During the first few weeks of September, the newly-instated principal of H-F, Dr. Clinton Alexander, made some surprise visits to classes to make his presence known and introduce himself to classes. During this time, he was inquired about if the senior class would get a senior trip, something he introduced at his former principal job at Hillcrest.

Alexander claims that he is “open for negotiations.” I am adamant that the class of 2023 not only should have but deserves a senior trip to cap off their high school experience which has been nothing but irregular.

The class of 2023 has not even had a full school year of a regular high school experience. During freshman year, we were sent home in March due to COVID-19 when it first emerged, sophomore year was entirely virtual, and junior year consisted of many different protocols, mask requirements, and rumors of going back virtual. As H-F senior Nick Harvey summed up, “We’ve been through it all.” Senior year is our only chance at a sense of normalcy, and I believe that it should include this class trip. 

Many high schools will have a trip for seniors to go to Washington D.C. or some other location out of town, and with all the money HF has to spend, they can find a way to fund a trip to cap off the class’ senior year with some sense of high school normalcy. Senior Preston Lund agrees as he claims, “We’ve been through the trenches with our high school career. We deserve one.”

While Alexander is approving of the idea, he also is requiring the seniors to do something in return. At Hillcrest, to get their trip, the seniors had to do a one-day community service project where two-thirds of the entire class had to participate.

 Alexander, who prides himself as charitable and a man of faith, stated, “I’m big on service and servant leadership, and I believe that it should be a criterion for every citizen to understand the value of helping the needy. I thought that it’s something that can teach a life lesson, and we had fun doing it.”

 While it’s not finalized, H-F would have to do something similar. Alexander will require us to do a service project, and the majority of H-F students will have to participate. With our senior class being around 700 students, 460 of them would have to attend if he has the same requirements as Hillcrest. 

From this point, students need to take action if they truly want this trip. 

Alexander would want to finalize details by the winter, whether the trip is local or out-of-town, in order to give families time to plan and save. So to the H-F students who do want this trip, start a petition to get an idea of who wants to attend, set up a meeting with Alexander, speak to student counsel, and most importantly, do not procrastinate.

 With everything that we’ve been through in our four years, we need to have an end-of-the-year experience as our last “hoo-rah”. So seniors, if you feel the same, make your voices heard.