Student government plans activities for seniors during school closure

PHOTO: While students are stuck in shelter-in-place, student government is finding creative ways to celebrate senior accomplishments.

By Alexandra Zurborg,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

The 2020 school year is coming to a close, and seniors will be missing out on activities such as prom, senior night and graduation.  To make up for these lost high school experiences, Davis High’s student government is trying to keep seniors engaged with some activities before they leave for college. 

Senior Catie Fee is part of the committee in charge of organizing events for seniors. 

“Right now, student government is planning a mix of virtual activities, new programs for seniors, and figuring out ways to possibly hold events once restrictions are lifted,” Fee said. 

Since May 1, student government has been posting college decisions of other seniors on their instagram page. They have also been ordering personalized lawn signs for each senior to put outside of their house. 

Senior Lucy Knudsen has been working alongside Fee, administration and PTA when it comes to planning activities. “Currently our efforts are centered on hosting a drive-thru celebration for the seniors before administration’s virtual graduation,” Knudsen said. 

Knudsen and the rest of the committee are working on a parade celebration downtown where business owners will stand outside their stores and wave to all the seniors on their way to pick up their yearbooks, caps and gowns. 

Additionally, student government is planning to reach out to local radio stations to broadcast a senior playlist, remarks from teachers, and speeches from senior class president Sophia Fingerman and vice-president Cate Sheruing. This event will be held May 29. More details about this event will be available soon.

“It is important to plan these activities for seniors because we have been left without a sense of closure after attending Davis High for three years,” Fee said. 

With the disappointment and frustration of every important end-of-the-year event being cancelled, student government hopes this will help bring closure to seniors.

“There are a lot of reasons to be supporting seniors right now. None of us are getting to experience our final year of high school the way we intended,” Knudsen said. “If there is any way we as a community can provide all those little traditions and final goodbyes for our seniors, then by all means, we should do it.” 

Student government has been drawing most of their creativity by seeing what activities schools in the area and across the country have planned for their seniors. With the drive-thru pick up happening, student government is encouraging seniors to wear their college merchandise, sports jerseys, prom dresses and anything they didn’t get a chance to wear last semester. 

“Aside from being seniors ourselves, our role in student government is to represent and celebrate our senior class. As such, we needed to find a way to celebrate the class of 2020, despite current rules and regulations set in place by the state, county and school district,” Knudsen said.

Although these events may not make up for what was lost this year, student government hopes to honor the hard work seniors have done thus far.

“I have had a hard time processing that I will never go to school at DHS again, that I will never again walk through the crowded halls between classes, that there are some people I will never see again in person,” Fee said. “Though we’ll never be able to make up for it, we hope that some of these events will offer some form of connection and closure to the seniors.”