The excitement of senior year is overshadowed by a contentious decision: the revocation of cherished privileges due to a few rule-breakers. Thanks to some students cutting class and not wearing the school uniforms, the school canceled the traditional monthly senior breakfasts and dress-down days.
“It’s very unfair that our privileges are being taken away for other people’s actions,” said Luis Carlos Grosso, a senior.
Once a month, seniors traditionally are treated to a special breakfast that includes bagels, French toast and other breakfast treats and allowed to skip the school uniform and “dress down.”
This year, at the start of the school year, seniors had to sign a contract that spelled out expectations for the senior class: All seniors had to meet certain rules, such as coming to school on time and wearing the school uniform. Students signed the contract but not everyone followed the rules and so some senior privileges have been taken away, and more might be, if some students continue to defy the expectations.
Senior advisors Ashley Rodriguez and Takia Gaynor believe the loss of privileges is a fair consequence, citing repeated uniform violations and class-cutting. Rodriguez argues, “It’s a lesson in accountability,” while Gaynor questions, “Why should we pay for privileges when students don’t follow the rules?”
Alexis Santos thinks punishing everyone for a few seniors breaking the rules isn’t fair. He said there was just “a small percentage of the senior population that just didn’t wear the uniform.”
“For that, literally all of us got penalized for it,” he said. He thinks it would be more fair to warn students who broke the rules rather than punish everyone.
But there’s hope: If students start obeying the rules, their privileges will be returned, Ms. Rodriguez said.
Anna-Maria Jack, a science teacher, ensures that students are in uniform before entering her class. “I think the responsibility is on both students and teachers,” she said.
“More on the students… especially seniors. You’ve been here for four years. You should know the expectations.”
However, Ms. Jack also thinks that it wasn’t the greatest idea to punish everyone because of some people’s actions. “Clearly, it’s not working, if it’s the same certain students each time,” she said. “Then those specific students should sit out on certain events.”
Dominick Pellettieri, the dean of BRHS, warns seniors about ignoring the uniform rules. “Dress to impress or your senior year will be a mess!”
