By Derrick Nguyen

SAN JOSE, CALIF. – I always believed that Starbucks was the current leading factor in tardiness this year, here at Silver Creek High School. But according to teachers, the only one to blame for your tardiness is yourself.

Starbucks is quite the infamous brand among us Raiders. Its close proximity, being at the Target down the street, makes for a nice beverage for the long hours.

Unfortunately, a small handful of students place this corporation higher on their priority list than their own attendance. It is commonly known that there is always that late kid who’s got a Starbucks in their hand, screaming to the teacher that is why he was late.

But when I say a small handful of students, I actually mean it. I interviewed five late students and only 20% had Starbucks. Focusing on the Starbucks kid, they arrived at class at 8:47 a.m., 17 minutes after the bell. When asked how often they get Starbucks, the anonymous student said “twice a week.” So, doing the math, 17 minutes, twice a week, they are losing 34 minutes of valuable education, but really, it’s not that bad.

Of course, a single study is unreliable, so I went to interview some teachers, one of them, English teacher, Todd Seal, was especially helpful. Seal informed the Raider Review that for his classes, “There were more Starbucks last year than this year” he said, showing me his attendance chart with only three to four students consistently late.

So, ultimately, what does it mean? According to principal Kelly Daugherty, there is only an average of 2% of our total student body late or absent and Starbucks only accounts to 20% of that 2%. So what gives? 

In the end, the most obvious choice is the correct one. Truth is, the only person at fault for your tardiness is yourself. You are responsible for your own choices. Traffic? Get to school earlier. Overslept? Sleep sooner. You are about to go to the real world, so start acting like adults.