Goes the Beautiful Progressive Bubble

For the majority of students at CAPA, the end of the school year marks the beginning of an eagerly awaited summer season. For graduating seniors, it is so much more. It is a celebration of growth, a space for reflection, and a bittersweet farewell to four memorable high school years. Those pursuing post-secondary education are eagerly awaiting and preparing for the fall semester.

Because of the unique environment at CAPA, alumni may face additional challenges transitioning to a new school. Teachers and counselors have observed the phenomena of former students experiencing “culture shocks” when entering less liberal campuses, particularly small town state schools. Ms.Harr, the AP Literature teacher, athletic director, and creative writing head at CAPA, reported students coming back to tell her about “disagreeable roommates, roommates who don’t understand why [they] might need 20 minutes longer in [the] shared bathroom, because [their] beauty routine is not…excessive, it's a necessity for [their] racial background. [Culture shock] manifests in roommates, it manifests in being in classes where people listen to Joe Rogan in their free time, or Tucker Carslton. We don’t have that [at CAPA].”

Conservative colleges come as a surprise to our alumni because of the stark contrast to CAPA’s confident liberalism. Teachers openly discuss social issues; clubs such as AASU, Black Student Union, LatinX Club and GSA host events to educate the student body and provide spaces for students to openly express their identities. The seven art majors (and the lack of a dress code!) allow creativity to roam freely. 

However, exiting this “beautiful progressive bubble” to go to a small town state school “can be beneficial, if the juxtaposition is not too extreme,” says Harr. These environments present the opportunity for students to learn how to have conversations with people of differing opinions, as well as learning how to walk away from them if they become unhealthy. For some, it may just not be worth it. “I’ve had students spend their first semester at Holy Family University, and they come back and they're like “I’m transferring. I’m going to another school.” because it’s too extreme,” Harr said. 

In order to assist a seamless transition, the senior teachers and guidance courses offer many resources. In her AP Literature class, Ms.Harr aims to cultivate students into leaders of their English classes, emphasizing the poise of intellectual humility and the skill of disagreeing without being disagreeable. During the first month of senior year, students write their college essays, analyze the societal purpose of college, and determine which colleges would suit them best. 

“I have certainly had a lot of those conversations with seniors, where we talk about the fit. Do you want to be the only POC student in the majority of your classes? You’ve never faced that before. What will that feel like for you, for the first time in your life at age eighteen? That is not data that you can find on a website,” says Harr.

Because of how much effort counselors, teachers, and seniors themselves put into the college process, the change is beneficial more often than not. “I want them to come back and say “I’m getting all A’s. It's easy,” which is what I often hear…It's a sigh of relief, they grow into their full self, their full identity. They discover their full capacity for excellence. They become these excellent orators, inspirational leaders in their spaces.”