Seniors say goodbye to the end of high school as they knew it
Antasia Lee, a North High senior, feels like COVID-19 has been “putting the world on pause.” She hopes she’ll still be able to have a graduation ceremony later this spring, and says she’s willing to do “whatever it takes,” including wearing protective gear, to make it happen. Photo by Myesha Powell
By Najima Ali & Myesha Powell Contributors
Jasiona White, 17, will be graduating in the top of her class at North High School this spring. She thought this would be one of the happiest seasons of her life. It’s turning out to be one of the biggest letdowns.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Minneapolis Public Schools are closed, and students are doing virtual learning until at least May 4. Other US cities have confirmed that schools won’t reopen until the fall. Many Minneapolis students believe their schools won’t reopen for in-person learning this spring either and that there’s a good chance their senior proms and graduation ceremonies will be postponed or even canceled as well.
With physical distance, comes major disappointment. “We have completed years of high school for this moment just for it to be taken from us? Not fair,” White said.
White’s sadness is shared by seniors across the district and the nation. They are grieving sports seasons that never started, opportunities to star in school plays, and rights of passage they have looked forward to for a long time. They will not get the time they thought they had. They won’t have a chance to make the memories they wanted to make.
They are looking at the remaining months of their high school careers and bracing for impending loss. “As much as leaving school is exciting, for some students saying goodbye to four years of memories is even more important,” said Fartoun Ali, a senior at Patrick Henry High School.
We all understand that we need to stay home but if this whole global crisis was prevented ahead of time we could have enjoyed our senior moments,” said Mirella Hernadez Arellano, a senior in the IB program at Henry. “I’m not able to play my softball season which is very sad for me.”
“I feel like my time is being washed down the drain,” said Kenneth Purnell, another senior at Henry. He understands that human life is at stake, and says he hopes “everyone is staying safe,” but his disappointment runs deep. “It devastates me to see how long I’ve waited for this year to happen, but at the end, it doesn't,” he said.
Students are grappling with expectations that will be unmet this spring and uncertainty that will last much longer. Rumors are circulating. “There’s talk about having us repeat our senior year which is unfair for all of us,” said Arellano. According to sources close to the district, MPS is not considering having students repeat grades.
Maimun Ahmed Rufaia, a senior at Edison High School, says at first, she appreciated the school closure: “I was really happy cause I really needed a break.” Now, she says, it’s “messed up my head.”
“I’m tired of reading teachers emails because it’s not helping, I have been told that I’m gonna graduate by mail. Proms and events are getting canceled, and that really messed up my head,” she said. “Now I just want everything to go back to what it was before.”
What this means for college plans remains to be seen. For now, students seem to be taking their lives one day at time, uncertain when all of this will end.
Myesha Powell is a North High graduate of 2019. Najima Ali is a current Patrick Henry High student, graduating in 2021.