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Dear editor,

Hi, my name is Kaley Pitery and I am currently a senior at Sabine Pass ISD and I’m writing into y’all for help to let it be known how the class of 2020 at Sabine Pass ISD is being wronged.

Not even two weeks ago the seniors were put in a zoom call and were informed that we weren’t having a traditional graduation, that it would a virtual graduation. The administration gave us no choices or ways around it, which is not fair.

We feel as a class we should have got to call that decision and have a say so in it, as it being our graduation that we’ve earned.

We feel as though it is being rushed and thrown together and it’s not OK. Personally for me, I got lucky and started elementary out with a group of friends. Then after elementary, we all went to Sabine and have been together since day one and still are close.

I was ready for the day coming up, our last ride together, our last time all being seniors, the last time we all come together to celebrate all of our accomplishments as a whole, all for it to get robbed and taken away and in exchange for what was supposed to be our special night we now have a virtual graduation.

Having to walk across the stage alone without hearing my fellow classmates cheer me on or the crowd cheering is disappointing and doesn’t sit well in my stomach.

We already got the last few months of our senior year that we were supposed to have the most fun stripped from us and then the news of no graduation, prom or project graduation, it’s like all of the hard work, endless nights of homework that felt never ending, and all the studying for major tests were for nothing.

For us to get 10 family members in the room for 15 minutes, 15 minutes doesn’t add up to the 12 years of school I did.

We are all aware of how serious of a matter the virus has been and all the possibilities that it can be, but to take our graduation wasn’t fair to us. I don’t even know if this message will be read, but the point is there’s no fight being put up for graduation to be postponed until we are all able to come together and have the graduation we worked for and deserve.

Parents have tried to put up the fight but, apparently, that’s not been enough to change their minds, so I was hoping writing in could give it a little light so a fight could be put up.

— Kaley Pitery, Port Acres