Photo by Yuval Shachar

Senior Shiri Cohen talks about her expectations for graduation. Seniors have already received their caps and gowns on May 19.

As the year comes to an end, graduation is approaching, with less than one week left for seniors. And with graduation come many covid restrictions.

Though the graduation will be in person, there are still guidelines to be followed, as COVID-19 is still very prominent. These include restrictions such as 2 tickets per student, not including themselves, and the ceremony needing to be under two hours. This means many students might only have their parents at graduation, no siblings or other family members.

“There’s only two tickets per student so only your parents can come and I really wanted my sisters to come… It really sucks that we can only bring two people but I think that the teachers just did everything they could and I’m so happy that we have the opportunity to have the ceremony in person,” senior Shiri Cohen said.

To add on, there must be no more than 10 people on the stage at all times, no food or beverages are allowed, and there is no physical contact, meaning the diplomas will be given without the signature handshake. There is also no rehearsal day, to minimize exposure.

“We’re not going to really have a rehearsal day like we normally do, and there’s gonna be a lot of restrictions about seating… it’s a little confusing right now but I hope everything works out, I think it will be fine, it’ll be mostly normal,” senior Nicole Uhl said.

Members of different households must stay 6 feet apart at all times, meaning friends and families can’t come to congratulate each other with embraces or handshakes. There is also no congregating in common areas before or after the ceremony, meaning congratulating friends is even more difficult.

“I’m looking forward to just seeing a bunch of my friends, I know we’re not really supposed to be crowding around… even though it wasn’t really a normal senior year I just want to do something that’s kind of normal,” senior Lizzy Mayo said.

Group or staged photography is not allowed, so taking pictures with friends before, during or after the ceremony is impossible. And as the ceremony will be taking place on the stadium field, the dress code includes no heels, as to not damage the field.

And though there will be no rehearsal, no physical contact and much fewer people attending than previous years, seniors can still see the silver lining. After all, last year’s seniors didn’t even get a graduation ceremony.

“Expectations… I don’t really know, just sort of a happy ending, not necessarily what we all expected, but some closure,” senior Colin Browning said.