With graduation less than two months away, many seniors anticipate that the end of high school is
rapidly approaching. The top ranked students, however, fight to the finish to meet the valedictorian and
salutatorian requirements. Unlike most schools, CHS has 18 valedictorians and 15 salutatorians this year.
This system should be revised so that there is only one of each title, except in the event of a tie.

“The advantages of having only one valedictorian and salutatorian is the fact that the school is
honoring the two students who achieved the highest Grade Point Average and took the most Advanced
Placement and Honors classes,” said counselor Lauren Freedman. “I believe the award would mean a little
more if we honored those who reached to the highest potential the school has to offer.”

Giving the students a chance to compete for the top spot encourages more competition and increases
work ethic. Because the district set a policy in which students only have to meet a requirement of a certain
GPA and a certain number of AP/H courses to become a valedictorian or salutatorian, this competitive
nature disappears.

Allowing more than one student to win this honor degrades the value of the award. Similar to giving
every athlete a trophy for participating, handing out this award to multiple students does not reflect the real-
world system that they will face after they graduate. In today’s society, many Americans are losing their
sense of achievement and accomplishment in order to compensate for everyone’s contentedness.
Currently, three speeches are given at graduation: a valedictorian, a salutatorian and an at-large speech.
Due to fact that there are so many students who are given the opportunity to make the speech, many will
feel disappointed when they do not receive the role.
If the school wants to give students recognition for their achievement, they should not call them
valedictorians and salutatorians. According to the Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, a valediction
is “the student having the highest rank in a graduating class who delivers the valedictory address at the
commencement exercises,” and a salutatorian is “the student having the second highest rank in a graduating
class who delivers the salutatory address at the commencement exercises.” Following this definition, only
the top two students should receive acknowledgement.