“We won’t get a second chance for this.”
With the resumption of in-person classes on March 1, East Lansing High School students are wondering what this means for graduation, prom, and all the other pivotal events that these young adults have been waiting for.
Last year, COVID-19 was new and the seniors of 2020 were the guinea pigs. People rallied to show them support in unprecedented times. Yet, the 2021 seniors have had this entire year stolen from them and it is yet to be announced if they will experience any of the pivotal moments that make up senior year. They have less of a senior year than those prior, but say they lack the support compared to last year and they want to be heard.
Jenna Benbraham said she and other seniors feel their class has yet to get told definite plans of what the future holds, but that it seems like the effort has dropped compared to last year.
“Last year they were so devastated about losing the last two months of their senior year when we haven’t had a senior year at all. Everything is uncertain and we are just told to deal with it and keep moving,” she said. “We have lost more than ⅔ of our senior year, so just understand that this is not normal and it sucks that we are losing all of this and we won’t get a second chance for this.”
Elizabeth De Felice agrees that this senior class is not getting the recognition it deserves for the hardship it has gone through, but maybe it just has yet to be communicated to the students.
“We missed everything from the beginning of senior year, like homecoming and pep rallies and spirit week. I feel like they could have tried something,” said the East Lansing senior. “I wish they would say more if they were going to do something.”
Student Phillip Smith has heard talk between the graduation committee and the school administration on how to give the seniors the appreciation they deserve but nothing has come to light on what that means.
“My mom is on the graduation committee and right now they are working on doing things outside on the football field” said Smith.
Even with what they are trying to do, seniors feel like it is not being expressed properly, which is making them feel forgotten.
“I feel like we don’t even get enough recognition for the amount that we are not complaining either, the class of 2020 complained a lot, and now we just gotta deal with it,” said Smith.
School board member Terah Chambers said she is trying to find the balance between waiting for safe protocols and showing that they are working on things for the seniors. With restrictions changing every week, promises cannot be made until things are more certain.
“It is not necessarily being communicated because we just don’t know what is possible, and that is tough. I know that is really hard, people want to know so they can plan, the students want to know that they are being thought about and I’m sure it does feel like they are an afterthought, and that is really sad,” said Chambers.
The bright side is that students plan to return to in-person instruction, which will give school administrators a better understanding of how to operate a graduation and give seniors an experience to remember to celebrate the completion of their high school education.
“I know there have been conversations already, like setting a date for last day for seniors and other things that are relevant to the students finishing, so the conversations are happening,” said Chambers.