accused me of Lrylng Lo geL a
pep rally cancelled and anoLher explalned LhaL l was probably Lrylng Lo geL my calculus
Leacher (a sLudenL councll offlclal) flred. Cn SepLember 11, Lhe day afLer Lhe leLLer was
leaked Lo 1wlLLer users, more of my classmaLes were sLarlng aL me Lhan were waLchlng
Lhe vldeo announcemenL memorlallzlng Lhe 9/11 aLLacks.
Cf course, Lhe slLuaLlon dldn'L cool down wlLhouL me belng called Lo Lhe offlce -
l expecLed as much. My school's acLlvlLles dlrecLor and abouL flfLeen of Lhe oLher
sLudenLs who had Lyped Lhelr names onLo Lhe leLLer's saluLaLlon [olned me ln a
conference room, and, maLLer-of-facLly, Lhe acLlvlLles dlrecLor asked us Lo begln calllng
ouL poLenLlal soluLlons. 1haL's how Lhe problem of my allenaLlon was solved, no one
was punlshed, expelled, pald off or kllled, buL lnsLead concerned parLles saL down aL a
Lable LogeLher and helped one anoLher arrlve aL creaLlve answers Lo an lmporLanL
quesLlon.
l may noL have known lL aL Lhe Llme, buL Lhrough Lhls ordeal, l was calllng upon
Paverford's Ponor Code aL nearly every Lurn. ln accordance wlLh secLlon 1, our
dlscusslon was admlnlsLered by Lhe auLhorlLaLlve parLy, Lo whom we devoLed our Llme
and respecL. ln accordance wlLh secLlon 2, we afforded one anoLher Lhe respecL
demanded of any concerned person wlLh a unlque perspecLlve. ConfronLaLlon as lL's
spelled ouL ln Lhe Ponor Code was an lmporLanL parL: a dlrecL conversaLlon wlLh Lhe
school's sLudenL councll proved Lo be an advanLageous move for everyone lnvolved, as
lL prompLly puL an end Lo Lhe name-calllng on lnLerneL soclal neLworks. lL was Lhls form
of open and respecLful dlalogue LhaL reconclled my flrsL Lruly LraumaLlc confllcL wlLh my
communlLy's sLandards, and only Lhls form of dlalogue LhaL ls able Lo solve Lhese klnds
of problems.
lL ls unllkely LhaL anyone wlll experlence a llfeLlme worLh of harmony wlLh Lhelr
ouLslde communlLy, lf anyLhlng, LhaL's whaL renders Lhls Ponor Code valuable ln Lhe
mosL dlrecL sense. 1he Ponor Code remlnds sLudenLs of Paverford of Lhe facL LhaL my
momenLary colllslon wlLh my school's communlLy LaughL me: confllcL and adverslLy
beLween people ls never an end, buL raLher a means for change. ln an academlc
envlronmenL, Lhls klnd of confllcL can be Lhe mosL powerful sLlmulus for meanlngful
educaLlon lf admlnlsLered closely ln Lhe way LhaL Paverford has been admlnlsLerlng
soclal llfe on campus slnce Lhe Ponor Code began Lo Lake shape ln 1887. lL's for Lhls
reason LhaL l am aLLracLed Lo Paverford as one of Lhe world's only colleges wlLh a
unlfled dedlcaLlon Lo confllcL managemenL and educaLlon based on a consLrucLlve seL of
values LhaL has faclllLaLed healLhy lnLerdlsclpllnary sLudles for over a cenLury.