When Easter vacation comes to an end, it initiates a new and deadly disease that affects certain high school students. No, the disease is not tuberculosis, flu, asthma, West Nile virus or even pneumonia; it is Senioritis, and it poses a threat to the minds and attitudes of all seniors on campus, spreading even to some underclassmen.

Symptoms of senioritis include the following: a nonchalant and apathetic attitude towards anything school-related and a lack of completed homework.

ìI have homework nearly every night, but I often find myself incapable of completing it,î Chris White, í05, said. ìIíve become so bored and lazy that I usually end up carving statues or playing strange instruments instead of doing my work.î

Others experience no desire to do work leading to their completion of high school.

ìGraduating from high school provides no freedom,î Doug Denhartog, í05, said. ìIt just leads into the next level of education. The only freedom I feel life provides in high school is turning 18.î

Some seniors feel that senioritis has always loomed over their heads, starting when they were underclassmen. Even though some of these students share Denhartogís perspective of college and the future, their actions and attitudes differ greatly.

ìIíve been experiencing senioritis ever since my sophomore year,î Katie Ettner, í05, said. ìI felt like college is more like the real world, and high school is just tedious and boring. So, I will try harder with college than I do with high school.î

Many underclassmen treat seniors that are infected with senioritis with a lack of respect. However, some of those underclassmen end up transformed themselves into the very creatures they previously found so detestable.

ìI used to think that seniors who got ësenioritisí were unfocused morons,î Elise Aydelotte, í05, said. ìBut now I find myself tapping my feet impatiently waiting for class to end.î

Whatever their current feelings toward school, it is a sure thing that all seniors will be happy when graduation day comes.