Updated: Normal graduation– full speed ahead

May 7 Update

The Class of 2021 graduation plans have been changed due to Pennsylvania’s mitigation orders being lifted on May 31 at 12:01 a.m., said High School Co-Principal Mr. Michael Bergey.  

These mitigation orders being lifted allow businesses like restaurants, gyms and other facilities to operate without capacity limits, according to a May 4 Spotlight PA article. However, people are still required to wear a mask and social distance until 70 percent of Pennsylvania adults are fully vaccinated, the article continued. 

Due to these changes, graduation for the Class of 2021 will be held in the high school gym on June 1 at 7 p.m., said Mr. Bergey.  The graduation will be done through a traditional ceremony, and each graduating student will receive six tickets for guests, he added.  

Last year, Milton High School administrators quickly had to plan a graduation that would encompass new safety regulations in the midst of the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic. 

In a normal year, graduation would take place in the school’s gymnasium, where each student would receive eight tickets for family members or friends to come to the graduation, according to Principal Mr. Andrew Rantz. Around 1,300 spectators and staff would be able to attend the graduation, not including the graduating class, he added. 

Instead, last school year, the seniors drove on a route through the school’s campus, which ended at a stage in the stadium, said Mr. Rantz. As their names were called, the graduates walked across the stage to receive their diplomas like in a traditional ceremony, he added. 

The people on the stage remained socially distanced, excluding each student while they received their diploma. Everyone had to wear a mask if they were not in a vehicle, according to Mr. Rantz. Instead of a handshake when receiving their diplomas, the graduating students received fist bumps from the administrators or teachers, he said. 

As the graduating students drove through the campus, teachers lined the route with signs, Mr. Rantz added. According to Senior Class President Morgan Solomon, who attended the ceremony with her graduating sister, there were stations set up for teachers to give students flowers or return some items that students needed back.  

“They got to see all of their teachers one last time, which was a little different last year because we left school March 13 and didn’t come back here for the rest of the year. So, they did not get a chance to get a proper goodbye with all of their teachers, so that was a big thing,” said Mr. Rantz. 

Instead of live speeches, a professional videographer filmed the speeches of the co-principals, the valedictorian, salutatorian and vice president of the Senior Class of 2020. The videographer then put these speeches all together in one video, which also included a slide show of all of the students and their plans for further education after they graduate. 

This school year’s senior class graduation will be held the same way, except the route in which the students drive through the campus will differ due to the ongoing stadium project, according to Mr. Rantz. The route through the campus will end in a stage set up somewhere in the front of the school, he said.  

“I am relieved but also kind of disappointed. I am relieved because if I mess up my speech quite a lot that’s okay. They would just do a different recording,” said Morgan. “But, it’s also a little disappointing because that is a moment for you.”  

The Senior Class of 2021 is also scheduling a cap decorating night, and another night where they can decorate vehicles, according to Mr. Rantz.  The students can express their individuality and reminisce in the past school years with their peers during these events, he added.  

A traditional graduation takes “many, many hours” to plan and organize, said Mr. Rantz. A graduation committee would have meetings all throughout the school year starting in September, he added. 

Due to the unforeseen Covid-19 pandemic, the 2020 Senior Class graduation committee had weekly meetings to discuss with the senior students the possible plans for setup, decorating and planning of the logistical details, such as how to set up the stage and discussing with the Milton Police Department routes for the drive–thru graduation, according to Mr. Rantz. Just like a traditional graduation, it took many hours of planning, he said. 

One of the greatest differences between a graduation held in the traditional way and a drive-thru graduation is with whom the seniors spend that important day, according to Mr. Rantz. 

“The biggest thing to me is in a traditional graduation, you are kind of experiencing that with your peers because you are processing with them, walking with them, … sitting with them. Whereas a drive-thru graduation, you are experiencing that with your family or your guardians, or whoever you choose to ride with in the drive-thru ceremony,” he said.  

Family members being able to experience their child’s graduation “up close and personal” instead of being a couple hundred feet away in the bleachers was a huge positive of the drive-thru graduation, Mr. Rantz added. 

“I know a few people who are very happy about this because you can have your family with you when you graduate,” said Morgan. “And you know, obviously, it’s not as ‘sit down, listen to speeches’— it’s not as boring essentially.”