Walls Rolls Out New, Stricter Policy for Alumni Visits

Photo Credit: Mitchell Kasdan (‘27) 

For years, upperclassmen and teachers, alongside the rest of the School Without Walls community, have been able to reconnect with old friends after they left for college through alumni visits.  However, starting this school year, it has become more difficult for alumni to visit Walls due to a new policy, introduced by the school administration, which scrutinizes the steps alumni have to take to get into the building.

The new policy requires that alumni wishing to visit Walls find a teacher to sponsor their visit and accompany them throughout the building, leading them and staying with them wherever they go. Ms. Sinprasith, class of 2027 counselor, explained that “the policy treats alumni visits like other adults who visit such as college representatives, parents, or outside vendors. The administration wants a consistent standard security procedure. The goal is to maintain safety within the building.” Front office administration did not respond to requests for comment regarding the policy. The Rookery cannot verify if there was an actual incident that caused the policy change. However, they have made it clear this new protocol will keep students safe in the event an alum could pose a threat.

Rachel Kolko (‘24), a Walls alum who visited recently, shared her experience. “I expected it to be the same [as when I was a student],” she said. “The visiting process used to allow more freedom for alumni to stop in and see old teachers and clubs. We just walked in, and luckily [a friend] had contacted the teacher to sponsor us and take us in. It wasn’t a problem, but we didn’t know about it.”

“I think it was hard because there has been a long-standing tradition of alumni coming in, and it caught people by surprise,” said Walls Latin teacher Magistra Brinley. “Once I understood the rationale, I felt better about it.”

Art teacher Jason Bulluck appreciated how the policy keeps people safe, but was also disappointed because of the impact on the Walls community. Mr. Bulluck said, “If I were to advertise Walls to someone, I would say one of the top things was that people came back after years and years.” 

Alum Josie McCartney (‘24) agreed, saying, “I think it would be nice if they were more flexible [like the previous policy] because it promotes a better community environment between students, alumni, and teachers.”

Mr. Bulluck also suggested that the policy could be adapted to allow for a student to be in the custody of multiple teachers on one visit. “I could walk them to a teacher, and that teacher can walk them to another teacher because people that come back like to see multiple teachers, not just one.”

A current student at Walls, Maia Riggs (‘25), says that the new policy won’t stop her from visiting as a future alumnus “because Walls has been a fantastic experience.” However, “it will make it harder to do things when I come back.”

Another current student, Matthew Weitzner (‘25), agreed that the policy may stand in the way of future visits. “Next year, I intend to come back to the building…. If current alumni tell me it’s actually a huge hassle, that may change, though,” he said. 

Likely, most current Walls students who want to visit Walls as alumni will have to visit the building under this new policy. In the short term, if the new policy gets a bad rap among alumni, current students can expect to see fewer old friends wandering the halls.