On Friday, April 17, Governor J.B. Pritzker ordered schools across the State of Illinois to shut down for the remainder of the academic year in response to his administration reporting the largest single-day number of known COVID-19 cases.

To many citizens following the news, this announcement did not come as a shock considering the pandemic has statistically not reached its peak in Illinois. But the class of 2020 is pushed to complete their eLearning while left with the heartbreaking truth of never getting to walk the halls of their school one last time.

Proms, Senior Nights, Graduations, etc., are canceled for well-deserving students who have been looking forward to those moments for years. Pritzker expressed his empathy for the class of 2020 during the press conference in which the order was announced. “To our high school Seniors, who are leaving this phase of their teen years behind in a way that they never expected, I know you’re feeling sad about missing the rituals of Senior Prom and Senior Pranks, Senior Nights and of course Graduation. Hear it from me as your Governor. There’s room for you to feel all those things, big and small. You will get through this too. You will talk about this for the rest of your lives and you will go on to do amazing things. I am very very proud of you.”

It is well understood that the Governor’s order was put in place to save the lives of many. As more information is released about the pandemic’s state, there is hope that the class of 2020 will get to celebrate before moving forward with their lives.