As dates for reopening the country are continually pushed back, virtually every aspect of life has been disrupted. Holidays, birthdays, weddings and funerals have begun to be virtualized in order for attendees to maintain social distances. It’s an inevitability the class of 2020 has no doubt been dreading for months.
Here’s some consolation from Facebook: a virtual graduation ceremony. The social media giant is bringing out some heavy hitters for the event, too. Oprah Winfrey will be giving the commencement address, while Awkwafina, Jennifer Garner, Lil Nas X and Simone Biles will all be giving speech. Miley Cyrus is set to perform.
The event kicks off at 11AM PT/2PM ET on May 15 via the Facebook Watch App. Four days prior, Instagram will start showing daily videos “that spotlights iconic senior experiences — from ‘most likely’ votes to portrait showcases to senior skip day.” The company will also be offering features to host a “virtual graduation ceremony and party” on the site.
Other sites are holding similar events. Also on May 15, Her Campus will host I’m Still Graduating, featuring appearances by Eva Longoria, Radhika Jones, Margaret Cho, Brooke Baldwin, Liam Payne, Jesse McCartney, Andrew Yang and Tamron Hall. Many schools are also planning their own, less star-studded events to celebrate graduations remotely.
It has to be a bit heartbreaking to do all of this stuff through social medium, Zoom and the like. But for the time being, that’s just going to have to be the virtual world we live in.
