Worcester Will Do Virtual 2020 Graduations, Students Protest

WORCESTER, MA — Worcester Public Schools students graduating in 2020 are upset that they won't get in-person graduation ceremonies due to the coronavirus — but city officials are reminding graduates that in-person ceremonies would be a health risk.

The school district recently said that all graduations would take place online this year. Students organized a petition drive on the website Change.org, and by Friday morning, 1,115 had signed to protest the virtual ceremonies.

"This is simply a peaceful demand to give seniors a chance to graduate — the real way," the petition says. "We deserve the chance to walk across the stage."

Mayor Joseph Petty addressed the issue on Thursday at the city's daily coronavirus briefing. He said he empathizes with students — Petty's son is supposed to graduate from college this spring, but won't get a typical ceremony due to the pandemic.

"There's no way to gather hundreds of students and thousands of family members without putting public health at risk," Petty said.

The student petition, however, is asking for the district to postpone graduation until later this year when it might be safer to hold in-person ceremonies. Students in other districts, including Quincy, Brookline, and Lawrence, have started similar petition drives.

Some graduation ceremonies would be impossible this spring. The city's four largest high schools were scheduled to hold graduation ceremonies at the DCU Center between May 27 and June 2. But that facility is now being used as a field hospital for recovering coronavirus patients.

Worcester is still in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic. The city counted 124 new cases on Thursday, the biggest one-day increase so far in May. Worcester has counted 3,206 total case over the course of the pandemic, and 201 deaths at local hospitals.