Seniors at  Lincoln Southeast High School (LSE) took part in the annual “Senior Skip Day” last Friday, April 8. Senior Skip Day is a designated day during which many seniors skip school. At LSE, it usually takes place the Friday before prom. The absence is unexcused and unsupported by schools but many students and even faculty at LSE believe it is a fun tradition and a nice break for seniors to take from school. 

According to an LSE teacher who wanted to remain anonymous, Senior Skip Day tradition has changed since they were in high school. 

“Senior Skip Day was never the same day every year. So maybe it’s in the same month or across these two weeks but in my experience, it’s usually unplanned.” 

However, at LSE, Senior Skip Day is consistently the Friday before prom. 

The LSE teacher also said that when they were in high school, seniors usually planned to do something together on their skip day. 

“[They] would all decide ‘ok we’re gonna go to this amusement park’ and so they skipped, but they’re still all doing something together,” they said. The teacher also believes that Senior Skip Day should be more “celebratory” and that seniors should have a fun plan, rather than just taking the day to stay home.

On the other hand, senior Mary Householder views Senior Skip Day as a break. 

“Everybody needs a break every once in a while; especially the day before prom. [You’ve] got to prepare, get everything ready,” she said. 

There was a noticeable gap in the student body on Friday. The halls were quieter, the parking lot was emptier, and many senior classes had very few students in them. One senior, who wanted to remain anonymous, said she recognized this difference in class size immediately. “In my math class there were only three of us and only five present out of a very full English class,” she said. “You could also really tell the difference in the parking lot because it was pretty empty the entire day.” 

The LSE teacher also noticed the lack of seniors in their classes. “One class [of mine] had 16 and I had two show up. Another class is 20 [students] and I had two show up and one left halfway through for athletics,” they said.

The student did not participate in skipping school on Friday but, in retrospect, she admits that she partly wishes she would have.

 “It was weird being one of the few seniors there and there was nothing going on in my classes,” she said. “On the other hand I was glad that I did not skip because it was such a surreal feeling to have tiny classes and quiet lunch rooms and hallways.”

Another senior, who wanted to remain anonymous, did not participate in Senior Skip Day because they had tests they couldn’t miss.“Some [teachers] had forgotten that it was Senior Skip Day and scheduled a test on that day,” they said.

The LSE teacher believes that Senior Skip Day has become a sort of reward to seniors who are almost ready to graduate. It can provide a much needed break from the stress of school and allow them time to prepare for their last school dance.

“In some ways it’s maybe a small gift for acknowledging that seniors are on their way out and it’s a small thing that we can do for them to just let them have the day,” they said. “Especially for this class, coming out of COVID, graduating ‘post COVID’. I think it is a bit of a celebration like they’ve done it, they’ve made it to graduation.”