As you walk in the doors of the high school, just to the left is a large display featuring the attendance levels of the students of each class. The percentages of students who are at or above 90 percent attendance are: freshmen at 86 percent, sophomores at 80 percent, juniors at 75 percent, and seniors at a measly 63 percent.

It is safe to say that senioritis has definitely kicked in; however, what must be remembered by seniors is that not showing up to school not only affects final grades, possible college decisions, and ability to graduate, but also the more memorable things such as going to prom.

With second semester starting and graduation closer than ever, conversation about prom has begun, not so much about the perfect dress or shoes but more about whether or not students will even be able to attend the Arabian Nights-themed gala.

With this potentially terrifying prospect, rumors have begun to swirl about prom being altogether cancelled as well as senior activities. Despite the rumors, prom will most definitely not be cancelled; however, those with less than 90 percent attendance are still in danger.

“Prom is still going to be as great as any other year,” said prom planner and ISS teacher Ms. Coby. “It is all based on attendance. A student must have 90 percent to attend prom and more than half the juniors and seniors meet the requirements.”

Ms. Coby continued to point out that since prom is already paid for and has been since this time last year, they would by no means cancel it, unless unforeseen circumstances were to occur.

Senior activities are also not in as much danger as rumors would have one believe. Just as in the case of prom, some students may not be eligible to participate. But the administrators do not want those who maintain their grades and attendance to be penalized because of other students’ poor decisions.

“The seniors have a bad case of senioritis,” said senior class president Lillian Getachew. “We can’t get the cure for it unless we come to school. Knowing that our prom attendance will be affected by our daily attendance definitely gives me motivation to come to school.”

A lot of seniors feel that they don’t really need to show up for school on time or at all because they’re mostly taking classes that they do not need to graduate.

“Having most of my credits taken care of and my own car is a recipe for disaster,” said senior D’Mario Rogers-Miller. “I only need my gym credit, which is my 6th hour class. It’s almost impossible to fail gym so that allows me to not really care all that much.”

Although all the credits a student takes aren’t necessary to graduate, they do still factor into the cumulative grade point average. A student’s GPA factors into getting into college, but so does maintaining admittance as the second semester comes to a close.

Some seniors feel that since certain teachers are really understanding, missing class doesn’t have too much of an impact on their grade.

One senior stated that last semester a teacher allowed him to make up all of his coursework in the last days of the semester, with it still worth full points. As a result, his lack of attendance in the class was not reflected in his grade, leaving nothing for him to worry about.

Although some teachers let students, especially seniors, slide with late work and not participating in class, that is not necessarily the case with all teachers, and definitely not with college professors.

A lot of students take advantage of the generosity and understanding of teachers but should realize that they aren’t preparing themselves for post-secondary education. And, those students that are seeking alternatives to college should realize that, at first, high school will be all they have to show to potential employers and their transcript could be an important factor in their post-high school success.

Seniors, and all students for that matter, with less than 90 percent attendance need to realize the impact that poor attendance could have on them. With graduation just around the corner it’s time for students to take school more seriously, and they can start by showing up for it.