High school is shaping up to have an unusual ending for the 291 members of the Starkville High School senior class, but 23 of them face a specific challenge.
The SHS yearbook, Jacket Buzz, was mostly finished before school closed due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, and the staff will now finish the yearbook remotely. They are also coming up with new ideas and assignments to fill the remaining pages, about one-fourth of the complete product.
Those pages were supposed to be dedicated to spring sports and the senior class, and now they will focus on digital learning, the timeline of the spread of COVID-19 and other information about how the pandemic affected SHS, yearbook adviser Angela Hobart said.
“That section is going to be more like a history book of what’s happening right now, so in 30 years they can look back and show their children what they went through as the class of 2020,” she said.
The yearbook’s theme is “This Is Our House,” a reference to SHS launching three academic houses this year: Technology, Engineering, Construction (TEC); Health and Human Services (H2S); and Communication, Arts and Business (CAB). The initiative is meant to expose students to skills they will need for their future careers.
Jasmine Baker, a senior and one of the yearbook editors, said the staff found a way to directly connect the theme to the pandemic.
“We’re going to dedicate some pages to seeing the Jackets at home and really showcasing online learning because it hasn’t been done like this before,” Baker said. “We want to make sure people see how well our school responded by (having) everyone learning at their own homes.”
The theme also means that SHS “is a family even if we are apart,” yearbook editor-in-chief Camille Bardon said.
“We’re still working together to come back together,” she said.
‘They’ll be in the history books’
Superintendent Eddie Peasant’s senior year of high school in 1986 featured a historic event as well — the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger, resulting in the deaths of all seven crew members, including a schoolteacher.
Peasant mentioned this in a letter he wrote to the SHS senior class soon after school closed. He told The Dispatch he wanted the seniors to know they can still end the year “on the best possible note.”
“Those who have graduated over the years will tell all of us that (senior year) is a special time, but the important thing to get them to understand is that they have the opportunity to be a part of something even more special,” Peasant said. “They’ll be in the history books as the class of 2020 that dealt with this pandemic that we’re dealing with as a nation.”
The district started an Instagram profile, @jacketseniorclass, to highlight the seniors and their last few moments of high school. Recognitions such as scholarships, ACT scores of 30 or higher and other awards and honors will still be made public, district spokeswoman Nicole Thomas said.
SHS has an online form for seniors to fill out with information such as their post-secondary plans and their senior quote. Many students have submitted their favorite memories of the school and the people closest to them, Thomas said.
“Senior year is about celebrating those who have coached them to this stage, and that’s not gone,” she said.
An in-person graduation ceremony might be inadvisable, but the district will hold some type of ceremony, Peasant said.
Missed and created opportunities
The yearbook and the accompanying journalism class is “100 percent” why Baker plans to study journalism at the University of North Carolina in the fall, she said.
“That class has really helped me find my passion in life, and it’s already helped me in my future,” Baker said. “One of the reasons I got accepted into the broadcast program at UNC is because of how well Jacket Buzz is doing.”
The entire staff has the software to put the remaining pages together on their computers at home, and everyone is “just a text message away” and can collaborate effectively from a distance, said Rachel Adair, a senior on the editorial staff.
Joshua Aka, a senior involved with the yearbook for the second year in a row, is tied for the most ad sales on the staff and is continuing to sell ads remotely, he said.
“It’s hard to get in contact with people as we’re practicing social distancing, (but) I’m willing to take on this challenge,” Aka said.
The online portal to order a yearbook launched last week, Hobart said. The district has to reach a quota of orders in order to sell any yearbooks at all, she said.
Baker said the staff has “just enough” photos from the few events for spring sports — such as baseball, golf and track and field — that happened before school closed. The staff is relying on the rest of the student body to submit content, including photos of what student-athletes are doing with their time now that both school and sports have been canceled, Aka said.
Aka is set to play football for East Mississippi Community College, and he said the cancellation of spring sports has been tough on senior athletes, including some baseball players who will attend EMCC with him.
“They were really looking forward to this season, and to know that COVID-19 took it away from them is kind of hard,” Aka said.
Adair was the lead golfer on the SHS golf team. She had never golfed before she joined the team as a freshman and was also looking forward to her senior season, she said. but the team only got to play two matches.
“It’s sad that I didn’t get a warning,” said Adair, who will study international business at Mississippi State University in the fall. “At the first two golf matches of the season, I think I would have appreciated them more than I did if I’d known they would be the last two that I played.”
EMCC football players have to report for practices in the summer, Aka said, but the pandemic might last long enough to postpone fall sports as well as spring sports.
“It’s been kind of tough knowing that my senior year has come down to this, but everything happens for a reason,” Aka said.
Tess Vrbin was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
