It’s hard not to feel terrible for the graduating class of 2020, an embattled group of hard-working students who were robbed of the biggest (and most expensive, truly) years of their high school careers. The commencement ceremony, largely symbolic and a little tedious to some, is meant to be grand finale of a pretty whirlwind year. But with everything cancelled thanks to coronavirus, the “big walk” has devolved into the “big wave at the Zoom chat,” which is just not the same as walking the stage or skipping the pomp and circumstance on your own terms. It’s been a rough year, and these students have more than earned the choice.
In honor of all of this year’s departing seniors, Facebook and Instagram are streaming #Graduation2020, which is described as a “multi-hour streaming event” that will be simulcast on both platforms. Oprah Winfrey is slated to deliver a commencement speech to the graduates, which will be accompanied by messages from Awkwafina, Jennifer Garner, Lil Nas X, Simone Biles, and more. Miley Cyrus will also sign on to perform “The Climb,” which is no “Graduation (Friends Forever)” by Vitamin C, but still a very nice gesture.
The main event will take place on Friday, May 15. We can only hope that the utterances of “We’re all in this together!” from famous people are kept to a strict minimum. These kids have suffered enough.