Seniors were required to turn in their final 25 service hours before March 31, Prom. Senior Natalie Garden said she believes acquiring the hours in time is feasible.

“People have the entire summer to get [volunteer] hours in before the school year starts,” she said. “Honestly, it’s not that many hours. You could get them done in the course of a week if you really wanted to.”

Senior Lance Stern said he understands the purpose of the early deadline.

“I agree with the current [deadline] because it makes it easier for administration to make sure that the graduation requirement of 25 hours a year is met, ” he said. “It also keeps kids from forgetting about turning in the hours.”

On the other hand, junior Sofia Palermo said she wants the seniors’ deadline to be pushed back to May — when every other grade has their hours due.

“It’s possible [to gather 25 service hours before March 31] but it’s not necessarily the easiest,” Palermo said. “I would prefer it to be at the end of the year because … students who had planned to get their hours anytime during April or May had to quickly search and scavenge for [service] hours in order to attend Prom, which can be difficult without much of a notice.”

The school’s Prom was held in March, while Proms at other schools can take place in mid to late May — according to myschooldance.com. Parlemo said she believes seniors should be able to turn in previously planned service hour events after Prom.

“If [the seniors] haven’t completed all their hours yet, it can be a lot to squeeze in before Prom, especially if Prom is earlier than usual,” she said.

Stern said not every student would be capable of committing to their volunteer hours without an incentive.

“I do not think [admin] should let students be allowed [to turn in previously planned hours after Prom] because the issue of procrastination could impede the ability of the admin to get the volunteer hours turned in from those students,” he said. “Admin is just making sure that all seniors are in the position to graduate.”

By Elena Konicki