Seniors Should Wait Until 2021 to Have a Formal Graduation

Karan Shah, Staff Writer

COVID-19 has affected many students  by forcing them to switch to remote learning. The main group of students that has been affected the most during this time, is the class of 2020, set to graduate this spring.  Since high school graduation is a significant event in a person’s life, schools are trying to carry out graduation online.  However, I believe that seniors should wait to have a real graduation in the spring of 2021. 

Graduation is supposed to reward and commend students for getting through high school.  It congratulates students for their hard work and dedication.  High school graduation is something you remember for your entire lifetime, which is why it should not be done through a screen.  If seniors graduated through their screens, it simply would not have the same effect as graduating in-person surrounded by their classmates.  

When you are young, graduation and senior year of high school is something that you look forward to.  For the Class of 2020, COVID-19 has taken both of these experiences.  It is not fair for them to carry out graduation online because it makes it feel less important.  Being given a diploma online is nowhere close to doing it in-person, which is why waiting until spring 2021 makes sense.  

Seniors are already unable to see their friends during this time, when they should be celebrating the end of their high school years.  If seniors waited until 2021 to graduate, they would get the opportunity to experience the proud moment with their peers and family.  Graduation indicates the end of a chapter of your life and the start of a new one, and that is why formal graduation, even if it is next year, is necessary.