Corrado to Murphy: Class of 2020 Should Be Allowed to Walk at Graduation

Senator Kristin Corrado is requesting that local high school graduates be able to walk at outdoor convocation ceremonies.

“Many high school graduations are a month away. We can and should start planning to ensure the Class of 2020 can walk together while practicing safe social distancing,” said Corrado (R-40). “Our high school seniors have been stripped of their final academic semester, proms, and precious memories with their classmates. The least we can do is allow them to commemorate this milestone in person, responsibly.

“While a mask may be as much a part of their graduation regalia as traditional caps and gowns, our high school seniors have earned the opportunity to celebrate with all the pomp and circumstance.”

Cedar Grove High School Senior Jules Cicala wrote a heartfelt letter to Corrado on behalf of her classmates and all New Jersey graduates. She asked the Senator to deliver a message to the Governor.

Governor Murphy,

You have cancelled all graduations. I was scheduled to graduate from Cedar Grove High School June 19. I am acutely aware of the ravage covid-19 has created within our state, the U.S., and around the world. My Mother is a nurse. My Father is also an essential worker. I do not take these staggering numbers lightly, nor is it my intention to be selfish with my request. I am simply instituting logic. I pray for and respect all that are and have suffered at the hands of this virus.

I am requesting you allow outdoor graduations to occur, on a field, with students six feet apart wearing face masks. We can have our diploma on our seat without it even being handed to us by our principal. Our names can be called, and we can walk across our field like all the graduates did before us.

I am not blindly asking this because it is what I want. It is quite simply, logical. I have seen home depot and Costco lines that wrap around the store with people waiting for hours. My class is 130 kids, just like those lines. Shoprite, and other grocery stores are filled with patrons, closer than six feet apart. …

Governor Murphy, there is absolutely no reason why we cannot sit on our high school field, six feet apart, wearing masks, with limited guests around the perimeter of our field to allow us our moment. The devastating effects of robbing us of this is far worse than covid itself. If people choose not to participate, that is very accepted, and their decision.

For the health and well-being of the class of 2020 I respectfully ask you to allow the Class of 2020 to have a graduation. We are the future of New Jersey, and of this country.

Sincerely,
Julianna Cicala and the Class of 2020