Senior year can be rough and stressful: college applications, getting good grades, making the most out of your final year in your sport or club, and enjoying what may be the final moments with your closest friends.

The number of hours that students spend at the school for these things can really add up.

One would wonder, then, if these students get the time to just relax and enjoy the moments at school.

For this, I have what I regard as a “modest proposal”: the courtyard by the cafeteria should be converted into a year-round senior lounge area.

This idea didn’t start with me; the first time I ever heard about it was during a conversation with Coach Gary Sarno during my period 5 gym class.

“I think it would help the seniors relax and play when they’re done lunch.  It would result in less problems in such a crowded cafeteria,” he said.

Senior lounges do exist in a few schools around the country. For example, Thomas Jefferson High School in Virginia features a senior lounge with pleather couches, a foosball table, pool tables, a 61 inch TV, and a  Nintendo video game player. Mc Auley High School in Cincinnati, Ohio converted an old storage closet and teachers’ lounge into a senior hangout: comfy couches, gaming rockers, multipurpose end tables, and traditional cafe tables and chairs.

Because the courtyard as it currently exists can’t be used in the rain and cold, it would be perfect place for something like this.

Student reaction to this idea varies, although most seniors thought the idea was good.

“The area is barely used and it would make a lot of sense to enclose it because the students would use the area a lot more then they do now,” said senior Jenna DeStefano.

Senior Mike Angeline agreed, saying,  ” I would like to be able to sit and hang out with his friends and people I like.”

However, some students don’t think that the financial investment is worth it.

“I believe that it would be financially irresponsible to spend tax payer dollars on non-educational recreational activities. Also, such ideas have proven to be dispensable demographics in the past,” said senior Lenny Habinowski.