In the midst of quarantine, seniors at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and around the nation have been robbed of the traditional college decision day on May 1. However, to keep spirits up while following social distancing guidelines, many students in MSD’s senior class have taken it upon themselves to have their own college decision day celebrations with close friends by celebrating from afar in parking lots.

“Although our senior year was cut short, and we were not able to be at school on commitment day, my friends and I still found an enjoyable way to celebrate from a safe distance,” senior Sari Kauffman said. “We all met up in the Heron Bay parking lot and decorated our cars. We also still took pictures, but instead of standing next to each other, we stood on the hoods of our cars to make sure we were following the CDC guidelines. Hopefully, we will all be able to celebrate soon.”

Students decorated their cars in college gear to celebrate the university they will be attending come summer and fall terms. Students used car chalk to write phrases on their back windshield such as senior Emily Wolfman’s “GO BIG RED” in celebration of Cornell University, senior Daniel Bishop’s “ALL ABOUT THE U” in reference to his commitment to the University of Miami and senior Rachel Nattis’s “IT’S GR8 2 BE A FLORIDA GATOR” marking her commitment to the University of Florida. They also accessorized the cars with balloons, university flags and streamers in the school’s colors.

“Decorating our cars was really fun,” Bishop said. “We all had a great time dressing up and representing our new schools.”

Seniors also dressed in merchandise from the school they have committed to in order to represent their decision. The students sported hats with their school mascot, shirts with the name of their university and color-coordinated the rest of their outfits as well.

“I got the clothes I was wearing just to celebrate commitment day,” Nattis said. “I haven’t been able to have my bed party because of corona so my parents let me buy something to celebrate commitment day.”

Although students are not able to celebrate the traditional decision day, at school, the clever ways to commemorate the accomplishments of their commitments while following safe social distance guidelines has proven yet again that the class of 2020 is finding the positive of what is a very difficult time.