The Effects of Covid-19 on an OP Junior

Covid-19, the pandemic that has swept the world off its feet, has essentially forced a complete shutdown of the United States. People are required to stay in their homes. Non-essential businesses were forced to shut down. Schools all around the country have been closed, and the timetable for a return to normal life is uncertain. Seniors in high schools across the nation are unsure if they will have a graduation ceremony or even start their first semester of college on a college campus. Understandably, this disease has impacted all people in one way or another and we offer our prayers to those not only fighting the virus but to all those affected. 

While our impact may not be as drastic as the people mentioned above, juniors in high school are ending their year vastly different than they thought they would back in September. Before the pandemic, juniors’ main focuses primarily consisted of studying for AP Exams, preparing for standardized tests, and choosing which girl to ask to prom. Recently, the College Board announced that AP Exams were changed from the traditional three-hour timeframe to forty-five minutes and from being administered at a school to be administered at home. The tests are now open-note exams that will only contain one or two free-response questions to be done in a limited time frame. Unlike AP Exams, standardized tests are not able to be administered at home, so those will be canceled until it is safe to resume. Some juniors have not even taken a standardized test yet as their March test was canceled at the last moment and future ones also canceled. Oratory was scheduled to host its annual prom this year on May 21st, but that may likely also be canceled if we are not allowed to return to school by that date. Along with prom, the fate of the spring sports season is undecided and may be canceled if the governor is forced to extend the shutdown of schools. Of all the opportunities that juniors could miss out on, the closing of the DMV is probably the worst for some of them. Since the DMV has shut down due to Covid-19, juniors who are turning seventeen in the spring and summer months will now have to wait longer for their eagerly anticipated right of passage, obtaining a driver’s license. This is definitely a different junior year that we will certainly never forget in the years to come. This bond can bring our grade closer together as we support each other through what may become an even more unique senior year.