GUARANTEE Senior Quotes for Elkhorn Public Schools Seniors
GUARANTEE Senior Quotes for Elkhorn Public Schools Seniors
The Issue
Senior Quotes, a staple of senior year for many schools. These small, yet significant marks have been in yearbooks for generations of students around the nation and have been a feature in Elkhorn High, Elkhorn North, and Elkhorn South's yearbooks for the years that they have been around. Sadly, the class of 2024 at Elkhorn High School, had their opportunity to leave their mark stripped away from the yearbook, leaving the school silently without a remark about their education, personal life, or a joke they liked throughout the years. Sadly, the class of 2025 and future Elkhorn classes are at risk of losing their opportunity to leave a quote at this time
Every person and student, outside of the ones who oppose this, I have personally spoken to about the removal of senior quotes for the class of 2024 and possibly for the class of 2025 had stated that it had been and will be a foolish decision in advocating and instating this rule.
Many believe this decision is foolish for a variety reasons. Some believe removal of these quotes break a way for students to give a piece of their identity at this time to their peers around them after graduation. Others state that it removes a personal goal leading to lack of participation in school activities or classes feeling as if they are not properly represented along with another reason where many students may think that they are silenced or censored compared to the other districts that still keep senior quotes alive in their yearbooks. Many more personal accounts can be found through students who both had or were stripped away the opportunity of getting senior quotes and from those who had the opportunity to leave them. Other reasoning can be found in news articles below from other school districts displaying both sides of argument:
https://www.lhsdoi.com/28337/opinion/bring-back-senior-quotes/
Others offer valid arguments against keeping these quotes in yearbooks, but there are many solutions to combat issues. Beginning, the class of 2023 had a lack of student submitting quotes due to factors such as being unaware of their email and realizing too late that they had forgot to submit a quote. This can be combatted by announcing on the school's PA system during morning announcements that seniors have till a certain deadline to submit a quote. A second item which is stated is screening and finding quotes that hurt the reputation of the school or a fellow peer. These can be solved by either asking them to provide a different quote or by requesting an opinion about the quote with the parent/guardian of the student. Another reason why folks don't want quotes either is the issue with time constraints causing trouble with reviewing every quote. This can quite easily be fixed by sending the quotes to the parent/guardian of the student for approval or by allowing students to oversee their fellow peers quotes ensuring that everyone has a quote that can be fit into a yearbook. Another solution to this as well is with the use of artificial intelligence to sweep through and detect problematic items to be reviewed by a person. Other problems may arise or be mentioned, but many can be combatted through taking the time to brainstorm and think of solutions rather than flat out giving up and removing the quotes.
Senior quotes are more than just words on a page, they are a legacy left behind by the graduating class. By exploring further into solutions, it can grant the class of 2025 and future classes the opportunity to ensure they will be heard and will leave something behind for both themselves and the classes both before and beyond.
142
The Issue
Senior Quotes, a staple of senior year for many schools. These small, yet significant marks have been in yearbooks for generations of students around the nation and have been a feature in Elkhorn High, Elkhorn North, and Elkhorn South's yearbooks for the years that they have been around. Sadly, the class of 2024 at Elkhorn High School, had their opportunity to leave their mark stripped away from the yearbook, leaving the school silently without a remark about their education, personal life, or a joke they liked throughout the years. Sadly, the class of 2025 and future Elkhorn classes are at risk of losing their opportunity to leave a quote at this time
Every person and student, outside of the ones who oppose this, I have personally spoken to about the removal of senior quotes for the class of 2024 and possibly for the class of 2025 had stated that it had been and will be a foolish decision in advocating and instating this rule.
Many believe this decision is foolish for a variety reasons. Some believe removal of these quotes break a way for students to give a piece of their identity at this time to their peers around them after graduation. Others state that it removes a personal goal leading to lack of participation in school activities or classes feeling as if they are not properly represented along with another reason where many students may think that they are silenced or censored compared to the other districts that still keep senior quotes alive in their yearbooks. Many more personal accounts can be found through students who both had or were stripped away the opportunity of getting senior quotes and from those who had the opportunity to leave them. Other reasoning can be found in news articles below from other school districts displaying both sides of argument:
https://www.lhsdoi.com/28337/opinion/bring-back-senior-quotes/
Others offer valid arguments against keeping these quotes in yearbooks, but there are many solutions to combat issues. Beginning, the class of 2023 had a lack of student submitting quotes due to factors such as being unaware of their email and realizing too late that they had forgot to submit a quote. This can be combatted by announcing on the school's PA system during morning announcements that seniors have till a certain deadline to submit a quote. A second item which is stated is screening and finding quotes that hurt the reputation of the school or a fellow peer. These can be solved by either asking them to provide a different quote or by requesting an opinion about the quote with the parent/guardian of the student. Another reason why folks don't want quotes either is the issue with time constraints causing trouble with reviewing every quote. This can quite easily be fixed by sending the quotes to the parent/guardian of the student for approval or by allowing students to oversee their fellow peers quotes ensuring that everyone has a quote that can be fit into a yearbook. Another solution to this as well is with the use of artificial intelligence to sweep through and detect problematic items to be reviewed by a person. Other problems may arise or be mentioned, but many can be combatted through taking the time to brainstorm and think of solutions rather than flat out giving up and removing the quotes.
Senior quotes are more than just words on a page, they are a legacy left behind by the graduating class. By exploring further into solutions, it can grant the class of 2025 and future classes the opportunity to ensure they will be heard and will leave something behind for both themselves and the classes both before and beyond.
142
The Decision Makers
Supporter Voices
Petition created on August 5, 2024