A Lost Farewell

Many feel the globe is spinning on its own postponed schedule this year due to the viral spread of COVID-19. The internet has recently been swarmed with love and support for everyone graduating high school this spring. An inside look on Herriman High shows online work, dance cancellations, and the end of an era for many of those involved with beloved sports and/or clubs. For what is supposed to be a celebration of 12 years of hard work and growth, grows a cloud of anxiety. The idea of no prom, senior dinner dance, or even a graduation ceremony has the class of 2020 forlorn and discouraged. 

Student Abby Barrow says, “I’m particularly sad about maybe missing the senior dinner dance because I was really excited to go and mosh and party with my best friends and with just the people we’ve grown up with all of high school for one last time.” Nostalgia has risen for this class as the students realize they are leaving behind Herriman High and entering new beginnings… without a final ceremony, last “hooray”, or even a formal dinner to celebrate all they’ve accomplished educationally. 

Principal Quarnberg, in a message to the high school, states, “Keep in mind we are all in this together. Sometimes information, or lack of information, causes a lot of panic. Don’t panic!” He has provided the reassurance that the custodial staff has wiped down just about the entirety of the building to claim a safe environment. He beams, “I am truly blessed to be a Mustang. I can quickly become emotional when I think of the support we have from our Mustang Team.” 

This week, the online program for many schools across the world, including Herriman, have begun. The transition between a social atmosphere with numerous peers and varying interactions between classmates and faculty, morphed into a lonely screen, has struck difficult for many. “At this point in the school year I have all the credits I need, I was just going for the fun social part and now that we’re left with just the schooling aspect it’s been hard to find the motivation to do my assignments and work,” says Elsie Schut. The media over the month of March has represented this outlook for many, as a widespread motivation to finish out high school has dropped to a tolerance of being anywhere but in bed. 

The senior Mustangs will surely pull through amidst the spread of coronavirus, however, their “picture perfect” plans may not. Adaptation to a new, more susceptible world will be strenuous. Nevertheless, “United as One” will ring true in the ears of 2020’s graduating class.