This year was supposed to be the year of memories and fun for the class of 2020. Instead, it’s the year of masks and Google classroom, of FaceTime and disappointment.

The novel coronavirus has made its mark in the world. Multiple states have gone into lockdown, declared a state of emergency, and have shut down most populated venues, including schools. The schools in Page have been shut down since March 15 and will continue to be closed until April 10 at the earliest.

As I was taking a picture of the empty school parking lot, my heart sank, and my thoughts and prayers went out to all of the seniors in Page. Many seniors have had feelings of grief and disappointment.

“I’m most concerned about the outcome of the rest of my school year and graduation,” said Laura Skaggs, a senior at Page High, about the situation.

And it seems that the rest of the seniors share the same thoughts.

“I’m most concerned about the senior traditions. I don’t think prom or graduation should be canceled,” said Cammie Robinson, one of the Page High valedictorians. “Most of the seniors have been through it all and want their moment at prom or at graduation. Many families come from out of town to see the seniors receive their diplomas and it means a lot to both parents and students.

Robinson also said she was really loo

king forward to coming back from spring break because “we finally made it to the top of the rollercoaster.”
Other seniors are worried about their families during this time of crisis.

“It may affect my brother, (he has) Hypoplastic left heart syndrome,” Gabriel Szabo mentions. I, Antonia Muskat, am worried about my grandfather who’s in Beehive right now and is more susceptible to it. And because they are on lockdown, I won’t be able to celebrate his 82nd birthday with him. 

Most of all, the seniors just want this whole thing to blow over. Many of them are tired of the situation and are having a difficult time staying at home quarantined.

“Finding something to do during this quarantine is definitely the biggest difficulty,” Skaggs said. “Just being stuck at home kind of sucks.”

Some seniors realized that the school shutdown was the end of their spring sport.

“I won’t lie, I almost shed a tear when I heard how long we will be out of school,” Robinson said. Evan Cambridge said, “I’m mostly just depressed that my senior year and track season have been so impeded on.”
Realizing that the pandemic will eventually come to a slowdown, it is the best piece of information to hold on to right now.

“I think this, like other (influenza) that have passed through the world, will (slow), we will find a vaccine and begin to phase this out and it won’t be an issue anymore,” Gabriel Szabo said. “I think that the colleges will have to take it slow on the class of 2020, and people will probably be a little more prepared for another event like this.”

Cambridge said, “I hope after this blows over, we become more unified as a community, as a nation, (and) we take gratitude with us, I hope we … take this pandemic and treat it as a wake-up call to be more kind and loving to each other.

In a time like this, the best thing Page can do is anticipate a solution soon. Make sure to go easy on the seniors and be kind to them. It’s a stressful time right now and they are just holding onto that last bit of hope.