During this international pandemic, there are a lot of emotions going on right now. The biggest emotional crisis for many students is about the class of 2020 not having a traditional graduation ceremony. It may seem like a lot of people don’t care because one, they already graduated, or two, they have a year or more to graduate, which is understandable. But, everyone should realize that this change is really affecting the senior class since we have worked so hard for a moment that is being stripped away from us. We have looked up to the class of 2017, 2018, and 2019 waiting for it to finally be our year. We all wanted to share this moment with the ones closest to us and now we have to graduate over a screen. 

I interviewed some seniors about how they are feeling during this pandemic. I interviewed both Tamia and Tamya Bydume about how they feel about virtual graduation. Tamia said she feels that it is unfair and that she wishes they could just postpone. Tamia’s wish could still come true since HCPSS is planning on having a celebration for the seniors at a later date, once we get the clear to come out of social distancing. We just don’t know when that time might be yet. Tamya expressed that many students don’t go on to continue their education, so a high school graduation is important because of that maybe someone’s first and last opportunity to walk across a stage. As you can see, there are a lot of sad feelings towards the class of 2020’s untraditional graduation ceremony. My hope is that the school system, family, and friends should all try everything in our power to make the graduates feel special during this unprecedented time.