The Andover ’71 Project

The Impetus

In late 2019, before the COVID pandemic reached the U.S., Chien Lee reached out to Frank duPont about making a film about the Class of ’71 . Originally envisaged as a 20 minute film assembled from audio recordings and archival photos, the film ultimately became a 4-chapter, hour long narrative. The 90 plus interviews that emerged were grounded in an open-ended approach to recording stories: Let’s open the doors and invite any classmate, who at any point touched the class of ’71, to join in. Together, we can talk with each other about individual and shared experiences of being at PA between ‘67 and ’71. And reflect on the significance of that time, and our lives since, now 50 years later.

“The nadir of the school”

In the context of Frederick Allis’s Youth From Every Quarter, the 1971-72 period was described as the “most difficult” period in the 200 year history of the Academy. Allis quotes a student from the time saying it was “the nadir of the School”. What was this about? Through our own individual experiences, this description seems remote, and not really adequate. We were in fact, simply living our lives. What was really going on?

The Project Grows

The scope of the project grew with the onset of COVID, and classmate interest. We devised a remote recording method–with iPhones, microphones and mini-tripods shipped around the country in small cases–which allowed us to record in HD. Interviewees would set up their iPhones, coached remotely, and then record their conversations on two systems–in HD on the iPhone and on a Zoom call, as back-up.

This innovative approach helped us turn a small audio-only effort into what would become a much larger film and archive. Ultimately, we had 12 kits cycling around the US, with over 90 classmates interviewing or talking with each other in groups of two and three.

What We Learned

While it’s impossible to weave a single narrative using the particular stories of more than 90 individuals, common threads and themes emerged, grounded in our time on campus, and connected to a larger narrative playing out across the U.S. and the world. One unexpected windfall: we learned more about classmates who we already knew, and got introduced to others whom we hardly knew at all. It became a rolling process of discovery – about students, faculty, administration, about events and stories that were unfolding at PA, outside of our immediate purviews.

The edited Andover ’71 film is one core outcome of the project, but there is also huge value for our class in the interview cutdowns, and bonus stories which we’ve assembled from the recordings, and which are accessible via this purpose built, secure website.

Enjoy!

Film

Interviews

Class

With Appreciation

Thanks go to the entire crew who worked tirelessly to curate the material and put the film together, including Ian Tan PA ’15, Jack McGovern PA ’16, and advisors Steve Lawrence, Dave Winton and Greg Zorthian. This effort would not have been possible without the financial support of Caffrey, Carlisle, Cashin, Coleman, French, Lee, Sherrill, Thermond, Winton, and many others.

Produced and Directed by Frank duPont, PA ’71

Editorial Consultants

Steve Lawrence

Dave Winton, PA ’71

Greg Zorthian, PA ’71

Cinematography

Jack McGovern, PA ’15

Ian Tan, PA ’16

Frank duPont, PA ’71

Production Coordinators

Jack McGovern, PA ’15

Ian Tan, PA ’16

Production Assistant

David Huang

Editor

Kyle Turgeon

Assistant Editors

Josh Bogatin

Victoria Barbarito

Jackson Patrick-Sternind

Photographers

Beatriz McConnie Zapater, Abbot ’71

Kevin O’Brien, PA ’71

Scott Meade, PA ’73

Archivists

Paige Roberts, Phillips Academy Archives

Marilyn Helmers, Andover Center for History and Culture

Angela McBrien, Andover Center for History and Culture