Let us make this senior year fun by bringing back senior activities.
Coming into senior year, many students were dismayed to find they were unable to decorate their graduation caps, leave a senior quote in the yearbook or plan a senior prank. Many believe that not having these activities has taken the fun out of students’ final year in high school. Three seniors in particular—Denise Robles, Gabriela Navarro and Tiffany Sauceda—have started a petition to try and bring back these activities for seniors to enjoy.
When Robles, Navarro and Sauceda found out that staple senior activities were not allowed at Glen A. Wilson High School (GAWHS), they instantly knew they had to try and make a change. They started a petition on Aug. 17, and are hoping that by collecting enough signatures, the principal of GAWHS, Dr. Danielle Kenfield, will consider bringing back these activities.
Denise Robles shares what inspired her to try and make a change at Wilson.
“I find the fact that, as of now, Wilson seniors can not even do something as simple as decorating our graduation caps quite ridiculous,” Robles stated.
For some, decorating your graduation cap can carry a lot of meaning. There are many examples of this on social media: some show respect to a person that has inspired them while others include the lyrics to a song that has helped them through their life.
Knowing this, it may be a surprise to find that Wilson does not allow students to decorate their grad caps. There has not been a reason as to why it is not allowed, but it can be assumed that some students may draw or add things to their caps that are not appropriate for school, which could explain why GAWHS does not allow students to decorate their caps.
Senior Denise Robles shares why it is important to decorate your graduation cap and the importance it may hold for some.
“Decorating our senior caps is a great form to express our creativity and our personalities. I personally have been looking forward to doing so since my freshman year,” Robles said.
Along with decorating senior caps, having a senior quote is also a great way to express yourself. With a senior quote, many students can share their goofy side or what inspired them.
Leaving a senior quote in the yearbook is also something students expected to be able to do all four years of their high school career. However, the graduating class of 2022 had that privilege taken away, and now the students that come after them are unable to leave one last piece of personality to be remembered by.
According to past senior students, the reason senior quotes were taken away in the first place is due to the fact that many students did not follow the rules and submitted quotes that were inappropriate, to which the yearbook staff responded by removing senior quotes altogether.
Many seniors think that this should not be the case for the class of 2023. Senior Leslie Lira, one of the students who signed the petition to bring back senior activities, is one of them.
“What [the graduating class of 2022] did should not affect us as we were not the seniors at that time. We should not all be held accountable for their actions,” Lira said.
If it means getting a senior quote, any of the students at GAWHS would stay respectful and own up to their actions doing any of these activities. The same can be said for a senior prank.
A senior prank is something many have seen in movies and social media like YouTube. So it is not a surprise that students were expecting to plan one themselves. Unfortunately, GAWHS also does not allow students to plan senior pranks. The reasoning is that a senior prank can potentially be harmful to students’ mental and physical being. However, many believe that with the right intentions and rules, a senior prank can be well planned with no harmful intentions while still being respectful to school rules. Following along with any rules and keeping things respectful is more than possible—we do it everyday.
Lira shares her own thoughts on senior pranks.
“I do believe that doing something small and enjoyable for everyone [that causes] no harm should be allowed at Wilson—of course, only if [we]clean up after ourselves,” Lira said.
Doing these activities has been something many seniors have been looking forward to their entire high school careers. So, as a graduating class of 2023, let us make a difference and try to bring back these activities with respect to all staff and administrators.
