Although all the components of our camp are vital to the entirety of Equinunk, Jared chose tradition as the chief element. Most summer camps comprise their staff of recruited international people, while Equinunk rehires former campers as counselors. In doing so, Alex reflects that it “allows the traditions instilled in our campers to recirculate through our camp, making us unique from all other camps.” From teaching the campers to become men to passing down the traditions of camp, the camper-counselor relationship is arguably the most powerful dynamic at camp. Every camper can name those counselors that ingrained many of the values in which he cherishes. “Tradition’s importance in camp cannot be overstated.” Both Alex and Jared agree, as I am sure most would, that engaging in the same activities as campers and counselors 80 years before is a core value and surreal notion. There are a great number of traditions at Camp Equinunk for example the Senior songs we sing, Big Brother Night, Color War, initiation, tribes, and the closing ceremony at the waterfront on the last night of camp just to name a few. There are traditions that have been at camp since the very beginning, those that have evolved, as well as those that have been created within the past couple of decades. However, one of the most important traditions at camp, that is not considered a tradition at all, is the reality that Sons of Equinunk return after their final camping summers to enter their next stage of their camping career as counselors.
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