UVA needs to provide its fourth years with free caps and gowns. The class of 2021 has now lost over a year of the UVA experience, including what will end up being the entirety of our fourth and final year. President Ryan has now informed us that we will also be losing the quintessential UVA experience; the Final Exercises. Covid-19 has shaken the world, and understandably we have adjusted our behaviors to keep ourselves and our community safe. But this decision, made to ensure the continued safety of Charlottesville, feels a bit premature - especially in the face of an ever-growing likelihood that the vaccine will be available to most if not all of the student body by May. All that aside, the decision has left out an important component of any graduation experience, namely, caps and gowns. What is happening with caps and gowns? Even the class of 2020, whose graduation was missed due to the pandemic, got free caps and gowns. If we are not allowed to congregate for our graduation, at the very least we should be ensured this small component of graduation so we can have the opportunity to get some commemorative photos to provide some closure to our University experience. Sign this petition to remind Jim Ryan and the University that the class of 2021 is committed to remaining covid safe, but is still owed as much of a culminating experience as we can possibly have. Getting caps and gowns is not a risky behavior, and is something that the class of 2020 was able to receive safely and without issue at the very beginning of the pandemic. Their experience is proof that it will not be a risk to the community, and that it would be greatly appreciated by all members of the graduating class. After spending four years at this University, receiving caps and gowns is a safe way to provide us with some closure.
