Banquet hall limits graduation plans
SASKATOON Maegan Linklater was looking forward to her high school graduation ceremony and banquet.
She picked out the perfect dress months ago, before COVID-19 brought widespread shutdowns and daily press briefings.
She says she is disappointed that her graduating class won’t be able to cross the stage to receive their diplomas.
Instead, the school will hold a video conference ceremony for grads to watch, but it’s just the latest letdown she’s faced in her senior year of high school, with schools closing prematurely.
“We had graduation, but that got taken away. Now we have this banquet, but we can’t gather anymore,” Linklater said. “In the end, when we look back at grad, it’s just going to be all these things taken away.”
Her mom, Michelle, is the president of the grad committee and has been planning an August banquet for the Bedford Road Collegiate graduates. She’s been told the banquet hall can only accommodate 15 people under provincial health orders, she said, and she wonders why the limit isn’t higher when restaurants are allowed to operate at half capacity.
“How is that any different from a banquet being able to accommodate the same amount of people?” Michelle asked.
Under Phase Three of the provincial government’s Re-open Saskatchewan Plan, which begins Monday, restaurants are allowed to seat any number of people at 50-per-cent capacity if they can maintain two metres of physical distance between groups of diners.
Meanwhile, banquet halls are still restricted to 15 people, even though they can typically accommodate a few hundred.
Michelle says it’s frustrating that while the province rolls out its plans, her daughter and the rest of her class will miss this milestone after 13 years of school. Michelle said the guest list for her daughter’s class started at 130 people and has dwindled down to 65 who still want to celebrate the graduates.
“For many, this is a once-in-alifetime opportunity. Many people aren’t going to go on to college and university and get a diploma,” she said. “This is a big moment to get dressed up and get that certificate. I think we’re taking away something from grads.”