As the school year closes and testing season kicks in, we rely on the little things to prevent a stress-attack every 20 minutes. Little things like movie days during English, ten o’clock bedtimes and late start Wednesdays. Late start Wednesdays now become a mere memory from the golden days of last semester. We did not even get a chance to say goodbye.

During April and May, administration knocked out the yearlong tradition to allow for more education time granted STAR testing and AP testing during these weeks. What these planners did not realize was that this unanticipated change would make for some sleepy, confused and irritable students.

No student deserves a change in their school schedule, especially when it becomes unpredictable.How are we supposed to remember what days are late start when administration tricks us every week? If anything, organizers should give more relaxation during these weeks– as our results on these tests determine our scholastic merit and government funding.

Since the beginning of the school year, no student woke up before the sun on Wednesdays. Students came to school upbeat and caffeinated. Without any gap in our schedule, students trudge through Wednesdays, desperate for anything to help them survive until 2:30. Extra comfort is crucial to students, especially on stressful test days. What we need is consistency in our schedule and an extra hour to sleep.

Throughout the year, we complained about the new system of late start Wednesdays rather than the traditional early release Thursdays. We thought we were being deprived of our relaxation. But now we adjusted with the change and long for the glory we call late start Wednesdays. Now, without anything helping us pull through the week, we realize how crucial late start Wednesdays are to our schedules. Instead of lounging on a Wednesday morning and munching on the acai bowl you bought in the village, you crawl through each day, only to wake up even more tired than the day before. But what will happen next year? Will we be granted with anything?

The absence of late starts leave me as reminiscent as a Sarah Mclachlan song. I will remember late start. Will you remember me? Weep not for the memories…