In light of the recent graduation announcement, the Student Government Association of Cleveland High School, on behalf of the Class of 2020, would like to express our concerns with the current plan for graduation.

     In the state of Tennessee, we are only in Phase One of the White House and the CDC’s plan of reopening. The plan clearly states that during Phase One citizens are to “avoid socializing in groups of more than ten people in circumstances that do not readily allow for appropriate physical distancing”. Even when splitting the number of graduates in half, Raider Arena does not allow for adequate social distancing measures to be taken. Therefore graduation held in Raider Arena on May 15th, even with a smaller number of graduates, would be unsafe. According to governor Bill Lee, the state of Tennessee was estimated to reach a peak in Coronavirus cases around April 20th. Although Cleveland has not been hit especially hard by the cases, the number could still be decreasing as we are estimated to be on the downward side of the peak. However they could increase before May 15 with the city reopening. It would be much safer to put graduation off until June and monitor our local cases for a longer period of time.

     The other local High Schools are currently planning on holding their graduation ceremonies in June with the entire senior class, and our senior class would much prefer this. An outdoor graduation ceremony held at Benny Monroe Stadium would be much safer than in Raider Arena, where the capacity is over 8,000 compared to that of  2,700  in the  Raider Arena. In addition, being outside allows a large group to avoid recirculated air, which is especially dangerous for such a large group during this time. If each graduate were to bring a limited number of guests (example: four instead of the normal seven), families and guests could easily sit six feet apart from other families in the stands of Benny Monroe, which is simply not an option in the Raider Arena. This would require volunteers from the student body, family members and/or staff to mark off where families would be allowed to sit. It would be easy to find willing individuals who love the senior class and would do anything to help them have a graduation ceremony with their entire class. The football field is also large enough to seat the entire class of 2020 six feet apart from each other. The football field is 360 feet by just over 160 feet, allowing for twenty-six rows of sixty people to sit on the football field at six feet apart. This is more than enough room for our senior class to adequately follow government sanctioned social distancing while allowing the entire class to graduate at once.

     The governor is hoping that the state of Tennessee will be in Phase two of the White House and CDC’s reopening plan by June, which allows for larger groups to congregate while still keeping social distancing measures a priority. CDC guidelines on personal protective equipment would also be required for those attending, including the graduates. There are many patrons that support Cleveland High School within our community who would be willing to help make this happen. Business sponsors of the school would surely be willing to donate what they can, and many teachers, parents, and students are making masks that could be donated to those who do not have them. This makes a socially distanced graduation in June at Benny Monroe with the entire class a possibility, and one that would be much preferred by the graduating class.

      The Class of 2020 has expressed interest in waiting until June to hold graduation in hopes of being able to graduate together as a class. In the survey that was sent out to the seniors and their families, the current graduation plan was not even an option, and they would not have voted for it if it had been. Our 2020 class understands that these are unprecedented times which have called for extreme measures. However,  we as a collective strongly feel that it is not only safer and more practical but also well worth it to wait until June. The Class of 2020 of course has many students who are enlisting in the military that must also be considered when thinking of postponing graduation, but most do not report until late June or early July for duty, so the alternative June date that was sent out would accommodate the largest number of people in the best and safest of ways. 

     We greatly appreciate the efforts that the administration has put into finding a graduation option for the Class of 2020, however we must use practicality and consider the logic behind many heartbroken seniors who would rather not attend their own graduation if it means splitting them in half and we simply do not want this to be the case. We hope that you will take the aforementioned points into consideration and do your best to allow 2020 to finish their journey the way they have done everything for twelve years, together.