One minute left. You're in the last moments of your championship soccer game, and your team gets a penalty kick. Normally, your team would start cheering, knowing they're about to win the game. However, this time the top kicker is coughing as she goes up to take the shot. As she hacks away, the people on the sidelines are wondering why she is even playing. Isn't there a rule stating that if a student doesn't show up at school for more than 50 percent of his or her classes in a given day, that person is not allowed to participate in any after-school activities?

The answer to that question is yes, but many students tend to break the rule in fear of them not being able to participate in the important events of their extracurricular activities such as sports, drama and band. This rule has proven to be effective from causing people from participating when they haven't come to school , but at the same time this rule does not prevent students from coming to school sick.

"Kids coming to school so they could play in the game is probably the biggest issue of the rule," said senior football player Adam Oreglia. "If you're too sick to come to school, you shouldn't be playing in the game."

Many students don't like missing their after-school activities, which is understandable, but coming to school sick endangers everyone else. Bottom line, if you're sick, stay at home.

By dragging themselves out of bed while sick, students prolong the amount of time necessary for a full recovery, whereas if they stay home, they will be able to get better in a shorter period of time. As for the actual after-school activities, sick students will not only slip up, but oftentimes be contagious, and thus a threat to the rest of the team, cast or section.

On the other hand, students in the past have stayed home from school to rest for their major extra curricular event.

"The idea of skipping classes in order to rest up for an athletic event is backwards," said athletic director Peter Jordan.

After all, we are a school and therefore education comes first. If students are too sick to learn, they're too sick to play.