Senior squares are going away. What’s the replacement?                                                                  

By Cate Pitterle

To the class of 2019, the biggest senior-year shock came with the abolishment of senior squares. A hallowed tradition, students had long looked forward to painting their own squares — but the administration has now said that, during the upcoming renovation, all senior squares will be taken down.

“I’m not sure yet what the walls will look like” after the squares are removed, said Robin Follet, the head of the upper school. “It depends on what we’re going to do with the walls, if we’re going to move walls.” Alumni have been given the option to come back and retrieve their squares, according to Mr. Follet.

Though they have been an open secret among some faculty, many students were unaware of the planned changes. Current senior Morgan White expressed shock when they heard the news. “That makes me so sad,” they said. Erin Singleton, also a senior, exclaimed, “Wait, seriously? That’s terrible. I love looking at those when I walk down the stairs.”

The class of 2000, CA’s first graduating class, started the senior square tradition. Once-beige walls quickly became murals; to some, these collages signified a tangible expression of a class’s impact. Every senior class up to 2018 painted squares, at which point the stairwells became filled.

Mr. Follet said that the lack of space was the main problem when it came to continuing senior squares. However, he cited a lack of interest on behalf of last year’s seniors when it came to other options. “There were proposals about how seniors could do versions of their senior squares,” he said, adding that senior leadership decided not to pursue those ideas.

And for the class of 2020?

Senior Class President Will King said senior leadership had attempted to recreate the squares in senior corner – where they would have been smaller and painted over by each incoming class – but that the effort had petered out. “It didn’t really work out, hence the chalk board,” he said.

However, there is a backup plan. A broken-down Charger bus – Bus 2, for any interested former passengers – which is currently sitting vacant in a CA lot, will get a fresh coat of paint this year. Seniors will be able to apply their artistic license, Senior Rock-style, sometime during the second trimester.