By Rebecca Tolpin `14, Staff Writer

Donuts have been a part of Newark Academy’s advisories for years, but due to an administrative decision effective this school year, the treats have vanished from advisor groups. As a matter of fact, all food has been prohibited from advisory. This rule is unreasonable: advisory is simply not the same without snacks, and the administration should consider allowing at least some types of food in a compromise effort.

Donuts were a widely beloved feature of morning advisories. They made meetings fun, enjoyable, and conducive to bonding. As Katherine Hall-Lapiniski `15 stated,  “There was more of a connection between students and [bringing in donuts] was something that we did together.”

It is not so anymore. A cherished Newark Academy tradition was gone almost overnight. A junior, speaking anonymously, stated, “It’s understandable [that the administration] has gotten rid of donuts, but it is sad.” She shares the sentiment of many students. “[The donuts were] something to look forward to,” said Erin Garinger `14. In fact, all of the students that were interviewed said that they would like to have food again in advisor groups.

The spirit of advisor groups is to promote a relaxed atmosphere where students and teachers can foster close-knit relationships, and discuss different issues freely. Sharing food helped foster this sort of environment – one that was social, friendly, and informal. Now, students must sit in advisor groups with rumbling stomachs and discuss the honor code, midterm grades, and other academic procedures. When there is nothing on the agenda, boredom and early morning dazes take over. The atmosphere is no longer one of congeniality. As 12th grade advisor Mr. Bitler mentioned, the overall experience in advisor groups is “just not the same.”

The primary reason for the change given to students and teachers was that food caused a sanitation issue. If this were the case, then the school could have created stricter cleaning rules to deal with the problem. Garinger suggested that we could have used plates to make sure crumbs did not fall on the floor. “Clean up after yourselves” is a simple enough rule, she said. Mr. Bitler said he didn’t experience any major mess in his advisor groups. Simply bringing the issue to our attention and stressing cleanliness could have solved the issue.

In fairness, health concerns are legitimate. Donuts are high-calorie treats and often packed with sugar, making them an unhealthy morning snack. However, it is true that donuts are no less healthy than any number of foods that the school provides, including bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches, macaroni and cheese, cake, and cookies. But there is no reason why donuts cannot be replaced with healthier alternatives. As Ms. Lopretto stated, “It would be nice to have healthy snacks in advisor groups, like carrots.” A hungry teenager is inattentive and unproductive. Allowing healthy snacks in advisory would combat that problem.

The removal of donuts from Newark Academy advisor groups has been met with widespread discontentment, and the administration should consider rethinking the issue.