Last week, a petition circulated around Weddington, Cuthbertson, and Marvin High School. Though it was an amazing feat that students were confident enough to voice their opinions and strifes, this particular request was neither seen by administration nor acted upon. The request? No school on November 1st, the day after Halloween. 

Many students attended parties, went trick-or-treating, or had a cozy night at home handing out candy on Halloween (find more statistics on the recent Weddington Witness article ‘How are our Warriors celebrating Halloween?’). With almost everyone celebrating the fall holiday, students barely had time for extracurriculars or homework. Yet, most still had copious amounts of work to do the 31st. So where does that leave the students? Those that dared to party or spend all night walking around in the rain returned home, exhausted, to find their homework still undone. Now they are faced with two options: stay up late, finish it all, and get barely enough sleep, or leave it for the next day, where the work would be rushed or not done at all. Either way, it is not an efficient way of learning. An answer to this problem was proposed by two Marvin students – no school the day after Halloween. 

How did this go over with the Weddington Community? Out of ten students interviewed, from different grade levels, classes, and extracurriculars, nine wanted to have off on November 1st. However, only two of them believed that the petition would make an impact. “It’s great that the students have a voice and are coming together to fight for a cause, but the school isn’t going to take off school for high school students who never want school,” admitted one sophomore*. A freshman* worn out from trick-or-treating in the rain agreed, saying, “Students obviously won’t perform to the best of our ability when we’re this tired, but it’s not like they’d change it for us.”  Some others chimed in, saying that most students wouldn’t come to school anyway, especially the senior class. Others refused to take the day off due to makeup work, tests, and absences. 

Though thought of generally by the WHS student body as an incompetent idea, the petition raised around 9,000 signatures from students throughout Union County. When asked if they signed the petition, about 3/10 students revealed that they did. “I mean, why not? Even if it doesn’t work, it’s still cool that we tried to do something,” a sophomore* at Weddington disclosed. The petition may not have been followed through, but it is still viewed as a success for students and holds a hope for change in the future. 

*Students interviewed chose to remain anonymous, but wished their voices would be broadcast.