May 12, 2021 2 min read

As we head down the stretch of a school year unlike any before it, plans are being finalized for how local schools will honor the graduating class of seniors.

And because – while we are making great progress on the fight against COVID-19 and more and more people are choosing to get vaccinated every day – we are still in a pandemic, schools know that it is still not advisable to have a commencement ceremony exactly like those in days prior to March of last year.

Whatever is decided (a choice that should ultimately be made by the seniors themselves after being presented with all available options), we’re sure there will be complaining from those who are either incapable of understanding that COVID is still a very real concern or those who choose not to acknowledge that reality.

Being disappointed is normal. We’re disappointed, too, for the seniors who have had so many things upended during their final school year here that they don’t get to have a “normal” graduation, either.

But we hope that disappointment doesn’t turn into people looking down upon an occasion as “lesser” that’s supposed to be about honoring a group of young people who are at the end of what has literally been their life’s work so far and what a remarkable achievement that is.

Commencement is not ever supposed to be about the spectators. It’s supposed to be about the graduates and recognizing them for all their hard work.

We hope whatever option is pursued for our local schools that even if some (including the graduates themselves) are disappointed it isn’t a “normal” graduation ceremony, it’s still an occasion worth celebrating because the Class of 2021 deserves its moment in the sun.

Congratulations, seniors, on a job well done and good luck to you in whatever your future may bring.