Memorial Day downer

by Hailey Nirenberg, Staff Writer

The smell of freshly barbecued hamburgers and hot dogs fills the air, as music is on full blast, and family comes together to have a good time and catch up. Games are being played and the unmistakable sound of the ice cream truck passes by.

However, for many students at Glen Rock High School, their rare day off consists of sitting inside, glued to their laptops.

As the end of the year approaches and the time to finish up the curriculum gets tighter and tighter, the work load for students drastically increases.

Between research papers, portfolios, final projects, essays, and the regular tests, quizzes, and everyday homework, there is almost no time left for anything else.

“I was going to go to a barbecue with my family that we go to every year,” said GRHS Sophomore John Cunningham when asked about his Memorial Day plans,  “but because of all the work I have to do, I can’t go.”

Long weekends don’t come around often, but when they do, the last thing a student wants to do is work.

Days off are meant to give students a break to spend time with family and friends, but because of the excessive workload, this day off really doesn’t count.

“I was really excited to catch up on sleep and finally take it easy because I’ve been so stressed out lately, but now that that’s not going to happen, I guess I’ll just have to wait until summer for a break,” said sophomore Sydney Struble.

Not only do students have to miss out on traditional Memorial Day celebrations, but as the school year comes wining down, the stress of finals begins to arise.

Even though projects and finals are mandatory assignments, something needs to be done to try to reduce the amount of stress students feel at the end of the year.

Whether it’s doing one research paper in the beginning of the year and another at the end, or reducing the amount of daily homework so that students have more time to finish their long-term assignments, the current stress levels at GRHS need to be reduced.

“I was really looking forward to the break,” continued John. “Oh well.”