For adults, it’s not uncommon at all to see people in their twenties date people in their thirties. However, in a high school environment where there is a grade system present, it’s rare for upperclassmen and underclassmen to be seen dating.

While it may be common to see students date students that are one year younger or older, students that date other students with a two, three, or higher year age difference is rarely seen in the school.

One problem that may occur from an underclassmen dating an upperclassmen is graduation.

“It is really hard because when upperclassmen graduate it’s hard to maintain the relationship,” sophomore Kalie Rosati said. “[At that point] its important to communicate, a lot.”

However, many people accredit the lack of people dating significantly younger or older people to be a maturity problem. As students go through puberty, some mature slower than others and this sets the grades apart, and many upperclassmen cannot bear to deal with an immature significant other.

“The biggest problem is maturity,” senior Ryan Gibson, who is dating junior Rachael Qualley, said.

“I think the biggest problem is that underclassmen are viewed as immature”, junior Kelsi Gardner said.

However, underclassmen are not all to blame. Upperclassmen have been known to have a view that dating someone far younger is morally wrong, and have been seen making fun of other upperclassmen who are dating someone younger than them.

“There is a social context between dating someone younger. A guy dating a girl younger may be called a pedophile, while a girl dating a younger guy may be called a cougar,” Gardner said.

But that doesn’t bother Shanice Jones and Deslin Cunningham. Jones met Cunningham while cheering for him on the cheer squad in a football game during the summer.

While Jones is a junior and Cunningham is a sophomore, they still manage to have a strong relationship after two months.

“He’s mature for his age,” said Jones. “And really, age is nothing but a number.”

Another couple whose age difference doesn’t get the best of them is Megan Cumpas and Joe Carter.

Cumpas met Carter at an AHS home football game during her freshman year. Although Cumpas is a sophomore and Carter is a junior, their age difference is two years.

“It doesn’t really matter, we’re in the same school and its only 2 years”, said Cumpas when asked about her relationship.

Even though their ages are  two years apart, the couple has been dating for a year and two months and is still going strong.

“It’s really important that you don’t listen to what other people may say about you,” Cumpas said. “Listen to what you feel.”