1970 - Present
Coeducation
“I rejoice at the prospect of young people of both sexes having the opportunity to benefit from the traditions and values which attending this venerable institution will offer them.” - Mr. Gordon Leggett ‘50
On January 27, 1990, the Episcopal High School Board of Trustees voted to adopt coeducation at EHS. This decision led to the First 48 female students joining the Episcopal student body in the Fall of 1991. The 1992 edition of Whispers starts by writing, “The 1991-92 school year at Episcopal High School has been monumental. For the first time in the 152-year history of the school, female students have been admitted. Most see the change as positive, and some stay opposed. The fact remains, though, that girls are now a permanent part of Episcopal’s identity. They bring with them a new tradition that will change the character of the school forever. This book will attempt to demonstrate the change in tradition. It is a change from a rich single-sex past to an even more promising coeducational future. By constraint some of the old standards of Episcopal’s history to the new traditions brought by the girls to the campus, we have tried to demonstrate the transition of The High School dear to all of us.” Whispers 1991-92 did just that, as it shows the meaningful change in the school through coverage of female sports, life on girl’s dorms, and the ever-so-important shift in EHS jargon as “old-boys” became “old-students.”
Technological Advancements
The turn of the century marked significant technological changes and, therefore, the publication industry. Before the complete digital revolution, the process of creating the yearbook was a lengthy one. Layouts were cropped using a physical cropping tool, and images were fit into their designated locations using a wax pencil. Yearbook staff executed this work on oversized pieces of graph paper, which would then be put into boxes and shipped to the publisher. Making sure the dimensions matched perfectly, images were where they needed to be, and deadlines were met on time was much more complex than today.
Ms. Eleanor Moore, the yearbook advisor during the early 2000s, states that even though it was slow and gradual, the digitization of the publishing industry made creating Whispers “automatically so much easier and more enjoyable.” When recording a period full of such historic events, such as coeducation, the devastating terrorist attack on September 11th, and even the 100th anniversary of Whispers’ first edition, staff had to make difficult decisions for the book. Due to the monetary expenses, only certain portions of the yearbook could be colorized. “The fun part was figuring out what spreads would be in color,” said Moore. “Then, having a full colored yearbook was more of an investment, so we had to make sure that we hit the right pages.” Today, the process of creating Whispers is fully digital.
9/11
"As long as I live, I will never forget watching that plane hit the second tower, the explosions, the smoke, the way the buildings disappeared straight down, seemingly into the earth. That evening, my family went to the library roof and we saw the smoke. For weeks, we heard BlackHawk helicopters and other military aircraft as the only noise overhead." - Ms. Hannah Ellington '03 in her speech to the community on the twentieth anniversary of the attacks
On September 11th, 2001, America changed forever after four commercial airlines were hijacked and taken down by terrorists, killing nearly 3,000 innocent people. At 8:46 a.m., the first plane crashed into the World Trade Center’s North Tower, and 17 minutes later, the second plane crashed into the South Tower. Then, at 9:37 a.m., another plane crashed into the western side of the Pentagon, only four miles away from the Episcopal campus; a fourth plane crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, eight minutes later.
Students and faculty across campus could feel the blow of the plane’s hit against the Pentagon, and dark smoke could be seen and smelled for miles. Today, the Episcopal community remembers those who died in the attack and the first responders on the scene every year, and a memorial page for the day can be found in the 2002 edition of Whispers.
Ms. Hannah Ellington ‘03 shares her experience as a student and daughter of a faculty member during the attack:
The COVID-19 Pandemic
“I knew that this book (Whispers 2021-22) was going to be a primary source history document in a way that was different than other yearbooks.” - Ms. Natalie Davies
When students were sent home for their spring break February 29th of 2020, they thought they would return in two weeks as usual. But, as cases of a potentially deadly virus, Covid-19, began to rise, an extra two weeks were added to the break, and eventually, students learned that they would not be returning back to school that year. The rest of the 2020 school year was held virtually, as students and faculty joined classes and meetings from their computers. Around the globe, people were quarantined in their homes, businesses collapsed, and millions died from the virus.
Eventually, Covid cases began to drop, and EHS opened its doors to students in October 2020. This academic year was challenging for the school, as the administration tried to stop the spread of the virus while simultaneously upholding a 100% boarding environment and educating over 400 students. Whispers staff gave their all to tell the year's story through every page of masked basketball games, periods of virtual classes, and countless rounds of Covid testing. A year as abnormal as the “Covid year” should harbor a yearbook similarly strange, and the 2020-21 Whispers yearbook does just that.