Senioritis is a prevalent, yet often downplayed issue that plays a role in the life of many soon-to-be graduates. The epidemic is caused by students finding their primary and secondary education, which focuses on subjects that may disinterest them, to be unnecessary. Although this belief is not morally wrong to live by, it can lead to negative habits.

Slacking during senior year can lead to a difficult freshman year of college. If you do not learn anything senior year, you will be required to do so in college. This notion is specifically alarming because it means that many students who did not study during their senior year may have trouble adjusting to the rigors of college.

“It’s going to make the transition into college pretty tough,” Gabriella Comas-Perez said. “I have not studied for a test or given my all to an assignment in months. The first college class I take is definitely going to be a wake up call for sure.”

While senioritis can, in some cases, become a long term detriment to students, many see it as part of the senior experience, something that will help define their last year in high school.

I think senioritis is partly me realizing that stressing over school is unnecessary,” Vincent Leone said. “I don’t think it will hurt my college performance. I really never felt I was doing a disservice to myself or my teachers.”

Most seniors likely echoed this belief at one point or another during the second semester, whether they believed it or they struggled to meet the demands of the classes they deliberately failed. Nonetheless, the significant difference laid in how they handled this adversity.

“I felt guilty because I saw my grades at an all time low, so I felt like I was cheating myself out of  doing well in these classes; so I started to work how I used to, to get my grades up to a respectable level,” Aaron Montenegro said.

When the class of 2016 graduates at the Bank United Center in three days, senior year will become merely a memory, as will senioritis. Although the epidemic may resurface toward the conclusion of college, even those who felt the enduring effects will be forced to adapt in order to face the real world.