From prom to parking passes to graduation, Westford Academy seniors have a long list of things to look forward to. Perhaps the most celebrated among these events is the culmination of spirit week, the spirit rally, where the all-powerful seniors are given the chance to assert their dominance and superiority over the lowly underclassmen.

This year, however, things took an unexpected turn. Administration made an announcement that sent shock waves through the senior class of 2017: Due to unfavorable weather, the spirit rally will be postponed. Principal James Antonelli expressed that he was trying to reschedule.

The senior class, with their faces painted black and silver, class t-shirts donned, reacted with immediate dismay. Class Facebook pages flooded with disgruntled comments and every room containing seniors seemed unable to focus, many voicing their disapproval of the choice.

But the backlash didn’t stop there.

Within an hour of the announcement, over 200 seniors were reported being dismissed from school. Some had expected to have the last two blocks of the day taken up by the spirit rally and were unprepared for assessments and class activities, while others left as an act of protest against the rally’s postponement.

As one of the seniors who stayed for the last few blocks of the day, I found myself in the minority. Attendance was meager. The senior parking lot became a ghost town.

The disappointment of the seniors is understandable. Since they were freshmen, they’ve been attending the spirit rallies, accepting defeat in the face of upperclassmen, and dreaming of the fateful day when they would be seniors. Finally, the time had come for them to be top of the heap. Having the rally postponed was akin to having the rug pulled out from underneath them. These feelings of shock and disappointment, while understandable, did not warrant the influx of seniors getting dismissed from school.

Not only did it cause chaos in the guidance office as they tried to keep up with the large number of dismissal passes that needed to be filled out, it led administration to question whether or not the spirit rally should be rescheduled at all, as senior class advisor Scott Brown warned his last block physical education class. Now, the event that spurred such a large reaction hangs in the balance due to these actions.

Perhaps the most upsetting repercussion of the spirit-rally-deprived seniors’ mass exodus from WA is the effect it had on underclassmen.

Upon seeing their older classmates throw in the towel after long block, many juniors, sophomores, and freshmen were promoted to call home and ask to be dismissed, many fabricating the truth regarding the circumstances, claiming that everyone was being sent home due to the postponement. On top of that, many underclassmen receive rides to and from school from siblings or friends with parking passes. While some were left at school without a ride home, others were forced to cut their days short whether they wanted to or not.

The senior class are meant to serve as role models to the underclassmen, giving them something to strive towards as they move through their high school education. To see the seniors blow a trivial postponement, into a personal travesty may leave underclassmen feeling as if they don’t have capable role models, or give them a warped sense of how soon-to-be graduates should act.

As seniors, we are looking to the future, excitedly awaiting the privileges that come with being an adult. Many seniors are already eighteen, giving them new, adult rights such as the ability to vote in the upcoming election. To leave school after the postponement of a simple event, though, does not reflect the behavior of someone who should be trusted with a voice in who gets to govern our country. Seniors cannot expect to be treated as adults or receive adult privileges if they can’t handle a little bad news.

As a senior, I understand. Between college visits and applications, life can be hectic and sometimes molehills turn to mountains right under our noses. But this is not the kind of behavior applicants would want a college to find out about.

All students attending WA, not just the seniors, should keep in mind that while the postponement may be upsetting today, it only extends the fun of spirit week. Friends can get together to paint faces and show their spirit once again. That is, if the student body can work together to prove that a reschedule is well-deserved.

It rests upon the shoulders of every student at WA to display their best behavior in order to salvage the spirit rally. Faces can still be painted, class colors can still be worn, and the seniors can still have their chance at showing the other grades who rules the school. But only if we earn it.

Though the skies aren’t always clear, I ask my senior classmates to remember the following: You are not alone in being disappointed, but there is still plenty of sunshine to look forward to. Don’t sacrifice it all over one rainy day.