Since the cancellation of Phling and the move of the Sendoff concert, it has come to the attention of the Class of 2012 that Kenyon as we know it is changing beneath our feet. The hill we so eagerly crested during orientation in August 2008 is not the same hill we will dejectedly descend in a few days. New professors and administrators have arrived to fill vacated spots; suburbia is encroaching on the north and party policies have changed in the south; tree branches have been lost to the Great Blackout of ’08, last year’s Snowpocalypse and horticultural maintenance; gifts from Graham Gund have popped up like gophers; K-Cards are now more useful than drivers’ licenses. (Yes, dear first years: when we were your age, we had to bring bags of quarters to the laundry machines. At least we could open any dorm’s door without waving some plastic in front of it, though.) Plus we’re pretty sure the price of bookstore ice cream has gone up.
You know how the saying goes: the more things change… the more the seniors complain. Forthwith, a few of our favorite erstwhile things—the signs that Kenyon’s glory days will accordingly come to an end on May 19.