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.