A review of Catlin’s senior privileges

By Lewis Anderson ’24

Have you ever wondered what Catlin Gabel School’s (CGS) senior privileges are? How are they selected? How useful are they?

The senior privilege process at CGS starts when the senior class presidents reach out to the CGS Dean of Students, John Harnetiaux, with their senior privilege ideas. Harnetiaux then reviews the proposals, considering which ones to accept. Senior privileges begin after spring break.

Harnetiaux will not accept senior privileges if they hurt other students. An example of this would be seniors being allowed to cut the lunch line.

For the past couple of years, the senior privileges have been the same. Seniors are allowed to miss C&C two times a week of their choosing and can sit outside of their C&C for assembly after they check in with their advisors.

Harnetiaux would be willing to add new privileges if a creative proposal was offered for another reasonable privilege.

I will be rating the two privileges out of five stars on how they improve senior’s quality of life.

The ability to skip C&C twice a week

★★★★☆

The ability to skip the 15-minute C&C twice a week does far more than just save 30 minutes a week of a senior's time. It also allows seniors to arrive at the barn before C&C is over, shortening the line not only for themselves but also for everyone else.

Additionally, if you have a free period directly adjacent to C&C, it lengthens the window to go off campus, making it feasible to reach places you could not otherwise. If you have free periods on either side of C&C and want to leave campus, this privilege removes the dilemma of either having your available time cut in half, or taking an unexcused absence.

For these reasons, this is a solid senior privilege. But, not every senior has the right free period(s) to take full advantage of it.

The ability to not sit with your C&C in assembly

★☆☆☆☆ if you follow the rules

As you are not supposed to be talking to your friends during assembly, if you follow the rules you do not benefit very much from not having to sit with your C&C except that it becomes easier to find your friends after assembly.

If you are willing to make the mistake of breaking the rules, this privilege would be significantly more valuable. After you check in with your C&C advisors, there is no longer an accountability mechanism. This could let you talk to a friend, use your phone, or just leave. CatlinSpeak does not endorse or recommend this behavior.

For these reasons, the entire value of this privilege is based on how you choose to use it.

Overall, CGS’s senior privileges which allow you to skip C&C twice a week and not sit with your C&C during assembly save seniors time and slightly increase their quality of life, however, they are not game-changing.

Comment below if you have any senior privilege suggestions.