As students of the five high schools in the Utica Community School District (Eisenhower, Henry Ford II, Stevenson, UAIS, and Utica), we realize that many sacrifices had to be made in the wake of this pandemic. We recognize that these precautions were taken in order to protect the health of both ourselves and the community as a whole. However, we have been made aware that virtual alternatives or potential cancellations of graduation ceremonies and proms are being discussed, and we ask you to consider the possibility of postponed proms and graduation ceremonies for all five high schools.

As seniors, these are milestones that we have been working towards for the past 13 years, and we would like to celebrate them traditionally as we intended originally. Even if these events are postponed to the summer or even the next school year, we would like for them to take place regardless. Seniors across the district were asked about their opinion on the subject, and the majority stated that they would much rather wait to have a traditional prom and graduation ceremony than have virtual alternatives now or to have them canceled completely. They also stated that if prom and graduation ceremonies took place in the next school year/summer, they would be willing to come back to take part in them. Numerous other high schools across the nation are considering rescheduling their proms and graduation ceremonies and if needed, implementing social distancing measures. We ask that Utica Community Schools does the same.

We understand that prom and graduation will likely not take place as scheduled due to the current situation, but we ask that you consider postponing them to a later/safer time, even if it is further into the future. It would mean everything to us to be able to commemorate our high school experiences with the milestones we have been working towards for so long. Thank you for your consideration.