The First Night

Soon after the conclusion of afternoon sports yesterday, the high school students found their way over to St. Joseph Commons for dinner, where they debated the extent of Oedipus’s culpability for his tragic fate. Study hall followed, and was “very quiet,” according to the prefects — save for the dramatic reading of Sophocles’ Antigone led by prefect Chris Sebastian (’13).

Afterward came the evening Rosary in Our Lady of the Most Trinity Chapel, and then social time back in the Commons. Most students played board games — Apples to Apples being the favorite — while others played the guitar or piano, and others still continued on with the Antigone reading from study hall. In the campus coffee shop, prefect-baristas served iced mochas and Italian ices, gratis, to their appreciative customers. The festivities concluded at 10:30 p.m., followed by consecrations back in the residence halls.

The night, however, was still young. Over in Sts. Peter and Paul Hall, the men took their turns clobbering a piñata — only to discover, much to their dismay, that the prefects had filled it not with candy, but carrots! The students’ disappointment soon subsided, however, as the prefects tendered boxes of fresh donuts. Then the women arrived en masse on the front lawn to serenade and give a birthday cake to prefect Rocky Brittain (’15), who turned 22.

Afterward, the women enjoyed a party of their own in St. Monica Hall, complete with singing, dancing, and a conga line. “The friendships are already forming,” says women’s head prefect Kathleen Sullivan (’06). “It’s a beautiful thing to see.”