3 minute read

Exploring the necessity of the swim test

from Tower Issue #4 (2022-2023)

from Tower Issue #4 (2022-2023), page 11

From all stars to no stars: Du...

Our very own Alexa Murphy ‘24 has been appointed Westchester County’s Youth Poet Laureate. An application was sent out at the beginning of this year to youths in the county by B.K. Fischer P ‘24, the current Poet Laureate, as well as by the Youth Board; Murphy was chosen for the position along with Harmony Hopwood. Murphy and Hopwood were considered among 14 candidates.

Fischer said, “Her work has spirit, urgency, and relevance. She speaks passionately in her work about both the social and natural worlds, about the heart and the mind, and about the role of women. She connects with her audience on things that matter.”

Murphy is honored to have been given this opportunity to share poetry with others in the county. “I think my love and passion for poetry was what motivated me to apply,” she said. “Poetry has been such a deeply formative part of my life, and if I can do something to make that part of me which is so important more accessible to other people, then I’m going to take that opportunity and take it as an honor.”

Murphy has always loved poetry; from a young age, her mother introduced her to many important authors. “My mom is not someone who reads a lot of poetry except for mine,” Murphy said. “She is an avid reader, and I respect her so much for it. It’s kind of just been her and I having this connection via the literature we read, because it’s such an important part of both of our lives, and so that’s kind of where that came about.”

About her lifelong love of poetry, Murphy said, “I think there was always this understanding that it was a very beautiful and delicate and unique form of art.” She cited her membership in Outspoken, Masters’ spoken-word poetry club, as what

Murphy continued, “The frst show case, last year, I had presented a poem called ‘The Women Poem,’ and I had never been prouder of myself for anything else. It was so well-received; I had people coming up to me and telling me how much it meant to them. That feel ing—that I created something that could really resonate with people and resonate with people for a long time, because I still hear feedback about that poem that I presented last year—was what made me fall in love with poetry all the more, and what made me realize how important it was to make it something that can reach everyone.”

According to a letter sent to Mur phy by Westchester County Executive George Latimer, Alexa’s duties as Youth Poet Laureate include “a myriad of activities ranging from creative writ ing, spoken word poetry, playwriting and flm making.” She will also be able to “collaborate with educational insti tutions such as schools and colleges, local libraries, after-school programs.”

Murphy said, “To be real, a po sition like poet laureate is largely sym bolic. The county made the youth posi tion to show that they were invested in the youth’s accessibility to the arts. But to me, it means so much more. It means that I get to go out and take what I’ve learned about an art that I’m so deeply passionate about and turn it into some thing more tangible. In short, it means a lot to me to be able to make some thing real out of a symbolic position.”

ALEXA MURPHY ‘24 RECITES poetry at an Outspoken showcase. Murphy has been in Outspoken since her sophomore year. year, swim lessons will be booked. Before they are able to pass the test, the aquatics ademic day. They won’t need to continue taking swim lessons after they pass the swim test. And if students do not pass the swim test before graduation, they will

Students have different ideas about tial skill; however, I don’t believe that sure that every student can swim. I fnd it frustrating to use up valuable school time for swimming, getting cleaned up, and changing into dry clothes before returning to class. Additionally, many wear in front of their classmates, which adds to the inconvenience. Overall, I believe that the swimming requirement can be more of a hassle than a beneft for many students,” senior Youri Lee said. ions on the swim test, the requirement of the swim test seems to be a done deal and there is little possibility of ry” requirement is the school’s desire

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