The sun rose at 6:56 a.m. on October 5th, 2023 in Midtown Manhattan. With clear skies and 80 degree-weather predicted on the forecast, it was decided there was no better time for a “Senior Sunrise.”
Student Marlie Fagan orchestrated the event.
Fagan, alongside a group of friends, decided last year they’d organize a Senior Sunrise in honor of a new year’s start. Fagan wanted to do a sunset-viewing, but after scheduling difficulties, she opted for a sunrise. After speaking with a multitude of students, she had garnered enough support to pull it off.
She started by creating a groupchat with the entire grade.
“It was really interesting, it’s the first group chat all of us have ever had together,” she said. After word spread across the grade, excitement caught on. Fagan reminisced about it a few days later.
“It was so much fun, I’m so happy that everyone actually came,” she said. “I’m happy they kept their word.”
So, what’s next for senior events?
LaMartha Boock thinks there should be more spirit events held to celebrate senior accomplishments. She believes an overnight trip would best connect the grade. After asking a teacher she realized this idea was simply unachievable. She felt disappointed.
Kate Romalewski wants to carry out a senior prank. She feels like at a school based in NYC, seniors miss out on a lot of crucial “high school experience” events.
“We miss out on homecomings and football games, so it’d be nice to have something special that we did collaboratively to look back at,” she said.
Ryan Zhang said he believes senior year is going well so far and nothing should be changed.
“People are focused on college applications,” he said. “Once that goes through, senior year will be more enjoyable.”
Louise Berke concurs and added that the school’s advisory period should’ve stayed the same.
“Having an advisory with people in my grade helped me get more involved,” she said.
She also touched on the fact seniors were taught online as freshmen due to the pandemic which further negatively affected their highschool experiences.
“There should have been something special for the COVID kids.”
