Yes, I know I am not a doctor but let me tell you something about being sick. If you are sick you should stay at home and get better. If you come to school while being sick, you will spread whatever you have on to your peers. And even when you are no long sick, you can still be contagious. But now our school has thrown an obstacle at our Senior class which basically forces them to come to school when they are sick.

As most of you know, there is a new attendance policy that says Seniors cannot miss more than 7 days of school. There was a meeting in the theater for all seniors during division so we would understand the new attendance policy. Dr. Kenner said that if we had a doctors notes, our absences would not count against us because they were excused. Well, she was obviously misinformed because excused absences still count as an absence towards our prom. That means that if I get sick, I should probably go to school anyway because if I don’t, I will miss the prom.

Alancia King ‘19 says, “I personally feel that the attendance policy for the seniors is very unreasonable and strict. I understand that Whitney Young wants to make sure seniors are not ditching school to hang out but there are better ways to go about it. The current attendance policy only allows seniors seven absences for the whole school year. In all reality it is possible for someone to get sick on separate occasions that add up to more than seven days. There is also still a lot of confusion around the attendance policy. Some people are wondering if mental health days count. The seniors are under a lot of pressure and stress and the attendance policy is not helping. So many people are coming to school sick because they do not want to miss a day and have it count against them.”

Whitney Young is threatening to take the prom away from Seniors who miss more than 7 days of school. Thomas Hayes ‘19 says, “I have already missed three days and it is not even the end of 1st quarter. I don’t think I am going to prom.” Our school is using a fear factor to force Seniors to come to school. Whitney Young should not be forcing Seniors to come to school under all circumstances. Seniors should want to come to school. Maybe if school officials were not threatening to take away our high school experiences, like luncheon and prom, more Seniors might actually view school as a safe environment. But if the school is trying to control them through threats, then school is no longer a welcoming environment.

We have not even finished first quarter yet and I have already missed 4 days due to illness. My absences were excused because of doctors notes and handwritten parent notes. This means that I can only miss 3 more days of school if I wish to go to prom or luncheon. But the problem with that is I don’t have the greatest immune system so I have already lost hope in attending those Senior activities.

I don’t see why we should be punished for getting sick if us getting sick is technically the school’s fault. Seniors are coming to school sick because of the new attendance policy. They are bringing their contagious diseases to school with them and spreading them on to other students. This causes even more people to get sick. It is a chain reaction. Soon all of the school will be sick and everyone is going to be throwing up and coughing on each other. Obviously, Whitney Young is not as intuitive as it advertises itself to be. If our school was full of such intelligent and great staff, don’t you think they would have allowed one or two sick seniors to stay at home instead of give their virus to everyone else in the school.

I have been sneezed and coughed on by at least 20 seniors because all the seniors are coming to school sick due to the fear of missing the prom. I had to miss school because I got sick from everyone around me. So I am getting sick because of this new attendance policy so goodbye prom. And I am not the only one who has gotten sick. Andres Ocon ‘19 says, “I have been getting sick a lot lately because everyone around me is coughing and spreading germs everywhere. I still make myself come to school though. I don’t want to miss prom.”

Also, the seniors are trying to take action against this new policy by signing a petition that says they will not buy prom tickets until the policy is gone. As you know, the school books the drake hotel 2 years in advance and it is VERY pricey which is why every senior has to pitch in $120. Imagine how much money the school would lose if not a single Senior was to buy a ticket.