If you wake up late and missed the bus, that’s understandable. If you didn’t hear your alarm go off in the morning and arrived late to class, that’s also understandable. However, there has been an increase in students who are coming late to school to go get breakfast and coffee, typically at Starbucks.  

   Having the many locations open within the area and having a ride to go there are the main factors which play into someone being late to school.

   “I’m always late because of Starbucks. Like at least three times this year so far. My teachers are just annoyed at me when I come in but it doesn’t affect my grade. It just goes on my record as tardy” said sophomore Abby Spinks.

   Having not much of a punishment except a detention or a tardy on your transcript makes students not care about their tardy behaviors.

   But eventually, one too many tardies can add up and give colleges you’re applying for a bad review on your part as a student and may interrupt the chances of college acceptance.

“Sometimes I’ll stop to get Starbucks but I try and do it mainly on white days since my W2 is an online class. But on red days, my teacher will mark me tardy” said junior Ruth Seyoum.

Detention wasn’t much of a worry for Junior Shae Rigo when it came to being tardy.

“Last year I was late about once or twice every week because of going to Starbucks in the morning. My teacher did not like it, I had detention once because I was always late so often” said junior Shae Rigo.

Continuing on a constant cycle like this one could develop into a bad habit, and could spiral into something worse before realizing the consequences which will have to be paid.

Having detention here and there cannot hurt one too badly, but there is a developing issue on the way if it becomes out of hand.

   Arriving tardy a couple times a week might be intolerable for some teacher’s, but Anahi Obregon’s teacher got so used to it there was no need for countless trips to the office and back to get a tardy slip.

“I miss a lot of the stuff I’m supposed to listen to in order to do the classwork. My teacher is so used to it that I don’t even have to go to the front office anymore to get an unexcused pass” said sophomore Anahi Obregon.

In the 2015-2016 school year, a new rule was developed which changed to high school hours in Fairfax County to start later at 8:10 a.m. everyday; this was done so as to give students a bit more time and rest in the mornings, but it seems that the plan did not have much effect considering the number of people who remain late when coming to school because of certain reasons.

Even coming late just a few times irritates his teacher, but sophomore Yawar Abbas comes on time frequently.

“Most of the time I’ve been on time to school but sometimes I’m late to school. I get a pumpkin spice latte beverage at Starbucks. When I come late to class, my teachers aren’t happy” said Abbas.

Does Starbucks really help students stay focused and pay attention in class? Studies show that students are mainly drinking caffeinated drinks for the taste, not the actual purposes of drinking coffee.

Despite this need to fulfill their sweet tooths, is really worth being late to class for a drink?

For some students, just getting a sip of the drink in the morning is completely worth missing the first few minutes in class, “Iced caramel macchiato or anything with caramel, I’m obsessed with caramel” said junior Ruth Seyoum.

Even people who might not be so fond of coffee get Starbucks. So this doesn’t stop sophomore Anahi Obregon from getting her favorite drink almost every day

“I arrive late to school the first three days of the week. I just get hot chocolate” said Obregon.

If staying awake through the long seven hours of school is difficult there are alternatives to keep your energy up. Eating a healthy breakfast and getting a good night’s sleep is always the best way to go to achieve energy.

If you still crave the new seasonal Starbucks drinks, it’s wise to set your alarm at least twenty minutes early so you can still keep on track for the most part.