Despite hours of homework and studying for tests assigned for block days, many students used to welcome Thursdays as a chance to catch up on lost sleep. Unfortunately, second semester is different, as the administration decided to change the Thursday schedule to start at 7:50 a.m. Not only does this fly in the face of the administration’s widely publicized efforts to combat student stress, but the nearly hour-long difference in start time at the middle of the year is disturbing.

Many studies have shown that teenagers require more sleep than adults do and that their internal clocks naturally shift to a later wake up time. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adolescent brains do not function at peak performance until 8:30-9:00 a.m. The original Thursday schedule, implemented during the 2002-2003 school year for Western Association of Schools and Colleges (W.A.S.C.) meetings, incidentally helped students by being coordinated with their body clocks.

According to Principal Scott Laurence, last year the administration and staff could not come to an agreement on when classes should start on Thursdays. One reason for their final decision to start early second semester was that teachers were in a deadlock trying to decide when to have staff meetings on Thursdays, so they split the difference. Another reason is that the schedule will supposedly benefit students who participate in spring sports. Both reasons are equally poor when it comes to justifying denying students much needed sleep.

If staff and SITE Council members wish to force students to wake up earlier to suit their own agendas, we must question their priorities. As teachers and staff members of a public high school, it is their professional obligation to help educate students and create a positive learning environment. Having students fall asleep in class turns the classroom into an ineffective learning atmosphere.

Benefiting students with spring sports is also a mediocre reason to force the entire student body to come to school early. Out of 1641 students enrolled in school last year (where second semester Thursdays also started earlier) only 379 students were involved in spring sports. Starting school 55 minutes early so 23% of the student body can avoid missing a small fraction of their total class time is not fair to the other 77% of the students. The Voice staff also wonders why the 517 students with fall and winter sports this year did not receive an early start.

There are alternative ways to deal with athletes missing class, such as allowing students to change their schedule so they have a prep or a less academically rigorous class 7th period. The administration could also encourage coaches to schedule games and meets later after school or on the weekends.

According to a recent Voice poll, 165 out of 233 respondents said they would rather sleep in than be forced to get to school at 7:50 a.m. Given the overwhelming evidence in favor of a later start time on Thursdays, it is hard to conceive why the administration does not yield to students on this issue. Sometimes going against popular opinion may be necessary for furthering the educational goals of the school, but this is clearly not an instance in which to ignore students. The Voice staff urges the administration to change the schedule back to have a late start on Thursdays as a step in the right direction towards fitting the school schedule to suit adolescent needs.