Last year, high school and college seniors missed out on traditional graduation ceremonies because of the coronavirus pandemic. Most ceremonies were held virtually, and those that were held in-person didn’t allow more than a couple of family members to accompany their graduates. These seniors accomplished something very important, but their achievements never quite received the attention they deserved.
Unfortunately, it looks like they never will.
Many high schools and universities across the nation are planning on canceling their in-person graduation ceremonies once again. This will affect the class of 2021 and the class of 2020, since many of last year’s ceremonies were postponed to May or June. Now, they’re being told to wait another year.
“We’re past the point of really caring,” said Maggie Lake, a 22-year-old graduate from Colgate University. “It’s kind of just done.”
Only 32% of the schools that canceled in-person ceremonies last year plan to hold them this year, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of 50 different schools. More than half have already rescheduled their 2020 and 2021 commencement weekends for next year. Some have just canceled the class of 2020’s festivities altogether.
This has understandably upset many graduates who feel like their final moments of academia were stolen from them. There was no closure, no connection — just a few Zoom speeches and a diploma that arrived in the mail.
The class of 2021 will almost certainly feel the same way. Harvard University has already announced it will hold another virtual “degree-granting ceremony,” which the school isn’t even willing to call a “commencement,” for good reason.
However, unlike the class of 2020, this year’s graduates aren’t holding out hope that they’ll get a redo.
“We only get one graduation,” Louisiana State University-Shreveport’s student government wrote in a letter to the school’s administration after the university canceled its in-person ceremony for this year. “One moment to be celebrated and appreciated.”
And a virtual ceremony just doesn’t cut it.
