Students stricken with “senioritis”

“Senoritis.” A word that is used every year to describe an epidemic that affects the senior class. What does the term senioritis really mean ? What effects does it have on MHS? Is senioritis a good or bad thing? All of these are common questions that follow the sweeping pandemic in the senior class.

The term senioritis carries multiple meanings, depending on who you ask. Many people see it as a form of procrastination. The problem is when seniors look forward to the end of their high school career, but have not yet reached the end. This mindset causes a senior not only to push off his or her work, but ignore it because it seems irrelevant. 

“Senioritiis to me means going home and being like, ‘wow I have so much to do,’ and then falling asleep till 10 and waking up thinking, ‘I don’t want to do this,’ and going back to sleep,” said senior Sammy Reed,

Another perspective on senioritis comes from the teachers of MHS. Many of the teachers see it has a two-fold issue, Besides the procrastination, they see a false sense of entitlement. The seniors seem to think that they are exempt from certain rules. For a long time, their was the an issue with seniors who were 18 leaving school early. Many teachers are also irritated by the seniors who think they can turn in work late and receive full credit because they procrastinated.

“It’s when seniors are coming to the end of something, and are ready to move on,” said theater and English teacher Megan Weeks.

Senioritis affects the last year in the gradebook among other things. This level of apathy may also impact senior friendships. There is also a drop in academic performance seen in seniors. This is generally due to the late work, or the mental check out that students feel. Administration also commented on the effect on student behavior.

“I’ve had it before and it’s not pretty…it’s you guys looking forward to what’s past high school before it’s over, ” said assistant principal  Eric Dziobak,

The only real pro to senioritis is the forward looking vision. It is a good thing to look forward to the next step in life and carry that excitement. However, it seems that senioritis does have a long list of cons. Senioritis in it’s entirety is a multi-faceted issue among the graduating students in high school.