By Steven Witkin ’16

Some might say the most urgent issue facing our school system is a lack of funds or overcrowded classrooms, but the true crisis is much less apparent. Senioritis afflicts a large portion of the Sherwood community, resulting in major drops in productivity, student interest, and first-period attendance.

This incurable condition was thought to be a hopeless circumstance of the senior year, until senior Jacob Cromwell spoke up. “I was shocked by the lack of official research into this epidemic, and thought, as seniors, we need to actually do something.” Cromwell has since formed an action group, Seniors for a Cure, to raise awareness and money for Senioritis research, in the hope that one day there will be a cure.

The group, which is made up of about 300 concerned students, many suffering from Senioritis, has done its research. To figure out what exactly needs to be cured, they contacted Dr. Seymour Dunn, head psychologist at the Johns Hopkins Hospital, who released a statement concluding that “populations with Senioritis outbreaks have been found to highly correlate with classes that assign nightly homework or take-home essays. It’s no cure, but the crucial step in Senioritis prevention is to reduce these superfluous tasks that manipulate students’ feeble senses of motivation and reward.”

With this knowledge, the group urges students who think they are developing symptoms to not panic and instead ask their teachers to excuse them from all homework, and perhaps watch just one more episode on Netflix. “Since it’s such a mysterious illness, this is our best hope,” Cromwell stated. “But anything is better than the disastrous effects of Senioritis on a beneficial senior year.”

Shannon Holmes, a longtime tutor of Sherwood students, has seen Senioritis’ effect firsthand. Although she has lost some business since the creation of Seniors for a Cure, she reported that, “cutting repetitive assignments out of my students’ education has increased their confidence in school. Knowing that they won’t actually have to apply what they learn in school gives them motivation.”

Alarmed by the condition spreading beyond seniors to juniors, and in rare cases, sophomores, the community has rallied support behind the group, and a bake sale is planned to raise funds for further research.

Cromwell’s parents are proud of the noble initiative he has taken. “Before he started Seniors for a Cure, Jacob was lethargic, and spent his evenings procrastinating, but now he’s active and constantly organizing,” said mother Linda Cromwell. “Doing schoolwork never worked for him, but now he’s found something he actually cares about.”