Reality Check Goes Back to High School

by Jeff Payne
edited by Nalina Shapiro

Members of the community service group, Reality Check, will be spending their Spring Break on the road performing at their former high schools due to a $5,000 grant from the Jenzabar Foundation.

Reality Check will be remaining on campus when Spring Break begins on March 12 and will conduct two days of rehearsals before leaving for the Spaulding High School in Rochester, NH, the first stop on the tour. Senior Peter Charron, who formerly attended Spaulding said, “I think we can do a lot of good going back to the high school.”

The group is able to travel this year due to a $5,000 grant awarded to them by the Jenzabar Foundation. This award recognizes ten student-led campus groups that have made a significant contribution the world outside of their institutions. Nearly 150 schools were considered for this award.

“The Jenzabar Grant allowed us to pay creator Daniel Lee White for skit writing and provided this trip,” said Assistant Director of Community Service, Marabeth Farmer.

Reality Check has shown interest in doing a trip to members’ old high schools for years. Farmer said that members have been saying for years but have been unable to afford it. “The kids would always say, I really wish we had something like this when I was in school.”

The high school tour is still in the planning stages. Nine schools were contacted and so far seven have shown interest in having the group perform. There will be 16 students performing on the tour. The trip is being put together based on the school’s distances from each other and their availability. Farmer said “we have to find a time and day that works for the schools.”

There is also a planned stop at a middle school. “We might be performing at my jr. high. One of the workers in the guidance office used to be in Reality Check,” said junior and Reality Check Director Meaghin Fournier. However not all of the members will be performing at their high schools. “My school is three hours out of the way,” said Junior Liz Ashkins.

Reality Check began in 1997 when White approached Marabeth Farmer with the idea for the group. “He did not want it to be a club. He wanted it to be a community service and I agreed,” said Farmer.

The program is in its twelfth year. “I saw the Freshman Orientation show. I was instantly drawn to the message they were portraying” said Fournier who is in her third year or Reality Check. “If you reach one person in a crowd of 400 at least you are reaching someone.”

Reality Check will leave campus on Sunday March 14 and will be returning to campus on either Wednesday the 17 or Thursday the 18 depending on the final number of schools on the tour.