At Allderdice, Senior Skip Day is a day that is hated by most teachers and loved by the upperclassmen. It is an unofficial break that happens a few times a year where seniors collectively agree not to come to school. The responsibility is taken upon the students to decide the dates and plan them properly as it is an activity unrelated to the school. Senior Skip Day is a time for seniors to get away from the stress of college applications and schoolwork to focus on creating memories with their friends before their last year of high school ends. It’s an event that brings the grade together and lets everyone get some extra sleep.

Recently, there has been controversy over the first Senior Skip Day. Disagreement between the student government and the student body spawned over the planning of the event. This has initiated a discussion over the representation of students at Allderdice and the extent of the power of the Student Government. Many believe the student government has been failing to hear the needs of the students.

The Debate Over Senior Skip Day: Student Government vs. The Students’ Voice

As Halloween approached, the desire for a Senior Skip Day grew among the seniors. With Halloween falling on a Thursday, many students saw it as the perfect opportunity to schedule a Senior Skip Day for the following Friday, November 1st, creating an extended long  “Halloweekend.” This idea was proposed to the student government president, Nikhil Saxena, who, despite its appeal to the student body, dismissed it. The student government, caught off guard by the short notice and unprepared for planning an event in such a limited timeframe, did not support the proposal.

The student government had been planning a separate Senior Skip Day, but no specific dates or plans had been finalized. The student's proposition caught the student council off guard as it didn’t leave enough room for planning. With only one week to plan an activity for the event, president Nikhi Saxena was skeptical of the idea. Saxena’s reasoning behind the skepticism raised several issues. Saxena stated, “We wanted it to be a day far enough away to allow us time to plan an event during that day. We also wanted to have it on a day in which we had a day off to have a long weekend, and November 18 is the only week of November when we don’t have a day off.” The proposed date was less than two weeks away; it was not “far enough” to be organized properly.

To find a common point of agreement, the student government proposed for the event to take place on November 18—a random Monday. This new date gave them more time to plan a fun activity. However, it was greatly unpopular among the students.

In the week leading up to Halloween, there was a growing sense of urgency for a confirmed date. The students overflowed the student government suggestion form to demand a Senior Skip Day. The votes for November 1st rapidly began to outnumber any other dates. An overwhelming majority strongly supported this date and the decision was clear. The student government, however, didn't endorse the result of the forms due to the scarce number of voters.

The petition presented a dispute over the validity of a student poll. President Nikhil Saxena questioned the legitimacy of the results, stating, “We only actually got about 70 responses out of the 343 people.”  Around 70 people voted on the form—a vast majority advocating for November 1st— yet President Nikhil Saxena dismissed the results as it only represented a small portion of the student population. He continued to mention that, “Not everybody voted for November 1st in that form. A lot of people voted for November 18th.” Dylan Cohn—a senior at Allderdice— stepped in the interview to challenge Saxena with “How many is a lot?” raising objections to the vagueness of Saxena’s assertion about the “many” who voted differently. Saxena’s dismissal of the results seemed to overlook the preferences of those who voted.

Many students jumped to conclusions, arguing that the student government did not have the power to choose Senior Skip Day as it is unaffiliated with the school. Some students even blamed Vice President Mikayla Shariff for the outcome, revealing that when complaints arose about the proposed new date, she dismissed them by saying it was “not their problem”. Shariff’s response led to frustration as it undermined the opinions and objections of the students—which should be their main focus. Student Dylan Cohn, a current senior at Allderdice, expressed feeling "extremely unrepresented.” He added, “Whenever everyone is saying that it’s gonna be on November 1st, I don’t understand why somebody can overrule us as a democracy and tell us when we cannot have a Senior Skip Day.”

Rumors arose that the date for Senior Skip Day would be confirmed for November 18. The students, nonetheless, had already set their minds on November 1st, and the rise of this new date opened the grounds for arguments and controversy. As Halloween approached, the word spread through all seniors to maintain the favored date—November 1st.

Days before November 1st, the news had spread to teachers and even more students, and without any official announcement, it became clear: no one was showing up to school that Friday. When asked in class who was gonna come to school that day, voices were raised as students, one by one, made excuses and shook their heads. The announcement was never made official nor approved by the student government, but through the common agreement of the students the decision was made. The students proved that they would not accept decisions that don’t represent them, and they showed the power of unity in standing up for their collective values.

Who is really in charge?

This controversial subject questioned the authority of the student government; should they make the call on important decisions? In what ways are the students represented if their opinion is never asked? The student government is supposed to speak for the body of students, however, the students' petitions being overlooked only shows the low participation of students in the decision-making process. President Nikhil Saxena clarified that “Student government is not actually legally involved in senior skip days,” pointing out the limits on unofficial events like Senior Skip Day. Yet, the impact of this decision left many students feeling unrepresented and questioning the purpose of student government if their voices went unheard.

The Senior Skip Day was an opportunity for students to participate in decisions and be a part of the community. It was also an opportunity for students to feel their voices mattered in school decisions. Student Delia Graham expressed this sentiment, sharing, “Seniors in the past have had so many more senior skip days, study halls, and lenient classes, we deserved this day off. We get so much work and pressure, especially being a student-athlete, we deserve to take the time to focus on ourselves to better our future learning capabilities.”

This incident highlights the need for clear communication and genuine representation within student government. It displays how important it is for students to feel that their perspectives are valued in shaping their high school experience. If the main purpose of the student government is to represent the voices of the students, they failed to fulfill this promise on November 1st. Yet this altercation can be a pivoting point for positive change. This could be an opportunity to strengthen the role of students and allow them to participate in the decision-making process when it comes to important events. Moving forward, decisions should be made as a selected whole rather than by a selected few, ensuring that all perspectives are heard and considered.