The Class of 2020 has faced its fair share of disappointments in the last three months, but we’re still clinging onto the hope of graduation tightly. That desire to see our accomplishments recognized has led to several variations of the fauxmencement, both in person and virtual.
Within a day of seniors at Olin College of Engineering getting the email that classes would be cut short, they were planning a
makeshift graduation ceremony with garbage bag gowns and origami caps.
“Less than 48 hours ago, a single email flipped our whole, tiny world upside down,” one of the students who spoke at the ceremony
said. “But less than 48 hours later, the community came together to put on multiple final concerts, other events and now “fauxmencement.”
At Wellesley College, there was a fauxmencement put together for and by students. There were no deans to call out the graduates names, but there were hand-picked flowers in place of diplomas.
“It’s an emotional thing for everyone on campus. We have a lot of first-generation students, where graduation carries particular importance,” Ninotska Love, a student who helped plan the ceremony
told the New York Times.
Then, of course, has been the ongoing call for the Obamas to give an international class of 2020 address. Last week, the call was answered in the form of the
Reach Higher virtual commencement. On June 6, Barack and Michelle Obama will headline an event for graduating seniors that features an inexplicable list of speakers. Former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, Korean boy band BTS, beauty Youtuber Jackie Aina, and whatever Dude Perfect is? No stone was left unturned.
But my favorite attempt at salvaging this mess of a senior year is by far
Quaranteen Commencement 2020, a virtual graduation happening entirely on Minecraft. The idea came from Boston University seniors Rudy Raveendran and Warren Partridge, who created a server just so students from hundreds of different universities could walk across a stage and receive their diploma. More than a thousand grads from over 300 schools are set to participate.