June Graduation Ceremony Cancelled for Seniors

“[Three and a half] years of Stuy [are] filled with all-nighters, moments where you just cry because you can’t handle it, and a lot of work in hopes of spending your last semester with your best friends and community before you part ways for college. Personally, I’ve dreamed about my high school prom and graduation ever since I was a kid, and that being taken away feels kind of like a void in my high school experience,” senior Khandaker Ridwan wrote in an e-mail interview. “Given the circumstances, there’s not much I can say besides ‘yes, it’s fair, and I’d rather be safe and sound.’ At the same time, I just wish none of this had happened.”

Many seniors have expressed similar sentiments after losing most traditions and aspects of their last year at Stuyvesant, particularly their graduation. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Parents’ Association (PA) and the administration decided to cancel the graduation ceremony for seniors, which was originally scheduled for June 23.

The decision to cancel graduation was expected by many seniors given the crisis. “It makes sense that we canceled it in advance,” Senior Caucus Co-President Zeynep Bromberg said. “Everyone sort of has a good sense that the world [would not have] returned to normalcy by the time graduation would’ve happened, so it’s good that we solidified this before.”

The PA and the school administration are currently working in accordance with the Senior Caucus for an alternative solution. As of now, however, there is no set alternative for graduation. “There have been a lot of ideas thrown around whether it’s having a bunch of smaller ceremonies in December or having a more formal one,” Bromberg said. “We’re just kind of trying to explore any options we might have [because] we do want to give the senior class something to look back on.”

One popular alternative being considered is a virtual graduation. While exploring this solution, however, the administration encountered several issues. “A problem is that we haven’t yet found a vendor who could provide that [type of service],” Coordinator of Student Affairs Matthew Polazzo said. “I’m sure there must be a company that can do something like that, but we haven’t really gone down that road yet.”

Another idea being considered is hosting graduation in the December of the upcoming school year when most students will be coming home for winter break after their first semester at college. Some students, however, are reluctant to accept this idea. “Since graduation is in December and after a semester of college, some people would rather stay near their college, go travel, or be less inclined to go to their graduation. Me personally, I’m most likely going to go, but it would be pretty sad to have a graduation where not everyone shows up,” an anonymous senior said.

Due to the novelty of the current circumstances, planning a later graduation has also presented several challenges, such as expenses. “There’s a whole list of different things […] my [main] concern is paying for it. We are currently in the process of refunding […] and recalculating the cost of senior dues so that people don’t have to pay for graduation tickets. As we see [it] right now, graduation isn’t happening,” Bromberg said. “If we do end up somehow postponing graduation, […] we’d have to go through a whole other round—paying enough money to pay for Carnegie, […] if Carnegie is even open by then.”

Seniors have currently been asked not to submit any dues until graduation plans are finalized. Despite this, some seniors are hesitant to attend a later graduation. “Coming back for graduation sounds fun, and it’s a nice way to meet all my friends again, but at the same time, it’s money,” another anonymous senior said.

In addition to the monetary challenges, the senior class is having difficulty coming to a consensus as to what kind of graduation to hold and when. “Each alternative has [its] pros and cons […] I don’t know if in December the seniors would still want a graduation,” Senior Caucus Co-President Hana Kim said. “Personally, I think a lot of seniors do want some form of ceremony, […] but there’s no real way of knowing until we actually do a polling of the seniors. We could do it right now, but we don’t know if their opinions will shift by the time [graduation] rolls around.”

Polazzo hopes for a physical ceremony of some form, but the complications of the pandemic make the prospect difficult. “Unfortunately, there’s really no way that I can speculate about that because we don’t know how long this situation is going to go on for,” he said. “Even if they do open up the economy, I suspect that large gatherings will be the last things that they will allow. I think I can speak for the administration when I say that we’ve […] felt really terrible about this, and we’re obviously going to do the best that we can to try to make up for as much of this as we can.”

Apart from graduation, there are many traditions that are held on the last day of school, such as prom and the conga line, that the seniors this year will likely miss out on. To make up for the loss, the Senior Caucus is planning a virtual, makeshift celebration for the senior class, such as virtual apparel day, a senior class Instagram account, and Zoom videos.

Many seniors are upset about losing these senior events and their last days at Stuyvesant. “Events like spirit days, senior prank week, SOS, club events, prom, senior cut day, graduation, [and] summer events are all things I’ve been looking forward to [but won’t have],” Ridwan said. “Quarantine has also taught me that I miss learning in a classroom and talking to my teachers. I really wanted to give gifts to some teachers and faculty and just have a conversation with them aside from lessons before I’d leave for college. That’s another thing I won’t be able to do in person anymore.”

Amid the pandemic, the Senior Caucus is appreciative of the senior class for their understanding and communication during this time. “I want to thank them for being understanding of us. It’s nice that they’re not mean about it. They take it. We really do try to be as transparent as possible and deliver the blow in as nice of a way as possible. It’s a hard time for all of us,” Kim said.

Bromberg agreed, saying, “[It is] extremely disappointing that we can’t have a graduation ceremony when it’s something […] Hana [and I] and so many other seniors have been looking forward to for our entire Stuy experiences […] I’m in chorus, so I’ve gone to [graduation] for the past three years. It’s really sad that I’ve seen so many others, but I won’t get to see my own.”

Though many of the senior events have been canceled, the Senior Caucus Co-Presidents remain optimistic and hope that the senior class will be able to experience them eventually in the future. “What’s more realistic is that […] if schools reopen by September, which I have my fingers crossed for, […] we have some kind of day where seniors come back and live out their senior traditions, like the cong[a] line,” Kim said.