The Class of 2020 didn’t graduate the way the classes that came before them did.
For most graduates, the restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic stole the pomp and circumstance from their commencements.
There were no auditoriums packed with parents and grandparents snapping pictures and cheering when names were called and diplomas presented. Those caps weren’t tossed in the air. Senior banquets, baccalaureate services, the prom. Thirteen years of school ended but without the promises that were made when it started.
It hurt. It was disappointing and anticlimactic.
But for everything that was missed, what was added was the attempt to make up for the losses.
Parents and schools, businesses and communities tried to find replacements for the disappearing festivities. There were parades. Some students walked the stage in a cap and gown, holding up a diploma for a streaming camera that let Grandma and Grandpa still see the big moment online.
With restrictions rolling back, many schools are looking forward to bringing back the big events. Most kids this year will get to have that final hurrah with their class.
But does that mean the 2020 celebrations need to end up on the scrap heap? No. Much like educators learned new things about remote learning that can change how snow days and other absences are handled in the future, there are things that can be taken from these socially distant affairs.
TribLIVE is having a virtual graduation gallery for students online. Those streaming ceremonies still can let family members who can’t make it to the party be part of the moment. Parades can involve a whole community in a celebration that might otherwise slip by unknown.
There is so much of the pandemic that we won’t miss — so much that we will even mourn or regret. But if there is a way to take small things and turn them from pale imitations into new added traditions, we should embrace those opportunities.
They will not just be a benefit to the classes going forward but a graduation present to the Class of 2020 — a way that their unique experience set a precedent for those that came after them.
