I was sitting at my desk reading my personal email on my
cell phone, and I got a letter from the president. And I thought… Ok, the Democratic Party is
asking for money again. But it was from
the president of Mercy High School. It
discussed the recent events including a senior prank and the police having to
be called over the cancellation of the Moving Up ceremony. So, since I missed all of the brouhaha living
here in Albany, I started reading the news articles and the various comments
about what had happened. I read both
sides some stating that Administration overreacted, others stating, a prank of
that magnitude had never happened before and the girls should have immediately
come forward. I read about the ceremony
being a privilege. Also, I read one
young senior’s comment from another school who stated that she had friends who
went to Mercy, and said that going to Mercy was all about tradition, and they
shouldn’t have cancelled the event. Her
comment stuck with me the most, not because she was attacked online by alumni, that
poor child, but because she as well as other friends didn’t understand why the
punishment occurred or the real lessons that Mercy provides its young
women. Mercy has a lot of traditions,
but Our Lady of Mercy is not about tradition, it never has been. People were so busy arguing, that they missed
the big picture, the lessons that Mercy provides you to sustain you for the
rest of your life.
The first lesson is Accountability. This is a hard one, and here is why: if the seniors,
felt like it was a rite of passage to conduct a senior prank, then they can’t
have any issue saying, yes, I did this.
You shouldn’t have a problem with something that you did in the dark, coming
into the light, because, you might not get away with your actions. And, if you didn’t think the prank was that
bad, then there should not be a problem owning up to it. And that means, you should not wait to hear
what the punishment will be before you come forward. I know that this may sound absolutely nuts to
many. But, that has been one of the things
that has separated Mercy girls from the rest.
Also, being accountable also means that you have the strength to stand
your ground and the strength to take the consequences, whatever they may be. It means that you are not afraid of having Conviction. This is what has helped many Mercy girls
become leaders, at home and in the society.
The other big lesson is that life isn’t fair. I love my school but Mercy has never been utopia of
fairness. And, if you didn’t learn that
after 4 years then you weren’t paying attention, because even if everything was
wonderful and fair for you, it might not have been for the classmate sitting
next to you or maybe the teacher standing in front of you. We were protected from a lot of things, by
going to a private school, but that was never one of them. One of the advantages of going to Mercy was
it was to prepare you for college and life and, neither are fair. I am not saying that you are to accept
injustice, you aren’t. But I am saying
that you have to pick and choose your battles.
A post phoned Moving Up ceremony is not enough to have the police called
and to hit twitter, and etc… It just isn’t.
I can understand parents and students being annoyed, but everyone has
experienced disappointment, and what purpose did all of these actions
serve. Did you think that a Moving Up
ceremony was going to occur after the police showed up? Better yet, were they going to stay through
the Moving Up ceremony, would that be the school’s new legacy and tradition? As alumni, I participated in most of the
ceremonies and traditions at the school.
But, I also experienced disappointment, and things weren’t always
fair. And, sometimes my mother had to
come to the school to complain, but no one had to call the police.
Anyway, that is my two cents.
Cara Mia Massey
Our Lady of Mercy High School, ‘85
