The true test of a person’s character is how they respond to adversity. The Oberlin High School Class of 2020 has passed that final exam with grace, graduating with chins up in the face of a deadly pandemic. Their schools closed abruptly. Their spring sports season never started. Their drama productions were canceled. And yet OHS seniors expressed gratitude, not venom, for what they had. There was disappointment, sure, but underlying it was thanks for the efforts of school staff to make commencement as special as possible under the circumstances. Those I spoke with understood the stakes — 200,000 dead in America alone and the most vulnerable among us needing our help. That is where Oberlin shines: the understanding that freedom is balanced by a responsibility to each other and “I got mine” is the mantra of a child. Graduation is a time for leaving childhood behind, in mind and body, and I have no doubt that new OHS alumni will set the standard. Good luck, Class of 2020, and continue to make us proud.
— Editor Jason Hawk
For graduation stories and photos, look for the May 21 edition of the Lorain County Community Guide at stores around town. The Community Guide is the home of the Amherst News-Times, Oberlin News-Tribune and Wellington Enterprise weekly papers.
