For seniors, leaving a place that they spent seven hours a day for five days a week for four years, they need a special goodbye, to not just the campus, but their friends, teachers and a part of themselves as they go on to the next part of their lives. 

It doesn’t seem fair for everything they’ve worked hard for to slip right through their fingers. Seniors deserve their activities, even if it is later or postponed. 

The coronavirus’s future is uncertain. We don’t know when it will end and when we will all be able to leave our homes. Everything is in waiting and all we know is that we won’t be attending school again this year, but, in the hopes that this quarantine doesn’t last much longer, I think the school can redeem students’ senior year in quite a few ways.

Many schools across the Valley, such as Brophy Preparatory Academy, are planning on having three days full of all the senior activities that they were supposed to have: Prom, senior BBQ, senior sunset and more, all of which would precede their graduations. 

Mr. Molina, in a video announcement to seniors, said that AF is trying to make sure that graduation still happens even if postponed. This is something that seniors have to hold onto at least. 

This goodbye matters because “a send-off like graduation gives us closure on the last chapter of our childhood,” Jordan Fairchild, senior class president, said. “I know to some it may be just a ceremony, and sure, on the surface it may be, but underneath that is the recognition of your accomplishments and validation of your status as a high school graduate. A send-off lets us know we made it and it’s time to move forward.”

Seniors need a goodbye, senior Angel Cruz said, because “high school molds people into who they are and a goodbye would kind of just feel right, just because it’s something that deserves a goodbye.” 

And yes, a graduation is something seniors should be happy they are even getting with all of this happening, but what about those other activities seniors were anticipating?

“I was looking forward to having more spirit weeks, red out Fridays, senior sunsets and prom,” senior Sydnee Messerschmidt said. “Getting stripped of that is heartbreaking because everyone else before you and after you will have this experience, except you.”

It’s hard to describe why these little activities matter so much, but they do, and they could be the key to redeeming what’s left of this chapter of their lives. 

Again, none of this is possible without the pandemic settling and the quarantine ending, but one thing that is needed for closure would be a final day at school, going to all our classes and seeing our peers, getting our yearbooks signed, and hearing those bells one final time. 

It’s hard to take in the fact that seniors attended their last day of school without even knowing it, making the situation all that much worse, and this one last school day would redeem that. 

The school and StuCo are working hard for seniors to get them what they deserve. An example is graduation, and even the new Instagram page congratulating seniors, stating where they are planning on going to college and what they plan on studying. 

“I think there is definitely going to be something for the seniors. Admin is working hard with the district to make graduation happen, no matter how long we will have to wait,” Fairchild said. “And I personally am working with Mr. Molina on something that might take some time, but will happen nonetheless. so not all hope is lost.”

Redemption for senior year and a final goodbye might still be in the cards which is something to look forward to. Staying positive and thinking of all the good times we’ve had as seniors is crucial but don’t lose hope for what else we could do to redeem the Class of 2020’s send off.