Being a senior in high school gives students authority over all underclassmen, or so they think, but being a super senior in high school is a different story. Super seniors are students who failed to reach the requirements needed to graduate on time, thus making them take more than four years to finish high school. At Oxnard High School, super seniors may be looked down upon by their peers as those who did not succeed.

When defined in the English language, the word “super”, as shown in the Webster’s New World Dictionary, is defined as “greater or better than others of its kind.” However, the term super senior can come off in a way that is not flattering.

“I feel like it has a bad connotation,” said OHS senior Adriana Avalos.

Those who have a negative connotation about these students may also believe that super seniors do not put forth full effort in their schoolwork. OHS senior Jada Johnson said, “They didn’t take it serious enough. I think it’s really bad to be a super senior.” Such a perception may not be fair, considering that these students are making an extra effort to complete their graduation requirements, but nonetheless it may be what is commonly thought by those who graduate on time.

“I feel like that’s kind of embarrassing if the grade under you knew you were a year older, and now you’re in the same grade,” she said, but, on the whole, Avalos does not look down on super seniors because “I just see them as another student.”

One OHS super senior, whose name is protected due to privacy issues, decided to remain in school and get the job done. This young man said,“I didn’t want to drop out. I’ve gotten this far so I might as well finish.”

He will be graduating in this year’s class of 2018. After high school, he plans to attend Ventura College. That, in and of itself, shows the power of staying, even in the face of peers who may see it as ‘embarrassing’.

The student did not manage to earn enough credits during his sophomore year. He then was in the position of being with a peer group that was a year younger when he once again was enrolled in sophomore classes.

He had advice for those who may be headed in the same direction: “Starting from freshman all the way to your senior year — just keep up with your grades and make sure not to drop out.”