As the school year approaches an end, Pali administrators and the Associated Student Body (ASB) have announced plans for in-person senior activities and events including a senior picnic, prom, a sunset yearbook signing and graduation. 

Teacher Board Member and Senior Class Advisor John Rauschuber sent out a Schoology post on April 5 to officially announce the dates for these four events. The senior picnic is scheduled for May 14, prom for June 4, the sunset yearbook signing for June 9 and graduation for June 10. 

Beyond the dates, however, ASB and administration have released limited specifics about the events. 

For the first event, the senior picnic, Rauschuber announced that it will take place from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. with plans to bring In-N-Out trucks. He promised more updates about the safety guidelines and the event details in the weeks to come. 

In regards to prom, senior class president Michael Brent IV announced that the event will take place on Pali’s campus for the first time in 30 years, spreading across the quad and the football field. The theme is City of Stars: “Class of 2021’s Hollywood Ending.” ASB provided visuals in a powerpoint presentation, displaying scenes filled with fairy lights and lanterns. 

Although the event will be socially distanced and masks will be required, Brent remains hopeful. “I’m really looking forward to prom. It’s just overall a great milestone,” Brent said. 

He added that ASB has been working very hard to make sure that the events will be well planned. According to Brent, graduation plans in particular have been discussed extensively. 

Graduation will be in-person and follow the COVID-19 safety guidelines, however, Brent said that ASB is still trying to work out the details for how friends and family will be able to view the ceremony. 

As senior class president, Brent has played an extensive role in planning. He said, “planning and preparation has taught me that consistency and communication are always the bridge in the gap of all issues and there’s no such thing as over preparing.” 

Throughout the process, ASB gave seniors a platform to contribute ideas through surveys. As they received surveys the senior caucus read through all of the comments and everything the students contributed were taken into consideration. Brent also explained that he personally reaches out to students in order to hear different perspectives and improve the activities to the best of his ability.

Brent added that during ASB meetings, he tries to give his peers opportunities to voice their opinions and keeps himself from inputting too much in discussions. He said that during this time and in general it has been hard. 

“Being senior class president is for lack of better words difficult,” Brent said. “I don’t see myself being affected as much as my class. I give my all to them.”

But, even as these times are difficult to predict and navigate, students like Brent are staying positive about the upcoming events and the remainder of the year.

He said, “Everyone knows in their hearts that whatever we can get should be cherished and respected.”