As students of Magnet we sacrifice a lot- most of us have at least a half hour commute, hours of homework, and we live without sleep. But do we reap any reward?  In other public schools in Charleston, seniors get special privileges for their four years of hard work. Rory Mcphillips, senior at Wando High School claimed, ” Wando senior privileges include exempting exams, having early ins and late outs, and checking out early for summer.” Amy Patterson, senior at James Island High School said, “we have late ins, early outs, senior field day, a senior picnic, and a senior courtyard.” Hannah Smith, senior at Academic Magnet, with a puzzled look on her face said, “I don’t think we really have any.”

Being a senior, it is only natural that I have started to notice symptoms of Senioritis. I can feel the flame of knowledge, hardwork, and motivation slowly starting to burn out. At this point I wake up, go to school, do homework, go to bed, wake up and do it over again, all while counting down the seconds until I can graduate. It would be so nice if there was some element of my day to look forward to, as senior year is beginning to wind down. Therefore, on behalf of my fellow students, I propose that seniors should be able to leave focus if they have completed their Senior Thesis.

I asked a couple of students their opinion on this proposal and got some very interesting feedback:

“As seniors at Magnet we work harder than any other seniors in CCSD- maybe even the state- yet we still have little to no privileges. I don’t think the reward of being able to skip out on a study hall period every other day after we complete Thesis is asking much.” -Meghan Cradock

“Having already finished my Thesis, I find myself not needing the time I am forced to spend in Focus. I can complete any homework I’m given in less than the hour and a half that Focus requires.” -Chase Michaelsen

“Considering half our class hasn’t presented their Thesis yet, letting seniors leave could be a… dare I say… logical way to give students a reward for completing Thesis other than a nice pat on the back or an almost useless grade.” – Coco Kelly

“I am tired of teachers threatening to replace Focus with another class. Focus is useful for underclassman and the beginning of senior year, but at this point I find myself wasting time.” – Daniel Lehman

“I totally would have completed my Thesis by now if there was an incentive to leave Focus.” – Mary Claire Newsom

There is nothing worse than watching your best friends at Wando leave school early while being trapped in a fruitless Focus class. However, I think Magnet could turn the incentive of being able to leave Focus after completing the Senior Thesis into a positive element of the senior experience to not only encourage seniors to complete their Thesis but also give students a well deserved reward for their dedication and hardwork at Magnet.