With his alarm blasting, head ringing, and heart sinking, senior Erik Franclin dragged himself out of bed. He had spent the night before at bars with all of his 21-and-up friends, because he is now over 21, and had forgotten to consider the repercussions of his actions. Choosing to ignore the common decision reached by most of his peers, Erik was determined to continue his perfect attendance for the semester.
After a whopping two-and-a-half weeks, he has yet to miss a course, and according to Franclin, “does “not plan on missing one until at least fall break,” when he actually will consider a vacation day. “It only makes sense that us seniors get a vacation day or two. You know, to prepare for when we miss real-world work,” Franclin said.
This is being dubbed as an attempt at a “Perfect Semester,” an accomplishment only matched by the perfect game in baseball. If Franclin is able to complete the semester without missing class, he will go down in history as only the fourth senior to achieve the feat. When asked if he has any tips to rising students, he said, “Sleep. And I mean whenever you can.”
Franclin’s fellow biology classmate and senior Shmyle Shmith commented on Franclin’s determination, “I have yet to see a fellow student so focused on the goals at hand. It’s incredible. He makes it to class. Then sleeps. He knows every minute counts when making it to and recovering from a 9 a.m.”
With all of the attention Franclin has garnered, he has offered meet-and-greets (at the cost of some Declining) in between his busy senior schedule. He is available anytime Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. He also can be found most of the day in ITS or in the back of his classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, either asleep or looking for full-time jobs.
When asked if he considers himself a role model, Franclin responded, “I am not the senior the school wants, I am the senior the school needs. The one taking his studies seriously all the way into that Take Five year.”
