Seniors finally allowed to give up 

As graduation quickly approaches, seniors are finally given the chance to stop caring. Senioritis has been a common phenomenon throughout the year thus far, but it has been heavily discouraged. Counselors, teachers, parents, and even younger students have tried their best to keep the seniors on task and attempting to complete their work.

But since the senior class has one foot out the door now that college and workforce decisions have been finalized, they have been officially allowed to give up, per Mount Carmel’s administration.

Seniors woke up to the following message from Principal Scott Tabernacki ’02 on April 28th:

“Hi All,

Just wanted to let you know the administration doesn’t care anymore. You all can do whatever you want at this point. I’m glad you guys are going to be gone. Don’t come back once you’ve received your diplomas.

In Carmel,

Scott Tabernacki”

While some staff were worried this new freedom would cause seniors to create more problems, it really just helped them relax a bit more.

Michael Russo, Luca DeRosa, and other louder seniors now stopped screaming and being obnoxious in the hallways, realizing they wouldn’t be getting any more detentions or write ups. James McCormac finally tucked his shirt in and put his ID on, and Diego Palma put a belt on for the first time since Thanksgiving break.  

“The hallways feel more empty,” said Dean O’Connor, “even though we still have all 600 kids here. The bathrooms feel less dirty, even though seniors are still using them. Heck, the lunch room seems quieter, even though we still have everyone. I guess that this is the way the school year ends, not with a bang, but with a whimper.”

The seniors did not take Mr. Tabernacki’s words as permission to do whatever they wanted; instead, they took it as a release from the expectations they were upheld to. This included their facades of macho masculinity, troublemaking, and general tomfoolery.

Top performing seniors stopped doing assignments to get away from the pressure they felt crushing them, while on the flip side more lazy students attempted to try a bit harder going into finals. Some students stopped walking with their chests puffed out and stopped making fun of each other, trying to be nicer and more kind for once. They knew no one else would care anymore, so they could finally be themselves.

“I just feel like… there’s finally no pressure on me,” reflected Jason Isais. “I’m thankful because I’m always so stressed. It’s been nice to know that no adults are going to judge me or harass me for giving up. Mr. Murphy can’t guilt trip me for not doing my assignments now. Mr. Burke can’t tell me to do my reflections or worksheets, and I don’t ever have to read for Mr. Nevrly again. And it’s… sad.”

Seniors are finally realizing that nothing they’re gonna do these next few days will matter, and that emptiness is expressing itself in both their attitudes and actions.

The spring sports teams are realizing how vital their seniors are as the Class of ’25 relishes the time they have left at MC. Fields and courts are filled with juniors and underclassmen left without their leaders, and coaches don’t know who to turn to as their star players end up sitting in the chapel or talking to chemistry teacher and surrogate mother Mrs. Emma Norise instead of practicing.

“I honestly don’t know how the post-graduation games are going to go,” said sophomore volleyball starter Mihailo Popovic, “since most of our team is seniors. If Aidan Sauseda, Aydin Provost, and Ethan Battig continue this streak of missing practice, it might just be me and Mick Carr on the court. If we have to pull Nick Lodato up to varsity to fill in, I might quit the team myself.”

MC is finally realizing the genuine and powerful impact the Class of ’25 has had on the school, and once they fully step out the doors of Holy Name Cathedral, there will need to be students to step up.

“I’ve always thought Santino Pilotto and Dominic DeLuca would be good guys to run the school,” said student body president and senior Christos Dimas. “I know TJ Kolke is doing a good job as my assistant right now, but honestly I’m rooting for them to win the election if they decide to campaign.”

As MC prepares to have its best class move on, all the school can do is hope they’ve finally become men.