Bittersweet day
Florida seniors graduate from school hit by gunman’s rampage.
SUNRISE, Fla. — The senior class from the Florida high school where a gunman killed 17 people in February received diplomas Sunday and heard from commencement speaker Jimmy Fallon, who urged graduates to move forward and “don’t let anything stop you.”
Four families received diplomas for loved ones who were slain in the attack that gave rise to a campaign by teens for gun control. Principal Ty Thompson underscored the honors to the dead students in a tweet.
“Remember those not with us, and celebrate all the successes the Class of 2018 has brought to the community and the world!” Thompson tweeted.
It was a ceremony of tears and promise, an emotional ride for both students and parents, but one that came with a warm reminder that the Stoneman Douglas family is one.
“We will never forget our fallen Eagles,” Julia Cordover, senior class president, told the crowd. “They will always be in our thoughts and in our hearts. Our struggle is part of our story. It doesn’t define us. Let it motivate us.”
The Tonight Show host offered similar praise, saying, “You are not just the future — you are the present. Keep changing the world. Keep making us proud.”
He added, “First thing is this: When something feels hard, remember that it gets better. Choose to move forward. Don’t let anything stop you.”
The private ceremony for the nearly 800 members of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School class of 2018 was being held at the BB&T Center, where the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers play. It was moved to the arena to accommodate the expected large crowd. Reporters were not permitted inside the arena.
In a public statement issued on Friday, Broward County Public Schools acknowledged the news media’s interest in covering the event, but said it would be respecting some of the families’ calls for privacy.
Fourteen students and three staff members died in the Feb. 14 attack in Parkland. Former student Nikolas Cruz is charged with their deaths and the wounding of 17 other people.
Attorneys for the 19-yearold have said he will plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life without parole. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Teacher Scott Beigel, Coach Aaron Feis and Coach Chris Hixon were each honored with the school’s Eagle Award.
The school presented diplomas to the families of Nicholas Dworet, Joaquin Oliver, Meadow Pollack and Carmen Schentrup.
Graduate Chris Grady said their families received standing ovations when they walked on stage, with Oliver’s mom wearing a T-shirt that read, “This should be my son.”
He said graduates Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg, who have become prominent in the March for Our Lives gun control movement, got a mixed response as their names were announced. Gonzalez got cheers, he said, while Hogg got a mixture of cheers and boos.
“I felt bad for him, Grady said. Otherwise, he said, “it was a normal graduation” other than Fallon’s speech — “That was cool.”
Pollack’s brother, boyfriend and cousins were to accept her diploma. Her brother, Hunter Pollack, aired his feelings on Twitter.
“Today is the day my sister has been waiting for. Graduation where she would’ve been getting her diploma and be on her way to attend college. This is a sad day, as I will be walking stage to get her diploma for her,” he said.
Her father, Andrew Pollack, said he’s too emotionally spent to attend the ceremony.
April Schentrup, the mother of Carmen Schentrup, posted a photo of Carmen wearing her graduation gown and cap.
“For me, it is too painful to celebrate w/o Carmen,” she wrote. “But I am proud of Carmen’s friends & classmates on their accomplishments. They’ve overcome so much. I know they will [continue] to make positive changes.”