Exeter Deconstructed: Cilley Ball

Spikeball is an amusing distraction. Cornhole’s great for barbecues. The gentlemen of Cilley Hall have their own game of skill and athletic prowess that has endured for decades: Cilley Ball.

The official sport of the boys dorm is equal parts volleyball and tennis with some custom modifications. The court, set along the building’s north side, is split in half by two wooden benches to serve as the “net.” A game of “C-Ball” — as the denizens refer to it — requires two teams of two and a specific Hedstrom-brand ball. The current game ball is adorned with the puppies of Paw Patrol.

“We tend to pop about eight balls a year, so someone has to go and get balls every once in a while,” says Joe Doherty ’23, a dorm proctor and four-year C-Baller.

“There are three basic rules,” Doherty says. “One, each team gets three touches. Two, each team gets one bounce. Three, if it hits the bench, the touches and bounces reset.”

Believed to have been invented in the 1990s and modified since, Cilley Ball has been a welcome diversion for hundreds of Cilley boys.

“Those forged-on-the-court friendships are worth any dip in grades,” wrote Cilley Hall resident Max de La Bruyère ’09 in The Exonian in 2008. “Something it has taken me a few years to convince my parents.”

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in the Fall 2022 issue of The Exeter Bulletin.

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Meet Lindi von Mutius ’99, climate action accelerator

Alumna asks Exeter not to lose hope in the face of challenges.

Lindi von Mutius ‘99 “stumbled into” a career as an environmentalist. To be fair, her sincere interest in and curiosity about other cultures and a knack for science and research might have led her there eventually, but her Washington internship during her Exeter senior spring term kindled her passion for saving the planet and people.

Von Mutius shared that story and delivered remarks at assembly about having hope in the face of the climate crisis during a recent return to campus for her 25th class reunion. She is seven months into her latest challenge as the inaugural director of the Salata Institute Climate Action Accelerator at Harvard University. Before that, von Mutius was the director of the sustainability and global development practice graduate programs in the Harvard Division of Continuing Education

She has held leadership roles at the Trust for Public Land, the Sierra Club, and the Environmental Defense Fund. She has a bachelor’s from Williams College, a master’s in environmental management from the Harvard Extension School, and a J.D. from Vermont Law School.

We caught up with von Mutius after her assembly remarks to ask about her time at Exeter and the path she’s taken since (this conversation has been edited for length and clarity):

Let’s start with a little bit about your background. How’d you end up in Exeter?

I went to Dana Hall for middle school, and I was captain of the lacrosse team. Lee Young saw me play at an invitational tournament, and she asked me, “Do you know about Exeter? Would you want to come to Exeter?” I came up, I applied, and Exeter gave me a generous financial aid package. So that’s how I wound up coming here.

What was your experience like here — and has your perspective of that experience evolved over time?

I think I’ve become more grateful for the experience over time. You never know what you have until afterward, especially when you’re a teenager and you are not mature enough to appreciate what’s happening to you at Exeter. … A lot of what Exeter taught me, I think, shaped me into the adult I am. Exeter raised me. Dr. (Sydnee) Goddard (instructor in biology) was a parent to me in the sense that I spent many evenings in her house, I babysat her kids, I watched her dog, and she let me do laundry as compensation for the babysitting. My other dorm parents, Mrs. Kemp, Ms. Girard, and Ms. Wolff, were all whose shoulders I could cry on or who would set me straight when I needed constructive feedback. The Greers, Mr. Weatherspoon, and Mr. Brandes all played parental roles in my life and invested in me. They welcomed me into their families and provided inspiration and encouragement. My friends at Exeter became closer to me than my siblings and helped shape my personality and perspective.

When did you develop a passion for the environment? Was there an “a-ha” moment?

One hundred percent. Environmentalism did not feel like a career opportunity for me until I did my Washington internship. It was funny, I really wanted to work on foreign policy because Senator Kerry was the head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, but two British interns had gotten there and staked out those spots in the office two days before I arrived. So, I got stuck with environmental policy. I was bummed, but within a week I thought, “this is awesome.” Environmental policy spoke to a lot of the things I cared about and I realized how interdisciplinary it was and that I could bring all of my language and cultural skills to this as well. Environmental work is done best when you bring your whole self to it.

Do you remember what you worked on?

George Abar, the legislative director at the time, and I worked on adding 300 miles of trails to the East Coast Greenway. In addition to a range of legislative research, he let me work on writing that bill, and when it passed in 2001, it was satisfying to see the results of that work in tangible protected trailways. You can now travel that trail from Calais, Maine to the Florida Keys. I also remember working on something around nuclear waste and toxics, which was also an issue that stuck with me into my legal career. George was the full stereotype of what you think of an environmentalist — Birkenstocks, a diesel-powered car, flannel. But, even though we were different, he showed me how I could be passionate about environmental protection in my own authentic way. When I think about the fact that he was pretty young himself, I think it left an impression on me that young people can make real change. I always tell people, so much legislation in America is written by 20-somethings!

Except you were only 18 or 17.

Exactly. 17. So yeah, watching that bill pass made me realize that environmental policy is what I want to do. So, I started at Williams wanting to do genetics and forensics, but I ended up as an environmental studies major.

What is a climate action accelerator?

The Accelerator is part of the Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard. Essentially, our mission is to take the research that Harvard faculty are developing and find homes for that research outside of Harvard and in the hands of practitioners. I’ll give you a couple of examples. One of our professors, Dustin Tingley, has written a book “Uncertain Futures,” compiling years of research on how communities that have borne the brunt of major economic or labor transitions view government policies that intend to help those communities with the transition as lacking in credibility. After extensive interviews, he has formed strategies for how these policies could land better, helping to accelerate the clean energy transition we need to fight climate change. He wrote a 380-plus-page book. Awesome. But, busy policy practitioners who need to use those lessons don’t always have time to read the book. So, we are planning on hosting a distilled masterclass for those policy practitioners and also creating a bipartisan space for those practitioners to discuss their work with each other. Another example is our methane satellite. Harvard launched a satellite that provides incredibly granular data about methane emissions. But what are we doing with all the data? A team in the Methane Research Cluster has now developed a tool and the Accelerator will help connect them with practitioners who want to use it. I’m having conversations with researchers about how we can take their cutting-edge research on extreme heat and get that into the hands of communities that will be most affected by that in the next few years.

So, real-world application. And you’re the catalyst.

Yeah, a catalyst. Exactly. We’re trying to get this good work into the hands of people who can use it, and who can benefit from that research. It’s really fun. It’s the most fun job I’ve ever had because I’m learning about some cool new research at Harvard. So much is happening there and it’s been really fun to build a team, figure out the strategy, and get going.

You were billed before your assembly remarks as a “climate optimist.” Is that an apt description?

The phrase climate optimism has come under fire as a privileged position. Wealthy people in wealthy countries who have access to academic institutions, tools, money, and power can be optimistic. If you’re from the Republic of Micronesia, your country is potentially going to disappear in 50 years. So, the phrase “optimism” has come under fire by some activists as a very tone-deaf, privileged thing to say. I try to go with “hope” rather than optimism. As David Orr says, “Hope is a verb with its sleeves rolled up.” When I thought about these remarks, I felt worried about the trend evident in research by colleagues at Harvard Medical School that younger people can become quite pessimistic and anxious about climate change. Their future is scary and they are inheriting the bad choices generations ahead of them have made. These same researchers have found that engaging them in collective action is a good way to turn that anxiety and depression into positive action, and even joy. So, I shared with them my perspective that they have two choices: fight or flight. You can either flee, give up, or you can be like, “Nope, I will fight and I will work on this.” To usefully activate our fight response, the useful one, we have to work together. In 2009, psychologist Dennis Proffitt ran an experiment where he placed students wearing heavy backpacks at the base of a hill and asked them to estimate its steepness. Participants who stood next to a friend gave lower estimates of steepness than those who stood alone. The Harvard Medical School team found that climate anxiety is reduced when teenagers take climate action together. When we work together, we pick each other up. So, I hope more of them feel encouraged to become climate leaders. I am certainly here to cheer them on!

Duke law professor to receive Phillips Award

The Trustees have chosen James E. Coleman Jr. ’66; P ‘16 as the recipient of the 2024 John and Elizabeth Phillips Award, which recognizes an Exonian who has contributed significantly to the welfare of community, country or humanity.

As an attorney, law professor and civil rights advocate, Coleman has been nationally recognized as a leader in pursuing justice for the wrongfully convicted and for death penalty reform. A member of the Duke University faculty for more than 25 years, he is currently the John S. Bradway Professor of the Practice of Law, director of the Center for Criminal Justice and Professional Responsibility, and director of the Wrongful Convictions Clinic at Duke Law School.

Over 15 years in private practice with Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering in Washington, D.C., Coleman was known for litigating a wide range of cases, including criminal (capital post-conviction), employment discrimination and numerous other civil rights actions. He was also active in the firm’s pro bono program, advising civil rights organizations and representing clients in discrimination cases. In 1987, he received the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Pro Bono Award for his contribution to the enforcement of civil rights laws. Coleman has also served in various government roles, including deputy general counsel for the U.S. Department of Education.

In 2022, the Bolch Judicial Institute of Duke Law School awarded Coleman the Raphael Lemkin Rule of Law Guardian Medal, which honors individuals who work to protect the rule of law in their everyday work, in ways large and small.

Coleman will receive the John and Elizabeth Phillips Award and speak during assembly on Oct. 25.

Exeter chooses next dean of students

A lifelong educator whose teaching career began in the biology classroom before shifting to administration will be Exeter’s next dean of students, Principal Bill Rawson ’71; P’08 announced Tuesday.

Ashley Taylor will begin her new role in July, succeeding Russell Weatherspoon in the dean’s office. Weatherspoon is retiring from the Academy after nearly 40 years of service.

Taylor comes to Exeter after spending the last nine years as dean of students at Episcopal High School, an independent boarding school of about 450 students in Alexandria, Virginia.

“We are thrilled to welcome Ashley and her family to Exeter,” Rawson wrote in an email to students and employees. “In a large pool of highly qualified candidates, Ashley stood out for her ability to inspire students and build meaningful collaborative relationships across the community, and for her commitment to challenging and supporting all students in an environment where they are deeply known and encouraged to develop character, self-awareness, resilience, and a sense of purpose.”

Taylor began teaching at Pingry School in New Jersey, where she also coached lacrosse. Two years later, she moved to St. Mark’s School in Massachusetts, where she held the roles of biology teacher, head coach of girls varsity lacrosse, girls hockey coach, dorm head and faculty adviser. 

Since joining Episcopal in 2010, she has been a teacher, coach, dorm head, student adviser, member of the senior leadership team, member of the student life and student health review committees, and chair of strategic planning and scheduling committees and a diversity task force, among other responsibilities. She has received numerous awards and recognition during her time there.

Taylor earned her undergraduate degree from Brown University, where she was a member of the varsity women’s lacrosse team. She earned a Master of Liberal Arts with extension studies in Biology from Harvard University. She is married with two children.

Weatherspoon has held the dean of students position for three years, but his legacy at Exeter reaches back to his appointment as an instructor in 1987. He has taught in the Religion, English and Theater departments and served as the dean of residential life, the interim dean of multicultural affairs and the interim dean of Exeter Summer prior to being named dean of students in 2021.

Exeter girls swim & dive repeats as New England champ

Big Reds claim 18th New England crown; boys finish second overall.

The Exeter girls varsity swim and dive team was crowned the New England champion for the second straight year and capped an undefeated season at the Division I Championships this past weekend. Big Red sat atop the standings by a 50-point margin to runner-up Andover amongst a talented 12-team field. This marks the 18^th New England title for the girls program.

Exeter boys swimming also capped an outstanding season, finishing 8-1 on the year and claiming second place overall at the Division I Championships. The boys kept an impressive streak of their own alive as they have now placed in the top four in 32 of the past 33 New England championship meets. Ethan Guo ’25 earned a share of the annual Babcock Award, an award voted on by coaches to outstanding student-athletes who best exemplify the values of New England Prep School Swimming and Diving. He is the first Big Red student-athlete to win the award since Andrew Benson ’20 in 2020.

“People often don’t realize what a team sport high school swimming and diving is,” said Exeter head coach Don Mills. “It’s the collective effort from the team that wins meets — our divers, our relays, our kids that make it to B finals and move up two spots. It’s the camaraderie and encouragement you see every day in practice. We are fortunate to have kids that are fast and buy into our program.”

Sunday’s finals got off to a spectacular start for Big Red as Mena Boardman ’26, Audrey Zhang ’24, Brianna Cong ’25 and Sophie Phelps ’25 set a pool and meet record in the 200 medley relay with an All-American time of 1:42.81 in the first event of the day.

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Boardman would help guide Big Red to their second straight title, following the medley relay win with a trio of dominant, record-setting swims. Boardman set a pool, meet and New England record in the 50 freestyle with a time of 22.22, dusting her opponents by 1.5 seconds before breaking her own pool, meet, and New England record she set during Saturday’s prelims in the 100 butterfly when she touched the wall at 51.62, nearly three seconds ahead of the second-place finisher.

Boardman finished off her day by teaming up with Cong, Phelps and Chloe Meyer-Blohm ’27 to set another pool, meet and New England record in the 400 freestyle relay with an All-American time of 3:24.70, besting the heat by an incredible seven seconds.

While Boardman was outstanding, Big Red received contributions from everyone on the roster. Brianna Cong ’25 earned a pair of second-place finishes in the 100 butterfly (54.23) and 100 backstroke (56.34), while Sophie Phelps ’25 added a second-place finish in the 100 freestyle (51.58) and earned a third-place finish in the 200 individual medley (2:05.05).

Gene Sunthornrangsri ’26 added a second place in the 200 freestyle (1:54.57) and swam to a third-place finish in the 500 freestyle (5:01.82). Chloe Meyer-Blohm ’27 claimed third in the 50 freestyle (24.03) and fourth in the 100 freestyle (52.56). The 200 freestyle relay team of Meyer-Blohm, Sunthornrangsri, Vedika Amin ’24 and Audrey Zhang ’24 posted a third-place finish in the 200 freestyle relay with a time of 3:09.26.

On the boys side, Nick Limoli ’26 got Big Red off on the right foot as he earned first place and New England Diving Champion honors in the diving portion of the meet, which was held on Wednesday.

On Sunday, it was Guo who led the way. Guo earned a first-place finish in the 200 freestyle, touching the wall at 1:37.23, while also finishing first overall in the 100 backstroke with an All-American time of 49.07. Guo also teamed up with Michael Yang ’24, Lang Gou ’25 and Rudd Day ’25 to earn a second-place finish in the 200 medley relay, swimming to an All-American time of 1:31.62. He also rallied with Winston Wang ’25, Wayne Zheng ’26 and Day to turn in a third-place finish with an All American time of 1:23.38 in the 200 freestyle relay.

Day added a second-place finish in the 500 freestyle (20.52) and a fourth-place finish in the 100 freestyle (46.05) while Michael Yang ’24 swam to a fourth-place finish in the 100 yard breaststroke, touching at 57.70. Zheng, Gou, Yang and Wang closed out the championship weekend with a third-place finish in the 400 freestyle relay, posting a time of 3:09.26.

Exeter boys basketball captures fifth title

Exeter boys basketball are champions once again as Big Red captured their fifth NEPSAC Class A title with a 60-42 victory over Andover in Sunday’s final on the campus of Clark University.

Big Red led wire-to-wire and avenged a loss to the Blue in the regular-season finale to wrap up their season with a 19-5 record. Exeter once again proved to be the preeminent program in the division as the five titles are the most in Class A since 2012; no other program has won more than twice in that span.

Exeter, the sixth seed entering the tournament, earned road wins over third-ranked Tabor Academy (93-63) and second-ranked Milton Academy (63-51) on the way to the championship matchup with eighth-seeded Andover.

“This was just an incredible run for our team,” said Big Red head coach Jay Tilton, who has helmed all five titles. “Turning in three straight road wins against top Class A teams illustrates the mental toughness and competitive nature of this group. They have been committed to something bigger than themselves from day one and I could not be more proud of them.”

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Tyler Bike ’25 was named Most Valuable Player following the win. The point guard was instrumental in controlling the game while pouring in a game-high 16 points.

Big Red gained control early with stingy defense and rode the offense from Osiris Nalls ’24 and Henry Bickford ’24, who each scored seven points in the opening half, to build a 29-19 edge at the break.

Andover cut the deficit to single digits with consecutive buckets in the opening minute of the second half, but Exeter answered with a pair of Bike 3-pointers to push its advantage to 37-26. An offensive rebound putback from Jordan McConnell ’25 and a steal and score from Nalls extended the Big Red lead to 41-26 with 10 minutes to go.

Exeter continued to stymie the Andover offense and get the ball to the rim on the other end. Big Red padded their lead to 54-37 with a pair of Nalls free throws and another layup from McConnell with just under four minutes to close out the victory.

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