Penn State seniors lament loss of ‘so many lasts’ in university experience cut short by COVID-19

Students dream of it their whole lives — donning their blue caps and gowns, walking across the Bryce Jordan Center stage, and celebrating an end to their formal education with their friends and families. For seniors set to graduate in May, the coronavirus pandemic has changed those plans.

Penn State announced on March 18 that the rest of the spring semester will be conducted online, with classes held virtually and spring commencement postponed until an unspecified date. Because of this, the class of 2020 has had to call off gatherings, change travel arrangements and upend everything they thought their senior year would be.

And it’s not just graduation. Many other local end of the year traditions have been canceled as well, such as Penn State football’s annual Blue-White game and 55 Days of Café — an event created by Café 210 West where students 21 and older can attend a party and have their names inscribed in a plaque if they purchase something from Café West 55 days in a row.

For Nisha Moorthy, these traditions are a vital part of the Penn State experience, and she said her initial reaction to the cancellations was shock.

“There were a lot of tears when I realized there were so many lasts that I wouldn’t get to do, like my last afternoon in Beaver (Stadium) as a student, celebrating with my friends when we’re done with finals, going to the Creamery, getting to follow the basketball team around for March Madness,” Moorthy said. “It was a little overwhelming at first.”

Moorthy is from Seattle, near where the first outbreaks of COVID-19 were reported in the U.S. She said lots of important school belongings — like textbooks — are still in her dorm thousands of miles away, and that she wishes Penn State had issued a warning prior to spring break that the cancellation was a possibility.

But while spring commencement for all students was postponed, a different ceremony was canceled altogether. Fatima Odebisi, the president of the Penn State Student Black Caucus, had been helping plan a special graduation for students in the black diaspora to highlight their achievements and receive robes in Pan-African colors. This would have been the second annual ceremony, after Odebisi helped organize last year’s event.

“People were angry but didn’t know where to place their anger, because it wasn’t Penn State’s fault,” Odebisi said. “It’s just something that’s happening in the world, so you can’t really blame anyone.”

Tomas Sanchez also had to cancel plans because of the switch. He is the social chair of his fraternity, which was going to host a tailgate during the weekend of the Blue-White Game. He said the move was hard to take in because “it’s the right decision, but the right decision means taking away moments that you’ve been looking forward to for years.”

Despite this, however, seniors still have a positive outlook. Moorthy said the shortened semester may help create a bond among the graduates and make for fun class reunions. While Penn State hasn’t announced plans for marking commencement, Sanchez said a virtual graduation would come with its own upsides, since friends and family members who wouldn’t have been able to make the drive to University Park otherwise could participate.

“At the end of the day, I came here to get an education, and I got that,” Sanchez said. “If graduation is virtual, I’ll still be able to be surrounded by people I love, and that’s what’s most important.”