Your bus drives past the senior lot on the first day of freshman year. It’s a scene right out of any iconic ‘80s teen movie; radios playing, friends socializing, and you stuck behind the kid who picks his nose on the bus. The senior lot is your goal, a tangible symbol of your status in the school and of your four years of hard work. Until now.
Seniors have found that this senior privilege, among many others, has been absolved amid concerns of awarding status and exclusionary behavior. The administration has grown increasingly cautious not to separate classes, promote superiority or honor traditions that aren’t exactly in line with the “kumbaya” mentality of FCPS. Senior administrators have made it clear to all drivers that the senior lot no longer exists, being replaced by a communal parking lot that, along with Ossian and the church, will be available to any student driver whose application is accepted.
By taking away the senior lot, the administration is continuing a recent trend in which long awaited senior privileges are taken from them. Last year’s seniors faced restrictions on their very own long held practices; the American tradition of a senior class prank, for one. Seniors arrived to the school at 4 a.m. in order to pursue a prank approved by the administration, which was neither harmful nor offensive in any way. Come 8 a.m, underclassmen arrive to see the balloons, streamers, and lighthearted acts of goodbye were gone.
Then, it was announced that the senior stampede would be taken away as well, out of concern for student safety. Although I do understand and appreciate the administration’s steps taken to keep students safe, it was yet another senior tradition stripped away in a seemingly endless list that also banned seniors from incorporating funny faces in their school ID photos and sleep in on collaboration days. Is it really too much to ask for one more hour of sleep once every other Wednesday?
Even our more academically focused conventions are suffering; seniors are only allotted 2 official college visit days despite the fact that students apply to 5-6 schools on average.
Sure, there may be valid reasoning behind many of these restrictions, and I do not want to discredit the administration, as I’m sure they undoubtedly have our best interests in mind, however, when comparing our school to others in Fairfax County, our list of liberties is running short. Falls Church seniors are released from school 5 minutes earlier than other students, while Woodson seniors are guaranteed “priority seating”, or the first two rows of bleachers at sporting events and are allowed to paint and personalize the senior parking lot.
There is a certain significance to these privileges and perks. They aren’t just unfair advantages rewarded to the veteran class; they are a symbol of our four years of work and a way in which we can truly embrace our class, our school, and our time here at AHS in our final year. There is a reason behind the longevity of these practices. They motivate the senior class to take part in their school when they could easily brush it off after college acceptance. How many times have seniors been seen gathering in the senior lot after school to talk about their day, or bonded over Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks on collaboration mornings? Also, they are a rite of passage, giving us the distinct honor of being a senior. We don’t embrace these practices because they exclude underclassmen. We embrace them because they include all seniors in an undeniable bond that would otherwise not exist.
Now, it may sound like I am coming from a whiny senior reduced to an underclassman parking lot, but I truly believe I speak for the entire senior class when I say that these acts are disrespectful. Taking away our traditions discredit our work, our school spirit, and our bond with the school and its administration.
However in all fairness, I must be thankful for the senior courtyard…that we can use 4 months out of the year.

To see the administration’s response to this issue, check out the video above.