Senioritis: an all too familiar self-diagnosis, which has plagued high school seniors around the nation for more than half a century. Defined by Merriam-Webster as “an ebbing of motivation and effort by high school seniors as evidenced by tardiness, absences, and lower grades.”

With only four months remaining until graduation, it’s not hard to understand the reason why students are “slacking off.”

“The stress of high school is finally off of your shoulders especially now knowing that you’re going where you want to be going,” said senior, Angela Delfino. “Whether that is college or enlisting, there isn’t any more pressure. Everything you’ve done for the past three and a half years has paid off. It discourages you to go the extra mile and read ahead or stay up when your tired just to finish an assignment or honestly to even go to class if you’re just not feeling it.”

Though some seniors claim to be “immune” to senioritis, senior, Sheen Montazeri believes that it is not possible.

“You can’t completely avoid getting senioritis,” said Montazeri. “Everyone catches it at least once throughout their senior year.”

Delfino also had a similar opinion on the possibility of immunity.

“Honestly senioritis is bound to happen to everyone at some point in time,” said Delfino. “It’s inevitable. I don’t really think there is anything anyone can do to change that.”

Science teacher, Laura Stiles believes senioritis hasn’t changed significantly throughout her career.

“I have not noticed a change in the occurrence of senioritis,” said Stiles.

Many do not believe in the integrity of senioritis.

“I believe more students are using senioritis as an excuse not to do their work,” said science teacher, Carrie Dickerhoff. “Unfortunately, there is no such thing in life and you have to figure out what its important to you.”

Many teachers believe senioritis is a mere excuse to put off extra work in their final year of high school.

“There are some who will take advantage of the situation and use this as an excuse to not finish work,” said Stiles. “It is ok to take a short break when it is needed for mental health, but you need to then refocus and finish the semester in a positive way.”

Though glorified by many, Montazeri and Delfino both have advice for the class of 2017’s rising seniors.

“Don’t skip and make sure you show your teachers you respect them,” said Montazeri. “It can come back to bite you at the end of the semester when you have a low grade and need a passing one.”

Delfino also adds a bit of wary advice to those who do have senioritis and might over indulge in already being accepted into college.

“Senior year may be a time when it’s somewhat acceptable to slack, but it is still important that you don’t completely blow off school,” said Delfino. “If your senior year performance really is that terrible, college acceptances can be revoked. I think the most important thing is finding balance. The right amount of effort and the right amount of fun is what is going to make senior year great.”