Upperclassmen versus lowerclassmen, seniors versus juniors, grade rivalries are what makes school spirit great. Constant remarks between the grades provides a competitive atmosphere for students at Tamalpais High School by fostering a healthy level of trash talking.

As we escape the tortures of online school and slowly make our way back into the world of face-to-face communication, we as a school have to come together to realize that our current seniors don’t have the experience to lead this school and to create a good representation of how seniors at Tam should act.

A couple of months ago, the first rally in over a year occurred and the seniors didn’t destroy the juniors like they usually do, despite winning. It was almost like their school spirit had taken a turn for the worse. While at the rally, looking over to the senior side to see some of them on their phones during the grade-level chants, was almost disheartening. Seeing the seniors on their phones during quite possibly the best thing the rally has to offer was heartbreaking. In the aftermath of this, I have often heard things from the seniors along the lines of, “It wasn’t a real rally” or “It wasn’t as fun as it was our freshman and sophomore year.” Actually, you have just relied on upperclassmen your whole high school career. Now that the super seniors are off to college or taking gap years in Rome, it’s time for the seniors to step up and take matters into their own hands and not blame the juniors. 

It doesn’t end there. The “senior steps” that sit across from the student center have practically been stripped from the seniors by the freshmen. Freshmen. We may as well just call them the “freshmen steps.” When I came back from lunch one day and noticed this, I was utterly surprised. How could you just let this be taken from you? It’s just another example of how unprepared the senior class is to be seniors. They let the lowest of the low take the steps with their name on them. 

Tam Senior, Lily Lunn, wrote in an article, “I frequently see their [juniors’] cars parked in front of fire hydrants, no-parking signs, and, of course, in the ditch across from the baseball field.” This may be true, but in our defense, there is not enough parking on or around Tam. Almost everyday I see senior cars in the BPL parked in spots crossed out with white paint or parked up against sidewalks marked with red paint. How on earth could you complain about lack of parking, then park illegally? This really grinds our gears.

With bathroom passes now present in classrooms all across the school, I believe we have reason to blame this on the seniors. With some of them already accepted into college, lots of seniors think it’s just okay to walk around and ditch class. So, if you dislike the new rule regarding bathroom passes, I would take it up with the senior class and leave the administration out of it. 

As almost half the school year is already marked off the calendar, we cannot let the seniors continue to make the lasting impression they have started to make. We need to hold this senior class accountable for the many mistakes they have already made this year. Seniors, if you’re hearing this, it’s time to step up and create a good lasting impression on your high school. 

Some photos of the aforementioned illegal parking can be found on, “@badparkingatamhigh” on Instagram.