However, this year the sea of yellow Link shirts will be drastically smaller. The Link program has been downsized—and it has never been doing better.

Link is a program that helps incoming freshmen make a smooth and easy transition into high school. The goal is for Link leaders, composed of juniors and seniors, to become mentors to their incoming freshmen. Yet recently, many Link applicants seem to care less about their Link kids, and more about their college applications. The Link program has been slowly going downhill and straying from its path of helpfulness and wasting valuable class time. This year, the number has been drastically reduced – and it is about time.In previous years, 150 Link leaders were accepted into the program, but this year only approximately 60 applicants were chosen. The smaller, more selective number of leaders will be the motivating factor behind the greater number of Link leaders attending their own events. This has been a problem in the past. Sad, but true.

The fact that there will only be two Link leaders per classroom instead of the traditional four will help Link leaders develop a more personal relationship with the freshmen. This will hopefully help Link leaders understand the impression and influence they could potentially make on the 600 plus freshmen attending this school year. And while a bigger number of Link leaders could potentially affect more freshmen and lead to more help in the classrooms, in the past it ultimately allowed Link leaders to slack off and push aside their duties. Although the number may have been bigger, it didn’t necessarily mean a larger benefit for freshmen.

While change can sometimes be difficult, this change is for the better. The Link leaders will once again become a helpful, not useless, fixture in the lives of freshmen.