The Class of 2020

When the freshmen arrived on campus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in August of 2016, they had high hopes for the best four years of their life, culminating with a senior year in 2020 and the chance to walk across a stage in May and grab a diploma while their family cheers from the seats.

Sadly, that won’t happen for Illini this spring. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the University has suspended in-person classes for the rest of the semester and canceled commencement ceremonies.

But even as their college careers are cut short in the most tragic of ways, we want to use our platform to let them share photos, stories, or anything from their time in Champaign-Urbana, and give them a proper chance to say goodbye to a place we all hold so dear.

This exercise totally depends on the amount of current seniors who submit their stories to us, so if you are or know someone who is having their college experience end unexpectedly, encourage them to send something our way. Our DMs on Twitter are always open. They can send us a message on Facebook. Or just reply to tweets or comments on Facebook.

Continue following along in this stream for updates over the next few months. This will also be bookmarked on our homepage on our website.

We don’t know what this will look like, but in a time when we don’t have sports to cover, we have a duty to still find a way to bring the community together.

Hail to the Orange,

Hail to the Blue,

Hail Alma Mater, ever so true.

We love no other,

So let our motto be,

Victory,

Illinois,

Varsity.

I-L-L.