To reunite seniors with their peers as an ode to the end of the school year, the Diamond Bar High School class of 2021 class committee organized the Senior Sunset event.
The event was held on March 27 on the DBHS football field, where seniors were provided with free catering from Chick-fil-A. To adhere to COVID-19 guidelines, students were required to fill out a COVID safety survey in line and were seated six feet apart on the bleachers.
“I was happy to meet lots of people I haven’t seen in years,” senior Alex Hong said.
Upon entering the school, students had the opportunity to take photos in front of backdrops and the class of 2021 sign. Additionally, seniors could sign their names on a poster commemorating the graduating class and greet teachers that attended the event.
USB members helped pass out chicken sandwiches and water bottles before the seniors headed to the football bleachers to watch a movie. Students were directed by staff to stay seated at socially distanced markers placed on the bleachers.
Some seniors expressed their dislike for the pre-assigned seating as they were separated from their friends throughout the event, despite previous statements that students would be able to sit with friends.
“I was a little disappointed that I got separated from my friends during the movie,” senior Asvin Pradhan said. “However, I’m glad that the event was still held.”
The beginning of the event featured a photo gallery of the class throughout their years of high school. Photos were gathered through the class of 2021 Google Classroom, where students submitted pictures of themselves from different years of high school.
Following the recap, students watched a movie for the remainder of the event. The film, “Spirited Away,” was chosen via bracket-style voting between four different movies on the class of 2021 Instagram story. Though many students had left by the end of the event, most agree that the chance to meet up with friends was more important than the film itself.
“I noticed that many people left throughout the movie so [I] did too,” senior Philix Lin said. “But I think that being able to see all my friends at the event was a great experience.”
The class committee also took into consideration which aspects of the event they could work on for later activities, like senior replay and graduation, as the event ended.
“If there’s anything we can improve, it’d probably be something like including an incentive for people to stay,” class of 2021 treasurer Aileen Park said via Instagram.