Hi, Boulder High! It’s Amanda, and after a far too long break, I’m back! Today, I would like to talk about something that has clearly not been talked about enough… the coronavirus. The coronavirus seems to be all we hear about these days, as it is 2020’s global pandemic that has been shutting the world down. While we have all been at home the past two weeks, social distancing and such, the panic has only grown. It seems that more and more events keep getting canceled, and at this rate, who knows what could be next. 

As many Boulder High seniors know, the Boulder High prom has been canceled this year. This comes as a crushing blow to many students, as this is an important milestone that will now be missed. I understand the reasoning behind why prom has been canceled, as it is not far off, and having that many people in a confined space is potentially dangerous with coronavirus infection rates still on the rise. Even though this is practical, it still stings for the seniors missing their senior prom, and those feelings are valid. While it is too late to stop prom from being canceled, there are even more pressing events that have not yet been canceled that many are still holding on to — one of these events being Boulder High’s graduation.

Many colleges and high schools across the country have canceled their graduation ceremonies. This comes as devastating news for seniors across the United States, and across the world. Seniors who have put hours upon hours into studying and preparing for this culminating moment of high school or college are having this celebration ripped away. At many schools, including the University of Colorado Boulder, these events have been outright eliminated, rather than just postponed. This means that the class of 2020 will not have any sort of in-person recognition for their efforts throughout their college experience. 

The Boulder Valley School District recently announced that they will be postponing our graduation to July 20 of this year. There are many differences between the safety levels of high school graduations and college graduations. One of these differences is that high school graduations have far fewer students and far fewer people attending them. College graduations not only have thousands more students, but they also have thousands of people flying in from all over the country and world to attend. The Boulder High graduation would have a class of roughly 500 students, plus family and friends mainly from the Boulder area. This means that it is far safer than college graduations. I implore BVSD to refrain from canceling altogether just because colleges are canceling and to take all factors into account. I hope, along with many of my fellow seniors, that BVSD does not take the cancelation decision lightly. We have all worked so hard for this moment in May, and to have it taken away would be heartbreaking. If graduation is canceled, it will leave me and I’m sure many others wondering really?… BVSD.