TRIBUTE TO SENIORS
Trenton shows graduating seniors love with lawn signs outside of high school »
Ayouba Swaray crossed index and middle fingers on both hands and wished.
“I’m still hoping that we can have our graduation. We got word (Tuesday) that Gov. (Phil) Murphy will allow graduation and that a lot of high schools are making plans for seniors to have graduation ceremonies,” Swaray, a Trenton Central High School senior bound for Trinity College in the fall, said.
“This is not the graduation ceremony I had expected. I’m not going to lie, a graduation ceremony means a lot to me — it’s something that I’ve waited for. So, yes, it was shattering to find it we would not have a traditional graduation. But it’s nice that the school is trying its best to compensate.”
Swaray joined a celebration Wednesday morning as placards with faces of Trenton Central High School Class of 2020 students were placed on an approximate one block stretch of Chambers St. near the high school.
Murphy’s new law jumpstarted conversations about a potential graduation ceremony for the approximate 400 Trenton High seniors who make up the Class of 2020, the first to graduate from the $155 million stateof-art institution that reopened in September 2019.
Trenton High has remained closed since mid-March as a deadly CoVid-19 virus altered education objectives. City students were forced into online computer classes.
Murphy, who has received high marks for leadership through a pandemic crisis that has claimed nearly 12,000 Garden State residents, failed miserably Tuesday with his support for high school and college graduation ceremonies. Murphy, in his best Pontius Pilate imitation, left graduation ceremony decisions in the hands of school officials.
Trenton Central High School Principal Hope Grant said she and others are “looking into it and exploring options. There’s supposed to be more information released about regulations for having a graduation.
In the meantime, we felt this (placard) celebration was a nice way to honor our seniors.”
By the way, while Principal Grant voiced optimism for a potential graduation ceremony, wheels turning in her head understand finding a venue for an event that will require social distancing, plus, synchronization of a lot of moving parts, offered a challenge.
India Bracey, also headed to Trinity College, voiced optimism about life. Yes, she’s missed almost four months of her final year and many other rites of passage.
“But I just tell myself that everything’s going to be okay and I’m grateful that so many people are still trying on our behalf, still trying to make life normal for us,” Bracey said.
“My parents tell me to keep faith because you never know what may happen. Graduation ceremony or no graduation ceremony, it’s nice to know people care about us.”
That care group included numerous school officials, teachers, family members and Trenton
Mayor Reed Gusciora who helped with placement of placards.
Gusciora noted school officials had planned a drive through graduation with diploma distribution or virtual graduation.
“It would be great if we could have the ceremony in the stadium and have family and community come out. We all remember our high school graduation, it’s one of the first milestones of life,” Gusciora said.
Charlene Richards, headed off to George Washington University for a career in politics and journalism, celebrated acceptance.
“Yes, started the year with thoughts of graduation day. So, this is disappointing but it’s not the end of the world. Seniors will be celebrated in many ways. We’re the Class of 2020 no matter what happens.”