Senior year is undeniably the best year of high school with graduation constantly peeking around the corner. During the final semester, there is always an anxious wait for the nominees of the Senior Superlatives to come out. Now the time has come and everyone has finished filling out the forms for who they thought was perfect for each category title. However, once the ballot finally came out for the finalists, there was a n
oticeable appearance of several recurring names in many of the categories. This popped the question: are the senior superlatives authentic or driven by popularity?
There was a good majority of individuals that fit well into one category but after their name arose several more times, it brought up frustration and confusion for some students. Why were the same people popping up? Why aren’t the superlatives more diverse among the student body? Some students may have been more fitting for ‘best this’ or ‘best that’ but unfortunately they weren’t nominated because they are in terms “not as popular.”
“I think they’re like a big popularity vote and that a lot of the same people showed up in multiple categories but they’re fun and all. I just wish they were more accurate rather than just based off of who is the most known,” said Hannah Day (‘18).
There is no way to prevent the passionate campaigning of the students for the categories they desire. Those with the widest range of associates are given the greatest probability for being chosen and can be noticed in this year’s selection of students; even in previous years, many students knew at least one of the seniors chosen for the superlative despite being in a different grade level. Does this concisely mean that the authenticity of the ballot is completely corrupted by the popular vote?
“It’s fun and I like it but all in all it seems like it’s just a big popularity contest,” said Chelsea Knox (‘18).
Whether authentic or not, senior superlatives are still one of the brightest highlights for the seniors as the four years of high school come to a close. No matter whose names appeared on the ballet, everyone is looking forward to the results with great anticipation.