Next year, administration will likely eliminate reduced day from San Luis Obispo High School’s campus. Eliminating reduced day will only lead to problems, stress, and lowered grade point averages for students.

Reduced day allows students a free period from school if they have completed all the necessary requirements to graduate. This free period traditionally is a way for students to work or gain more study time. SLOHS is attempting to force students to remain at school to complete needless classes when they could be benefiting themselves further through work or increased time to complete homework.

“A lot of students have worked really hard to get classes off their schedule by completing the requirements for graduation. Adding on these extra classes is just a waste of time for students,” said freshman Malcolm Wright.

SLOHS claims that the additional classes students will take will give them the possibility of achieving a higher GPA, and thereby increase the chances of admission to an elite college; what SLOHS doesn’t realize is that students simply cannot handle more homework, and having a free period gives students the vital breathing time they need in order to recuperate and have more time to study or to pursue their own interests. If students are given more homework and less time to do it, they will only be spread even thinner with less time to complete homework and study the necessary amount for each class. This causes lower grades in every class, and therefore lower GPAs; not to mention less time to create application boosting extracurricular activities which could also aid the students with college ambitions. Forcing students to take more classes does not guarantee a higher GPA.

“I’m a junior and I was hoping to be able to earn reduce day next year. I probably would have used that period to do homework or something useful and it won’t help anyone to take that free period privilege away,” said junior Stryker Schwan.

Also, many students cannot afford to attend a top college. Giving students an extra hour or more away from school allows them time to gain valuable work experience.  Leaving school early enables students to manage extra shifts at jobs that may be their only chance at earning the funds to attend the college of their dreams. If SLOHS prevents students from maintaining a job, forcing them to take electives despite the fact that they have already passed every class needed to graduate, it would be an enormous cruelty.

“Seniors are going to ditch the electives anyway, so there is no reason to keep them at school because they’re just going to sign themselves out. You might as well just let them have reduce day so they can do something useful with their time,” said sophomore Jayde Westphal.

Mandating extra classes could ruin students’ chances at attending colleges or succeeding in high school by imposing unnecessary mental and economic stress. SLOHS has no right to cripple students in this way.