This 2022 year, fall exams are available for exemptions. With the recent announcement of these exemptions, attendance, grades, and classes fall under question. 

After a lenient attendance from COVID-19 year, several students are struggling with being on time to classes. Three tardies make one absence and three absences are the max for staying within eligibility. 

Why wasn’t this implemented earlier and why is the four absents thing so strict,” junior Logan Rudolph said.

Various grade levels have different opinions about this new change. The upperclassmen are less in favor of its rules.

“It ruined some senior traditions, but it’s still nice that seniors may be able not to take exams the whole year,” senior Cyril Canete said.

Others are willing to accommodate to not take any exams.

“I hate the fact that I can’t skip, but I don’t want to take exams,” senior Caroline Kornegay said.

However, traditional skip days aren’t just the case. Other teens have concerns about taking sick days and becoming ineligible for exemptions if they catch covid.

“It’s a good incentive to stop students from skipping; however, the fact that excused absences still count towards exceptions is causing more students harm than good,” junior Kourosh Akhlaghi said.

Students contemplate the risks in traditions or other circumstances that can make these matters difficult. 

“While fall exemptions seem nice and are greatly appreciated, the matter of not accepting excused absences is extremely questionable and causes more problems than it aims to solve,” junior Theo Lin said.