Letter from the Head of School
During my first year at Mercersburg, I had to wait until late winter to witness one of the school’s oldest and proudest traditions: the Irving/Marshall competition. I need to be honest and admit (full disclosure going on here) that I was quietly skeptical that this event could ever possibly live up to its superlative billing; I can now say without hesitation that I was dead wrong. I watched with amazement that first year as the week-long competition unfolded, with student involvement and participation being at a feverish level. And during the final event of declamation, the energy that filled Boone auditorium was stunning. I marveled at the level of preparation and poise and talent of every declaimer, and I was moved by the way in which an auditorium full of adolescents and their teachers listened so carefully and respectfully for nearly two hours to all ten speakers.
I have just recently witnessed my seventh Marshall/Irving competition, and my amazement with this tradition has not abated one iota. Much of that amazement is tied to the realization of how alive and dynamic this particular tradition continues to be in the life of this school. The origins of Irving/Marshall go back to the schools which were on this site before those institutions evolved into the Mercersburg Academy we know today;
accordingly, this competition itself has also had several incarnations and continues to evolve even to the present day. Mercersburg Academy in general and this competition in particular are vivid examples of what Matthew Arnold, the great nineteenth century British writer, must have had in mind when he observed that culture and institutions are not about “a having and a resting, but a growing and a becoming.” The original organizing principle of the competition still holds: two societies engaged in fierce but friendly competition with one another. The original model certainly revolved more exclusively around debate, while the present day model is full of ferocious athletic competition for four consecutive afternoons that includes volleyball, badminton, basketball, squash, swimming, diving, and wrestling. There are also some less physically demanding events (but no less competitive) that range from backgammon to pool to table tennis and chess, to name a few.
The final event, of course, is declamation itself. Even today, though, the scoring for the entire week of competition is done in a way that tilts the advantage largely toward the society that emerges victorious in the speaking contest. This particular tradition thrills me because it is completely organized and run by the students themselves, with guidance from two faculty advisers. The students also approach the week with joyful abandon and without a hint of thinking themselves too “cool” to participate fully in this particular feature of their school. Have no doubt about it: both societies try extremely hard to win. But they also respect and applaud the efforts of the other side.
I often wonder about the amazement the early leaders and students of this school would feel if they could walk the campus and see the present day programs at Mercersburg and the facilities that support those programs. Their amazement would be just as keen, I’m sure, about the present day Marshall/Irving competition. They would have the same reassurance felt by those of us who love the school today, for it would be abundantly clear that this great school continues to understand that it is not just about “a having and a resting, but a growing and a becoming.”
Douglas Hale
Head of School
