Despite an infamous lack of school spirit or traditions at SHS, the second semester senior slump is one event that is highly anticipated. Having reached the milestone where college applications are finished and the course of high school is in its final stretch, many seniors have begun easing off on their efforts in school. This tradition, known as ‘senior slump,’ is widely joked about by students and denounced by teachers. The tradition comes in varying forms and levels of participation.

On Monday, the first day of second semester, seniors walked in wearing everything ranging from comfy sweatpants to complete Halloween-esque fluffy onesies. While the costumes and attitudes on Monday were humorous, the concern for the effects of seniors slumping is real. This decrease in pressure to maintain higher grades is often apparent through increases in tardies, cuts, and generally weaker work ethics. “[Slumping] is a stupid thing to do, because I respect all my teachers and my academics, I won’t slump. And the ones who wear pajamas have no sense of fashion,” critiqued Michael Liu ’19.

The impact of the senior slump phenomenon is felt in classes made up of students from several grades. “[Senior slump] might curve our grades up. Other than that, there might be a difference in like the class dynamic, especially with attendance. A few people just don’t come [to class] anymore,” commented Ashwin Sriskanthan ’20 when asked on Tuesday, only a day after the start of second semester. Although the number of cuts and tardies will inevitably increase, ‘senior slump’ at SHS will hopefully be more tongue-in-cheek than anything else.