On behalf of my fellow CUNY Students, we urge the Department of Education and New York State Senators Gillibrand and Schumer to reverse course on the current postponement on the Class of 2020-2021’s graduation ceremony due to COVID-19. New York has reopened for nearly a year now; full sports arenas, concerts, festivals, parades, and various other venues that have reopened at 100% capacity.

It should not need to be said that: A college student’s graduation is more important and memorable than any sporting event, concert, or parade can ever be. A graduation is a golden milestone for any college graduate; it’s a milestone within one’s life as is a marriage, buying a home, having a child, etc. We’re talking about a major milestone being taken away from thousands of New York City college graduates due a virus that hasn’t stopped the ongoing of fully sold out sporting arenas and concert venues.

We urge our leaders to step up and prioritize the permission to host a more important event: a college graduation. A highlight of someone’s life, a moment we, as college graduates, take with profound pride and joy, and an event most of us plan to show pictures of to our own children someday. It would be a treacherous and utter injustice to prevent our devout New York City graduates from having a graduation ceremony over a pandemic that hasn’t stopped bigger events from occurring.

Please share and sign this petition to be part of the solution that’ll help thousands of New York City graduates have a graduation ceremony, something they worked for their entire lives.

Thank you.