According to a CDC study, over ⅔ of high school students don’t get enough sleep, and Exeter certainly does its part to contribute to that number. We’ve already had an assembly this year about the importance of sleep and how most of us just aren’t getting enough of it. The American Association of Sleep Medicine (AASM) recommends teens get between 8-10 hours of sleep, and I think I can say for certain that most Exonians don’t fall within that range. The goal of this CVP would be to promote rest and help students build better habits that allow them to get the sleep they need. Last year, the CVP ‘Rest is Resistance’ filled this place by providing students a space to avoid anything productive. The facilitators argued that by not working, not only did it provide students the space to get some well-deserved rest but it also fought against the norms of society that determined a person’s value by their productivity. The founder of the movement, Tricia Hersey, describes rest as a way to fight back against the exploitation and dehumanization of specifically black women, marginalized groups, and all others in the workforce. To my knowledge, I don’t believe ‘Rest is Resistance’ will be continuing this term. The goal of this CVP would be to continue the legacy of our predecessor while also encouraging students to get some sleep. This might manifest as a 20-minute nap (which has proven to be most effective), sleep surveys/ research amongst the members of our CVP group, or even making posters to hang up in dorms encouraging people to go to bed earlier. We would also include the Nap Ministry in the thought behind our CVP and make it clear our intentions behind using rest as a movement for social justice.
