Senior year of high school is synonymous with, among other things, prom, graduation and a sense of closure. They’ve been staples of the high school experience for years, yet, because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Class of 2020 will never experience its final year as generations of students have before.
There will be no farewells to friends in the hallways in the early days of June, no signing of yearbooks in the courtyard, no senior skip day; there may not even be a graduation ceremony.
“At first I thought, ‘I’m just gonna stay home and I’ll see my friends later,’ but when they extended the break and the situation got worse, I realized that I’m not going to see them for a while,” senior Tiffany Tan said.
While underclass students are being assigned classwork online, seniors who were passing their classes at the end of the first semester have completed their academic responsibilities and will not receive any second semester grades, in accordance with state and district mandates.
The motion means that seniors are effectively done with high school.
“It feels good to not have to stress about school anymore, but it doesn’t feel real,” senior Kate Yazejian said. “I really miss talking to people every day.”
Maintaining a sense of normalcy, it turns out, is almost impossible.
“We are all in a state of uncertainty, which is unsettling for everyone,” senior class president Jess Schinsky said, “but I know that the counselors, teachers, student government and many others are doing their best to keep students involved and supported.”
Although the graduation ceremony has yet to be formally cancelled, many students fear the traditional ceremony at the Dean Dome will not take place this year.
“I have a hard time wrapping my head around losing something as monumental as graduation,” senior April Springer said. “It is literally the high school tradition to end all high school traditions, and it would just be so upsetting to lose that.”
Senior Brennan Schrader agreed.
“For the four years I’ve worked, I deserve the darn cap,” he said.
Also subject to cancellation is Project Graduation, the annual district-wide event that several students identified as the most disappointing loss.
Seniors seem most upset, though, by the loss of prom, the cancellation of which was officially announced via a school-wide e-mail sent by principal Charles Blanchard on April 5.
“I feel like prom is one of the most memorable events of high school,” senior Tim Rinehart said. “It being cancelled represents this whole situation, where we may not be able to make memories with our friends before college, and that’s what saddens me the most.”
While Blanchard had left open the possibility that prom could be held if school resumed, Governor Roy Cooper’s cancellation of the remainder of the school year on April 24 has effectively ended the Class of 2020’s hope for a senior prom.
Other students mentioned the loss of their extracurricular activities, including the spring sports athletic season, as well as the cancellation of the spring musical, Science Olympiad and more.
“I am really sad that I lost this outdoor track season because I had set big goals for myself and was excited to leave a mark during my final season as a tiger,” senior Megan Marvin said.
History teacher Bill Melega has taught seniors for many years and encouraged seniors to use the time in quarantine for personal development.
“Create a short and a long term goal, and move towards it every day,” he said. “Build a sense of accomplishment and positivity by focusing on the things you can do and can control.”
Schinsky also offered words of encouragement for her peers.
“This time is especially hard for the senior class, and I know it feels like the year is ruined, but I am trying to stay hopeful on behalf of our Chapel Hill family,” she said.
Though seniors may lament the cancellation of rites of passages that previous graduating classes took for granted, in place of them comes a disaster much bigger than ourselves. And though we may never get the closure we expected, the sacrifices made now will allow future generations to have what we never will—something they’ll surely be grateful for.
