Sessions with Sydney is a weekly column by features editor Sydney Ray. For more installments of Sydney’s ideas, opinions and ramblings, check out the opinions page, and check back every Friday for a new issue.

The senior project, the culmination of seniors’ dedication for months on end, is discussed with disgust by many as students complain about their abounding responsibilities. They claim it is another burden balanced on their heavy load as they near the end of high school.

In my opinion however, the project is not an overwhelming assignment, but a privilege. The project is a way for seniors to prove their overall growth as a member of society as well as transitioning into college-level work.

By defending a current social or political issue to the best of their ability, students open their minds to new ideas and practice for what is almost guaranteed to be a significant increase in workload during the next four years.

Finding a partner and adopting an argument are the first steps. This often takes weeks as students carefully consider defensible issues.

I choose Victoria Breedlove, a good friend, as my partner. After several weeks of intense discussion, we finally decided upon illegal immigration as our topic, since it is the only issue we agree upon.

Breedlove and I immediately became passionate about our issue. We firmly believe that all illegal immigrants must be deported immediately and the government must implement stringent legislation to stop new illegal aliens from crossing the border.

I do understand the perspective of reluctant students, but I disagree with their overall attitude. The senior project has been assigned for months. The deadlines are no secret ? all seniors have been aware of the due dates for quite some time.

As far as I am concerned, all the protests about lack of ample time to complete the project are ridiculous. If students choose not to manage their time in productive ways, naturally assignments will pile up.

Many students do not realize the project is a transition of sorts ? a transition from the relatively easy assignments given in high school to the more challenging demands of college.

According to Molly Sargent, who organizes the project, there are three reasons the project is assigned. FC students are not required to take the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), and the project serves as a replacement.

Senior project also allows graduates to have an opportunity to give a college-level presentation before entering a university. This assignment may be the only college-level work demanded of students in their entire high school career.

“Students have not learned to be diligent with their studies in terms of if they cannot find the right information, they give up,” Sargent said.

Finally, the senior projects serve as an interesting finale for students to demonstrate their abilities and knowledge. According to Sargent, the project is different from the last 13 years of work students have put in throughout school.

I wholeheartedly agree with Sargent, who says the benefits of the project are numerous.

“In the real world, if you miss a deadline, that is the end of it,” Sargent said. “At FC, we give students more grace than people in the real world do. Senior project serves as a transition from the relative grace given in high school to the absolute inflexibility of college where personal responsibility is paramount and expected.”

Although I often feel overwhelmed with responsibilities, through the senior project I have grown to understand the value of learning by rifling through websites and asking the difficult questions that legislators are faced with each day.

For more information, read the March 7, 2008 article, Pass or fail scares seniors.