CSULB
seniors slack off, but senioritus rates decreasing
By
Lauren Williams
Online Forty-Niner
Assistant Opinion Editor
The common springtime ailment of senioritis is a familiar disease that claims
many Cal State Long Beach students each year. Often, toward the end of their
spring term, graduating seniors become lackadaisical in their studies, skipping
class and neglecting homework, preferring to ignore academic obligations for
more entertaining activities.
“
Just keep going [to class],” said Angela Mejia, a senior political science
major. “You’re past the half line. Just enjoy the rest of your
time in college.”
Mejia, 22, said this semester has been one of her most successful semesters
when it comes to completing tasks.
“
I am more motivated to go to class because I might as well enjoy campus life
while I’m still here,” she said.
Senior biology major Angela Arhontes takes a different stance on the issue
of the relaxed scholarly habits of many seniors and encourages her peers to “enjoy
the last time [they] can slack off. At a job you can’t. You would get
fired.”
Paul Fornell, the assistant director at the Career Development Center, said
the number of seniors coming down with senioritis seems to decrease each year.
“
It is not at all uncommon to see an increase in the number of graduating seniors,” Fornell
said. “People want to move up in life.”
According to Marilee Samuelson, director of the Academic Advising Center (AAC),
a new program called Graduation Greenlight has been started in the AAC. It
aims at helping students who had been unable to graduate when they first attended
CSULB.
Seniors Yuki Oshima, a marketing major, and Leslie Huang, a finance major,
said they too have not experienced any senioritis this semester, neither with
their classmates nor with themselves. Huang said she wants to make sure she
does well in her classes.
Among the numerous symptoms of senioritis many seniors experience as their
final semester in college comes to an end is heightened stress levels. Many
graduating seniors worry about finding a job or internship after the spring
semester has come to an close.
“
If they haven’t started the job hunt, they should,” Fornell said. “Every
day they wait, they make it harder on themselves [to find a job].”
Huang said she has been anxious about finding a job after college, but advises
her classmates to “try not to think about it and take time out of [their]
schedule to relax.”
Some of the stress-relieving tips offered by international studies major Miyuki
Takahashi are listening to music and exercising.
Also, according to Samuelson, senioritis is not just a problem for seniors
and juniors, but is also a problem with lower classmen.
“
Juniors and seniors usually know how to maximize their college experience,” Samuelson
said.
As for the problem of younger CSULB students claiming to already be struggling
with their studying habits, Arhontes suggests these students “try their
hardest because this is the last chance you have. It is the gateway into other
scholarly programs, like master’s programs. It is important to stay focused.”
Arhontes also encourages underclassmen to not let professors sway them from
their goal.
“
Don’t get discouraged if you get one bad grade in a class or [have] a
mean professor,” Arhontes said. “Stay true to yourself.”
For more information on Graduation Greenlight or any of the other services
providing aid for graduating seniors students can visit the AAC near the university
library.
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