In most traditional American high schools, activities like prom, senior lounges, and college tours are common, but senior privileges at Banneker are limited to almost none.
Banneker is currently ranked as the #2 high school in DC. During the fall, it is hectic for the students due to SATs, AP classes, midterms, IB classes, and extracurricular activities. Seniors, specifically, often find themselves even more stressed out with college applications as it seems like another chore for them on top of countless hours of homework. Some of these students are also student-athletes. Due to their hectic school schedule, there is not much time for planned events to fit into seniors’ schedules at Banneker.
Students feel overwhelmed with the workload and believe they deserve privileges similar to the effort they put into their classes. In previous years, other senior classes seemed to have more opportunities, yet little by little the privileges have gone away as the years passed by. Nilah Holland, a senior, said, “It feels like they forgot about us!”
One privilege that remains is seniors are encouraged to create senior shirts for the annual Spirit Week pep rally. This year, there were three options to choose between for senior shirts, and the main concerns were price and design. Ms. Davis, a senior sponsor, allows seniors to choose and create a customized shirt from Custom Ink, then send in any design ideas they have, and vote on their favorite. The most voted shirt was a design based upon the popular game 2K, but a new design was selected after less than half of the class initially voted.
The new senior shirts are black with gold letters that say Class of 2024.
Seniors Naomi Graham, Holland, and Sindy Argueta are hopeful for more privileges, like “fun field trips that aren’t educational based, more high school related experiences, and using the garden space outside.” They believe it is the little changes that matter and give students motivation for attending one of the best high schools, not only locally, but also nationally.
Senior Kendall Haskel reflected that the class of 2024 has struggled since being virtual during their ninth grade year.
Thus, seniors believe that more privileges are a way to demonstrate the care and gratitude that the school has for its senior class.
