Many Cal High seniors exhale with relief as they walk to their cars, thankful that they don’t have to take a sixth class.

Just as students approach their cars, a campus supervisor steps between them and their freedom. The guard briefly interrogates the students before finally conceding.

How annoying, students think. If I’m technically an adult, why am I not treated like one? Well, the answer is simple: students aren’t mature enough to be considered adults yet.

Numerous seniors have experienced this exact situation, annoyed that they can’t leave campus without a supervisor asking intrusive questions. There’s clearly a lack of trust between the staff and students, but how much trust should be granted to these young adults?

The freedoms that seniors are allowed are based on their maturity, which is displayed by how they handle personal freedoms.

This is the difference between being an adult and attaining maturity. When students turn 18, they don’t experience a grand epiphany that guides them toward making the right decisions.  An 18 year old should  be still guided by a reasonable authority.

But students should be able to express smaller freedoms. If seniors are allowed to leave campus once their school day ends, then that freedom should not be taken from them.

The prior situation could have been avoided if students were given an ID to indicate that they didn’t have a sixth period. This would minimize the concerns of students leaving campus and lying about their schedule because they want to skip sixth period algebra.

It would also help students gradually develop maturity as they prepare to handle bigger responsibilities.