Despite an unorthodox year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the School planned and executed a successful senior lake jump on Apr. 30. However, seniors expressed mixed feelings about participating in the tradition. 

The School has held the lake jump since the 2006-2007 school year. The first one was a senior prank, according to art teacher and class of 2005 alumna Mrs. Sarah Rojo. Since then, the event has become a Benjamin tradition. 

Despite the storied history of the lake jump, there was no consensus among this year’s seniors regarding their participation, primarily because of concerns over the lake’s cleanliness. 

For instance, senior Grace Myers participated in the jump. 

“I [jumped] in the lake because it is a super fun tradition at the School. While the lake [was] pretty disgusting, I think it [was] an overall exciting experience,” Myers said. 

Similarly, senior and former student council president Andrew Weisz jumped in the lake, but took some precautions to protect himself from what he believes is unsafe water. 

“I [looked forward] to jumping in the lake, but I [wore] some floaties and… some goggles to keep myself dry. I also [considered] bringing a raft along so I [could] stay above the water. I understand some people were worried about how clean it [was], but I think if you [took] the necessary precautions, you should be fine,” Weisz said. 

On the other hand, one senior, who asked for anonymity sarcastically told The Pharcyde: “To be honest, I [didn’t] want herpes.”

Despite the various opinions present in the class of 2021, the administration worked tirelessly to organize the event in addition to the day’s other activities. 

English teacher and Senior Class Coordinator Dr. John Peruggia, in conjunction with Mr. Carr and Dean of Students Mr. Jacobsen, was involved in creating a modified schedule for the seniors’ last day. 

“Normally, the lake jump has been at the end of the day, and, originally, students were good about listening to the rules and waiting until the end of the day, but recent history has been a little lax… This year, Mr. Carr, Mr. Jacobsen, and I met to discuss ways to make this a little easier for everyone: we came up with the idea of having a half day for the seniors and an extended lunch,” Peruggia said. “Mr. Carr brought up the idea that senior teachers wanted to see their classes for the last time, so we didn’t want to take away class time. To do this, we had to split A period [between morning and afternoon],” he added.

In addition, instead of having a normal assembly period and then the lake jump later in the day, the School had a catered lunch and an outdoor assembly in the butterfly garden. In it, retiring English teacher Mr. Perry Feyk serenaded the Upper School and both Mr. Carr and Head of School Mr. Faus spoke. The assembly was meant to honor the Class of 2021 one final time.

It is safe to say that the hard work put in by the administration made this year’s lake jump just as successful as those of years’ past.