As May comes closer, seniors begin anticipating graduation, as well as the events that go along with it. Prom, Senior Dinner Dance, and of course, the graduation ceremony are the forefront of all the excitement. May is also when most of the spring sports come to a close. Conference, sectionals, and state are also on many athletes’ minds, and those also fall into the same time frame. Unfortunately for some varsity athletes, these final events may be pushed to the wayside due to scheduling conflicts.

This year, girls track sectionals are scheduled for May 12^th and 13^th, and prom is listed on the calendar as either the 13^th or 14^th. Boys track sectionals are the same day as the actual graduation ceremony, which is May 28^th.  Last year, girls soccer competed on the same day as the Senior Dinner Dance. Meanwhile, boys baseball lost varsity players during the Edwardsville tournament because it was also the same weekend as prom.

Although it’s a difficult task to schedule events without any conflicts, it seems that there may be a breakdown in communication between the athletic administration and the Prom Planning Committee. If Prom were to take place on a Saturday rather than a Friday, most of the scheduling conflicts could easily be resolved.

Students should not have to choose between their obligations as part of a team and senior activities. Participating in whatever athletics they have devoted much of their time to shouldn’t cause them to miss out on milestones that are a major part of high school. Some of these competitions do not allow enough time to participate in both, so why are there so many scheduling conflicts?