Passing the Senior Benchmark

By: Rachel Zwerver

     Three years of classes, piles of homework, essays, presentations, and long school days, all lead to that one last year of high school. Senior year, the year every freshman dreams of when they hit high school, has finally arrived; the year of laid back classes and cool teachers who understand that we just want to begin a new journey; the year of senior parking privileges, and finally the year of, drum roll please, senior benches.

     From the time I started high school and saw all the seniors chilling out on the senior benches, I knew, I couldn’t wait to sit there. My friends and I like to think of it as a “rite of passage.” Seniors wait three years to be able to sit on these benches; it is a senior privilege after all, but with the changes to school policies, this is not just a senior privilege anymore. It’s great for us honor roll students (who are thrilled to be able to skip loud study halls for a quiet hallway) but some seniors were not exactly thrilled when they found out.

     For years, the benches were exclusively for seniors, hence the name “senior benches,” but, now honor roll students are allowed to sit on them as well. So should they be called “senior benches” anymore? More and more senior privileges are being opened up to other grades in the school. The courtyard too is accessible to students other than seniors. Where did all the senior privileges go?

      I asked some of the seniors their thoughts on the matter. Josh Garcia said, “Seniors should get priority over the rest of the students. They have waited this long to have the privileges, why give it to someone from a different grade?”

     Andrew Hartig also says,“I think it's stupid that non-seniors, like freshmen, are allowed on the senior benches just because they are on honor roll.”

     Many seniors agree and share similar thoughts on this subject. Some of the sophomores are torn about the subject. Kayla Senzig says, “I understand the anger of the seniors and juniors about this new change, but on the other hand, I understand the policy too. I think the honor roll students should be rewarded for their hard work, but maybe the benches are not the right way to go.”

     There is even some talk about senior privileges being abandoned altogether, angering the juniors who will be seniors next year. One student remarked, “I don't know, like, it's a senior thing. I understand some juniors in honor roll have those privileges now, but it's for seniors right? I think it's stupid to let freshmen and sophomores do it too.”

     Why take this special privilege away from seniors? Don’t make it just another place all students have access to. Give underclassman something to look forward to and leave something special for seniors.