“The Alma Mater’s Notes of Nostalgia”
By: Sophia Song
Contributing Writer
What even is an “eager throng”?? Is Old Reserve’s alma mater still relevant to its students if they don’t find its lyrics relatable?
CHAPEL–Shuffling bodies, quick glances, closed mouths. Western Reserve Academy gathers weekly to, at best, mutter the lyrics to the alma mater.
WRA takes pride in its traditions—they stand the test of time. However, the WRA community must keep in mind that longevity does not equal relevance.
Over the course of WRA’s nearly two hundred year old history, the alma mater has been around for nearly one hundred of them, and its origins can be traced back to a few impactful individuals.
The alma mater embodies the WRA Fredrick W. Ashley knew from 1887 to 1897 when he wrote the poem which would later become the alma mater.
Frederick Ashley served as Principal of WRA during his last five years, and initiated a variety of essential WRA traditions that students see echoes of today among those being Reserve Green and, of course, the alma mater.
So on a Reserve Green Monday morning meeting, as the student body rises from their uncomfortable bench seats, they have Fred Ashley to thank—or not.
First written as a poem titled “Fair Halls Amid the Lawn’s Wide Sweep,” according to WRA archivist Tom Vince, the alma mater was “not set to music until Ralph E. Clewell, Head of the WRA music department came along in 1932 and wrote the music to Ashely’s poem.”
Nearly one hundred years later, if students peer over rows of heads to the front of the chapel, they’ll catch a glimpse of Mira Zamarro ‘24 sitting behind a grand piano. She’s playing a piece that is “technical” with “lots of chords” but she has learned to “love it”.
“I feel like it’s something people know me for around campus,” states Mira, “I feel like it has a deeper meaning for me than the average WRA student.”
Mira’s intuition is right: many WRA students harbor feelings of awkwardness or embarrassment around singing the alma mater.
“I don’t really know the words except ‘Dear Old Reserve’,” comments Lela Yajnik ‘27, “It’s kind of awkward when everyone is standing and you just hear one person singing really loudly.”
Mr. Warner, a member of the English faculty for over thirty years, lightheartedly agrees. “I think if I was in high school I might have struggled. I might have put the card up to my face and pretended I was singing but maybe not have sung,” he laughs.
Even in the years Mr. Warner has been a part of the WRA community, he reflects that the amount of people singing has “fluctuated.”
“When I first came, Dr. Flanagan, who was the Head of School, then made a big deal about everyone singing it. Ms. Karam has done a really good job of trying to push the singing as well,” he remarks.
A primary reason for the absence of singing nowadays has proven to be the lack of connection the students feel to the lyrics of “Old Reserve”.
“I don’t feel it represents what it’s like to be a WRA student anymore,” remarks Lela Yajnik.
What the students must come to recognize, however, is that the alma mater wasn’t meant to resonate with their specific experience.
The WRA website notes that “the lyrics capture the timeless beauty of campus — “Fair halls amidst the lawns wide sweep / a tower rising ov’r the trees” — and honor the traditions woven through each student’s journey at WRA.”
In short, the location of WRA has remained a constant throughout its timeline and the alma mater’s purpose is to remind students of the shared campus generations of educators and scholars have called home.
Besides, the lyrics “When can I sit down again, I want to go home / I forgot to study for my French oral,” although relatable to today’s students does not have the same ring to it.
The alma mater is not meant to speak to the students of today in the sense of giving them a voice. It is meant to speak to them by connecting them to the rich history of WRA and of students past who participated in the same community building experience.
“I think we have a lot more new students each year than we used to have. The alma mater is newer for them and not as familiar to them, and I think that makes it harder,” remarks Mr. Warner.
After all, as one becomes more accustomed to and used to their environment, they create more memories, good and bad, which tend to evoke more emotion.
As students come to associate WRA with worthwhile experiences and relationships, an inclination to express their gratitude will result in greater participation.
This, of course, can only come with time to develop such experiences and relationships.
“The longer you’re here in the student body, the more you hear that alma mater, the more inclined you are to give it a try” agrees Mr. Warner, “when I first came (to WRA), I sang because I felt like it was my job to. Now, I sing because it means something to me.”
To many, the alma mater has come to represent something more than a mundane task.
To many, the chapel bell’s recurring song is a reminder of the people they have met and the memories they have made at the place they call their second home.
And by the way, the definition of ‘throng’ is as follows: noun, a multitude of people crowded or assembled together; crowd.
The Reserve Record 