Most of you are probably aware that, before winter break, students with low attendance received letters in the mail threatening to take away their parking privileges. 

Let’s define what “low attendance” really means. Students with an attendance rate of a whopping 90 percent got these letters, and were astonished when their parents called them in with the dreaded “You’re-about-to-get-in-trouble” tone. I’m not exactly sure what you were expecting, though, when you chose to cut classes on your own terms. No one makes students dodge math class to get food, or skip history to get Dutch Bros.

Some students got the letter because they went on a family vacation, only missing a couple quick weeks of school. Even with excused absences, these students still received the letter. That was probably a fun surprise along with the piles of homework you had to catch up on when you got back. I guess the tropical getaway in the middle of the school year must not seem worth it anymore. 

Although, maybe you received the letter because you really did have that many doctors appointments or just happened to be unlucky and got sick enough times to make your attendance lower than 90 percent. 

Let’s be real: 90 percent doesn’t really sound that bad. It’s only missing one out of every ten days of school. That’s nothing! It only affects the person skipping class, right? Also, I’m pretty sure the orange chicken from Panda Express hit harder than any lesson you would have learned in math. I mean, no one really uses the 15-step math formulas that take up an entire sheet of paper anyway. We have iPhones that do that in seconds. 

Whatever your seemingly valid reason was to miss enough school to have a letter sent home, you still must think there’s no way it’s bad enough to lose your parking spot. That would be ridiculous! A crime, per say. 

However, to completely avoid losing parking privileges in the future, maybe next time think twice before skipping class for a “doctor’s appointment” when you are really just craving a Dutch Bros Rebel.