Senior Tommy Meeks-Teal entered High School as a wide-eyed freshman, unable to imagine the surrealistic lives of seniors. He noticed how the seniors wandered campus under the governance of their own set of rules. Driving off-campus, senior parking, freshmen slaves and the option of never turning in homework were all very appealing to his underclassman ears. As he made his way through the ranks, Meaks-Teal began to separate fact from fiction.

Now in his senior year, Meaks-Teal understands that “the tradition of senior privileges” was designed to create various experiences of autonomy, which will help prepare seniors for college and their lives to follow.

“Senior privileges were designed to entrust responsibility to the senior class, in the hope that allowing seniors to exist autonomously will prepare them for college and beyond,” said Head of the Upper-School David Hickson.

Records show that for the last 15 years, seniors have utilized the ability to eat lunch off campus. It is for this reason that many seniors were shocked to hear that the faculty would no longer allow seniors to leave campus during lunch.

“I feel betrayed by the school’s decision. The school simply dismissed our opinions and told us our efforts would be better spent coming up with new privileges. There was no compromise or sense of openness in the removal of this tradition,” said senior Richard McElroy.

Members of formerly graduated senior classes were surprised by the withdrawal of the freedom.

“It’s a ritual that should be honored like any other longstanding part of Sandy Spring,” said Jill Hayes ’05.

Though seniors must ask for their privileges at the start of every year, it has been commonplace that the faculty grants the same freedoms year in and year out (the ability to leave campus during lunch, a senior trip and others). As a result, many seniors including Evans are clueless as to what to ask for.

“There are really no other privileges we want. It’s like tradition made the choice for seniors in the past. Now we don’t even know what to ask for, or what we want,” said Evans.

Hickson explained that the decision to strongly deter seniors from asking for the ability to drive off-campus was a result of years of debate among Upper-School faculty members. These talks were centered around a group of key concerns including, the increased busyness of roads, the economic disparity made visible by those who utilize the privilege- isolating those who don’t, the environmental costvalue of everyone being together during one of the few common periods of the day and lastly the questions of safety.

“If I remember correctly, for the seven years I’ve been here, a faculty member has brought up seniors going off campus for various reasons. Our decision was not based on any particular accident, though I’d be lying if I said the events of last year didn’t bring the issue of safety to the fores of our mind, and catalyzed action,” said Hickson.

Although many seniors understand the reasons behind the faculty’s decision, it is difficult for many to willingly accept.

“We realize that the decision is in our best interest; however, we feel wrongfully punished for the actions of others. It’s bittersweet because the faculty cares about us and the problems created by driving off campus, but taking away our ability to drive doesn’t seem like the best way to go about it,” said senior Pat Ma.

The faculty was of a different mind and undeniably agreed that the shortened lunch time put pressure on new drivers to come back on time. As a result members of the Upper School did not want to wait for an accident before altering the policy.

“Do we have to wait for another accident before preventing seniors to drive off campus? Kids rushing around appeared too chaotic and ripe for tragedy. We [the faculty] feel that the decision was right, and did not see the need to poll student opinions prior to the decision because; we anticipated the frustration of the senior class,” said Hickson.

For the future, the faculty hopes to learn how to better communicate decisions to the student body, while making their voice present along the way.

“There will always be decisions that adults have to make, however the faculty would like to learn ways to both involve and notify the students throughout the process,” said Dean of Students Karen Cumberbatch.

Seniors are scheduled to meet as a class and discuss a list of possible senior privileges to recommend to the faculty. Thus far, seniors have tentatively proposed a senior express lunch line, no exams, a service project that will allow seniors to graduate early, access to the Wi-Fi connection and the ability to grill everyday.

“Not being able to go out for lunch won’t bother me too much as long as the teachers can replace the loss,” said senior Kiley Stasch.