By: Matteo Moretti’17, staff writer

Being a Newark Academy student, I pride myself on knowing and explaining every aspect of my school. Whether it be explaining the IB program or touring prospective parents around the hallways, I can say with confidence that I know A LOT about our school. However, one thing that has always been in the back of my mind ever since waiting outside room 34 for American Studies has been the basement. The metal screen and dim light inside the elevator are eerie, but they also impart a sense of curiosity. The New Year always brings along resolutions, and this year I want to find out what the heck is in Newark Academy’s basement.
The only thing I have ever actually seen come out of there is Javier with a cart full of cafeteria supplies, but I have some theories about what might be hiding down there. Whether you go by elevator or stairs, you might imagine some stereotypical horror movie scene with the light slowly fading, darkness gobbling you up. Aside from cafeteria supplies, chairs, tables, and other equipment one can only wonder about the other objects that dwell downstairs.
We all know Mr. Parlin as the school historian. He tells us the story of our school’s past and he has been working at Newark Academy for over 50 years. Mr. Parlin’s room is sandwiched between the Math office and Ms. Speck’s College Counseling office and is filled with tons of books, archives, and remnants of our school’s past. However, what about the things he cannot store in his room? That is where the basement comes in. Although the founder of our school, Alexander McWhorter, is said to be buried in Delaware, who knows, maybe he is secretly buried within the basement of our new school, his body a part of the foundation?
That is just my theory; some have others. Student responses to the basement question ranged from “secret hangout for teachers” to the place for “the ultimate school detention.” Fellow junior Will Schwartz ’17 believes that it is just a normal basement, saying, “there’s nothing special about it – it’s dark, cold, and probably just has a bunch of random stuff lying around.” However, the responses I received raised enough speculation for me to get down to the bottom of it and actually find out what is in our school’s basement for myself.

I asked several teachers and students who have been in the basement, and sadly enough, it’s nothing too exciting. Currently, the basement is just what most people would have expected: a dark, large room for storage. The occasional prop from a past play and extra tables lie around, but that’s it. However, once I dug deeper into the history of our basement I found out something interesting. Back in the day, the basement used to be a day care center for teachers’ children and some sources have informed me that our own Mr. Pursell might have attended this day care. Whether or not it was a fun day care is a different story. Ms. Spooner also heard rumors that it used to be rifle-shooting range – who knows? For now, students can only dream that the large and relatively vacant space beneath Newark Academy will someday become a bowling alley, or something of the sort!