Bishop Gorman seniors petition for delayed graduation ceremony

Seniors at Bishop Gorman High School have started an online petition demanding that the school delay their graduation ceremony rather than hold it online as planned.

The change.org petition had 287 signatures as of 5 p.m Tuesday.

Organizer Jake Gaughan said in the petition that the class understands it may take months to organize an in-person ceremony, but he added that it would be worth the wait.

“We understand with the coronavirus this is not an easy accomplishment, but we have worked so hard to make it through BGHS and we hope that the faculty would put in the same work for us to be able to walk across the stage, not only for ourselves, but also for our parents (many of which put themselves in a worse financial position to see their kid go through a college-prep Catholic high school),” he wrote. “We just want the opportunity to receive our diplomas in the same way that our alumni parents did, walking across a stage in front of all our family, friends, and the faculty who helped us through these 4 years of high school.”

Bishop Gorman High School Principal Kevin Kiefer said in a statement Wednesday that school officials are doing everything they can to guarantee a traditional graduation ceremony, but “at the same time, we are unable to predict the future and it is unfair to wait indefinitely without some type of honoring of the senior class.”

“That is why we opted to have a Virtual Commencement with the option to celebrate in person later,” Kiefer said. “We continue to review available options as we receive reports from the governor’s office, the SNHD, and the Diocese of Las Vegas.”

Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.