First Annual NCSSM Senior Skip Day 1982

First Annual NCSSM Senior Skip Day 1982

by Shelley Lineberger Hitt

A few years ago, I received an email from my daughter’s school notifying me of the carefully scheduled, administration-orchestrated “Senior Skip Day.” Huh? That doesn’t seem right, I thought. Doesn’t that sort of miss the point? And these kids don’t even live at school, so skipping would mean just not showing up… big deal. 

Not so simple or risk-free for the intrepid NCSSM class of 1982! In place of the well-worn path of tradition most high school seniors tread, we were offered the opportunity and challenge of creating our own traditions. Given we were generally considered the “good kids,” this usually meant establishing our student government, our own clubs and sports teams – generally working to “exceed expectations” and make everyone proud.

But in the spring of 1982, a little rebellious streak began to grow. It started out with some quiet rumblings… we need to have a senior skip day. Shhh… keep it quiet. Could we make it work? How to get off campus, what to do, where to go? And of most concern – would we get in trouble? We knew the powers-that-be had a lot riding of the success of NCSSM, so the consensus soon focused on critical mass… if we could get enough of the class to participate in the Skip Day project, what could admin do to us? We calculated that the grown-ups weren’t going to risk ruining graduation, or tarnishing the records of most of the class since we were essentially the report card for their own professional experiment. So, momentum grew for our mini-mutiny.

Given the majority of us were rule-followers, it was no small sales job to convince our classmates to not only skip class, but flagrantly disregard the off-campus sign-out procedures. But nerds or not, we were still teenagers, and the Skip Day idea started to take form. Strategies for leaving campus… in small groups on low-visibility sides of the block. Meet in Duke Gardens. Bring water, snacks, towels and games for a long, warm spring day of fun. Someone brought a boom box for music. Ultimate frisbee, games of catch and a little sun bathing. 

A few classmates had to take an exam in the morning, but joined us a little later. Not sure how that worked logistically but it seems the admin were playing along nicely.

As the day wound down, we had the presence of mind to capture the moment. Forty plus years have blurred my specific memories of the day, but my clearest memory is gathering everyone together for the First Annual Skip Day group photo on the rocks in Duke Gardens. I treasure this photo more than any picture I have from those years (even though I turned around when the shutter clicked… what did you say Eric?). That photo embodies the unity of our class, the love we have for each other, and the rare opportunity to enjoy a whole day together without stress or structure. Ahh, what a great day it was.

A photo of the class of 1982 on Senior Skip Day, on the Rock Garden, behind the Fish Pool, at Sarah P. Duke Gardens.

(NCSSM Photograph Collection.  NCSSM Digital Collection.)

A second photo of the class of 1982 on Senior Skip Day.

-courtesy of Shelley Lineberger Hitt.  

(Also found on page 6 of the June 11, 1982 edition of The Stentorian, Vol. 1, No. 5)