Absence Points—Are They Harmful?

That was the question when two teams from the NMH Debate Society met in Raymond Hall on November 18. Supporters of the resolution— do absence points do more harm than good—said the policy is a childish punishment that does not foster mature relationships or prepare students for the real world. There are natural consequences to skipping classes or other obligations, Rommia White’11 and Alissa Valeri ’12 argued, and they are the real deterrents to students. Adult life is about choice, they said, and prep school is preparing students for adulthood.

The opposition countered that the system teaches students to respect their commitments and deters them from making bad or disrespectful choices. It also helps single out students who either need academic help or support in managing their schedules. There is no alternative, Nora Donovan’10 and Dat Dang ’10 pointed out. There need to be direct and immediate consequences for not contributing fully to the school community.

Students are given absence points for missing a class, work assignment, meeting, or other official commitment. Depending upon the number of accumulated points, responses range from a benign meeting with a dean to more serious consequences.

 In the end, the students in the audience voted with their feet to determine the winner by exiting the auditorium through a door designated for each side of the debate. More than 60 percent of the students chose the opposition as the winner. 

The debate was part of a revived intra-society tournament that president Eli Spector ’10 says is intended to help prepare students for competition at other schools but also “to wrestle with real issues facing NMH and beyond.” The series of exhibition debates will culminate with the awarding of the Alumni Cup in the spring. The cup was first given in 1902 but has not been awarded since 1940.