All other senior classes have experienced a traditional graduation. In years past, every senior experienced the joy (and relief) at walking across the stage at a graduation ceremony. Class officers, the salutatorian, and the valedictorian all gave speeches in front of family, friends, and the town of Union. Union always honors its senior class each year, and this year will be no different. However, because of the coronavirus pandemic and the need for social distancing, Union High School is honoring the class of 2020 with a graduation procession; this graduation ceremony will be like no other.
For the 2020 graduation proceedings, the class of 2020 voted to a graduation procession where every graduate will walk across a stage and receive a diploma. Each graduate will receive tickets for two vehicles, and at 5 p.m. on May 14, 2020, all of the vehicles will line up on King St. and School St. At 5:45 p.m., all student speeches will be posted online, and the procession will begin at 6 p.m. The procession will go through Union for all to see. At the end of the procession, all graduates will walk across s state in front of Union High School to receive their diplomas. The walks will be livestreamed on Facebook, and all of the walks will be videoed and put together in a video montage so that everyone can see each other receive their diplomas together. Union High School will send a copy of the video to each graduate and will post the video online the next week. While this is highly unusual, Union High School hopes to make this a special moment for the class of 2020, and Union should support all of the seniors.
Although the coronavirus has impacted society in almost every way possible, the class of 2020 has and will endure through the hardships, and while their graduation ceremony will not be traditional, they will still get to experience a unique graduation. This uniqueness reflects the uniqueness of this year’s senior class; born during the year of the 9/11 attacks, the class of 2020 entered this world in a time of uncertainty, and they will enter the adult world in a time of uncertainty as well. However, like Union, like America, and like the world, the class of 2020 will recover from the crisis, and they will succeed in their lives. Everyone needs support during these trying times. Everyone must always remember that everything will eventually pass, and the class of 2020 will always receive Union’s support.
