Often times students and faculty of Bethany think about what we miss from the previous senior class, but along with that comes the qualities we don’t miss. I’m sure if I went around school asking what people actually do miss from last years senior class their answers would easily be along the lines of how smart they were, but hearing what was not missed is much more interesting.
When asked what was not missed from the previous senior class, most started off saying that they generally liked the class as a whole but there were some clear characteristics the students and teachers were fine letting go as the seniors moved on. Most of the answers ranged, but there was one answer that kept coming up. Jacob Rudy-Froese(15) and Landon Weldy(15) were one of the many that said something along the lines of “I don’t miss them bossing us around.” This quality of last years senior class is reasonable because what group with authority doesn’t use their power to overrule people under them? Most underclassmen would say they do not enjoy being bossed around by seniors, but that’s just how high school works. Natan Nafziger (17) a freshman last year showed a perfect example of what high school looks like for most freshman. He said “I don’t miss being bullied,“ and I replied with, “You were bullied?!” he then said, “No, more like picked on.” This is a classic case of a freshman boy claiming to be bullied when the seniors last year probably only picked on him maybe twice.
Besides the one exception of “bossiness” most of the responses were different, which could be good or bad depending on the perspective. The positive side would be that the class did not have multiple qualities people did not miss, but the negative side is that there was one big distinctive trait most people didn’t enjoy. Noah Hochstetler (15) mentioned not missing his “friends always having to hangout with their senior girlfriends.” But his so called “friends” would say he has switched the roles and they don’t like him having to hangout with his girlfriend at lunch. To follow that, Cristian Romero (15) said “I do not miss them not contributing to the school’s athleticism.” Not to say that there were no real athletes in last years seniors, but we can safely say that the class as a whole was more focused on their school work than their ability to play sports. Bethany’s spanish teacher, Craig Mast commented on how smart the class was but also brought up how that quality was in a way something he does not miss. He said, “I love last years senior class, but the first thing that comes to mind is their grade nit-picking,” ultimately referring to how important their grades were to them. “Grade nit-picking” can be a great characteristic but It’s easily seen why a teacher would not miss that. An unnamed teacher, agreed with one other student, Darienne Maust (16) about how at the end of the year last years senior class had become a bit cocky. Not to say they did not have a reason to but cockiness is never something that is missed. The teacher claimed, “to a certain extent, this happens with every senior class, but last year’s was a little high on the ‘I know everything, so why bother teaching me?’ scale. They were pretty full of themselves by the end of the year. Some had reason to be pleased with what they achieved, but most did not.” Not to leave out the justification of this behavior, the teacher added, “Of course, they made up for this by being so darn likeable. They also kicked major butt on AP exams, I’ve heard.”
The previous senior class is one that is unforgettable. Whether the reasons are good or bad to be remembered is what is important. Bethany students and teachers are usually not let down to see a class move forward and start their own lives, but we are typically not as excited as the class themselves. As Jesse Amstutz (15) said, “they made continuous complaints about senioritis,” this can draw a safe assumption to say the seniors in the class of 2014 were ready to get out of high school and move on with their lives. In this case the good traits of last years seniors outweigh the bad, but when there are multiple features we know we will not miss from them, it is easier to see the students out and let the next class take over.