A Message About Irvine 2020 Graduates
What are the possibilities?
WHY?
My name is Craig Kausen. I’ve been an Irvine resident for 29 years and have my fourth child, Samantha, going through the Irvine Unified School District. One son is a successful tech businessman in San Francisco, one is a doctor, one will be lawyer soon, and the youngest is a Freshman at Uni High this year. Each of them have gone through their entire school experience here in Irvine. When Sam graduates, I will have had children in Irvine schools for 33 years.
In addition to writing this down for you, I am creating this video because I’ve come to understand that most people don’t read any more, especially if it’s longer than a few sentences long. So, I figure I have about 5 minutes to get your attention and perhaps spark an idea that you didn’t have before.
I felt that I was impelled to reach out after hearing from Councilman Anthony Kuo on Councilman Carroll’s town hall meeting this week that he has heard so much disappointment about graduations. I’ve also heard about the difficulties the School Board, Superintendent, Principals (especially of our high schools) are having regarding graduations. And I’ve heard how disappointed the parents, and especially the students themselves, are about not being able to have a traditional graduation from their schools after working so hard, as every Irvine student does, so successfully.
SO MANY CONSTRAINTS
I know there are unbelievable logistical and safety constraints that change almost daily and thus to raise hopes regarding possibilities may do more damage than good, so I completely understand a traditional commencement is out of the question now and likely ever. The challenges each of you face is daunting to say the least and graduation is but one of a multitude of difficulties everyone in the city and school district is dealing with.
THE BREADTH
Being a computer engineer by training, I see things in numbers. Although I don’t have exact numbers (although I know you do or can find them easily), I suspect that there are about 3,000 graduating seniors this year in Irvine. That is about 1% of the entire population of Irvine. If you add to that 8th grade and 6th grade students promoting, we’re probably looking at 3% of the population. Add to that parents and siblings, we’re probably looking at 12-15% of the population of Irvine that are gravely disappointed and frustrated by the graduation situation. You can add me to this number and I’m not even in the group described above. I would imagine that if 35,000 to 40,000 people came to city hall to express their grave concerns about anything, the city and education system would take note. And if my numbers are off by a factor of anything, please don’t discount the message.
THE MESSAGE
After having personal discussions with parents and others along with reading the emails I’ve been sent or that were shared with me, the basic message I am hearing is “We’re so terribly sorry, but we just can’t.”
WHAT CAN BE DONE?
My father, a Cal Tech Chemist, and my grandfather, a rather well respected creative in American history, both had a similar philosophy throughout their lives: “There is always a solution to any problem. The key is whether we’re able to see it.”
I think back to the film “Apollo 13” where the Gene Kranz character says “Failure is not an option.”
If we as a community come together with the attitude that failure is not an option, then there is always a chance. I think the biggest question here is what does “not failing” mean?
THE IRVINE WAY
Over the years and certainly now more than ever I’ve heard the term “The Irvine Way.” To me this means we do things the right way, the well thought out way, the innovative way, a better way for the benefit of the entire community.
What are we teaching our children? We teach them to work hard, to be innovative, to overcome that which is put in front of them. What are we telling them if we say “we can’t?” Be innovative unless it’s hard? Overcome unless it takes a lot of extra work? I don’t think that’s The Irvine Way.
Perhaps every possibility has been exhausted to do something extra special for these students and their families. I know that many people have spent lots and lots of time digesting possibilities, solutions, and ideas to find an answer and still maintain the safety of our community and live within the constraints we have been given.
WHAT DOES NOT FAILING MEAN?
For me, “not failing” is to work very hard to make this year’s class of graduates feel very special, very appreciated, and believe they are an even bigger, more exalted part of the community because we rallied around them in this never foreseen circumstance. I don’t know what feeling special might mean to the High School Seniors in Irvine. Have you asked them what they would like to see to make this a special year within the constraints that are put upon us? Perhaps they will surprise us with things we never thought of.
I believe that we should be doing even more for these students this year than ever before because of the disappointment of missing out on their hopes and expectations.
I BELIEVE the challenge before us all is how do we help them become part of a class that didn’t get what everyone else got, but they got something that no one else has ever gotten and may never get again?
Nobel Prize winner Earnest Hemingway wrote: “Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”
With all of this said, here are some potential ideas that might be possible:
1) A tile mural installed on campus with their names and photos. 600 students = 600 square feet.
2) Have students submit photos in front of a green screen both standing and seated and photoshop a great group picture for them to remember their class.
3) Create a school “Scream Video” where each student submits a video of themselves screaming in frustration or joy or however they want. Compile them into a simultaneous grid and have them choreographed into a professional scream video. Screen each school’s scream video in an online Zoom presentation open to the students and others to view the presentation and fun.
4) Create professional caricatures of each student from a photograph in a scene or theme of their choice. Share these images in a virtual presentation and give the originals to the students as a graduation gift.
5) Have a virtual commencement address by a famous person who otherwise would likely never consider appearing at a High School commencement but because of the extraordinary circumstances they might consider donating a little of time for students.
6) Have a private Zoom call with this (or different) famous person where the students were the only ones to attend. The students could be broken into smaller breakout rooms in Zoom and the celebrity could visit each room individually for a few minutes to interact and answer questions.
7) Create an avatar of each student in a cap and gown that looks like them.
8) Create a virtual commencement ceremony where students login through a computer as their avatar and are able to see their classmates (as avatars) and experience the commencement and even receive a virtual diploma from their avatar Principal. And all family members from all over the world could be there to watch as well.
9) For each student, place a virtual photo of them, or their caricature that was created, or their avatar along with their name and “Class of 2020” in a location of their choice in their school where the student, their families, their teachers, future students, anyone at the school throughout time could view through their phones the image of these special students standing there on their campuses so not just to remember them in our hearts but in our vision as well.
10) Have a distanced physical event where families who live in a single household are seated on a street or sidewalk no closer than 40 feet from anyone else.
a. Have the principal drive by on a flatbed truck (safely) and announce the students name over a sound system and a congratulatory salute to the student and the family.
b. Turtle Rock Drive would be a potential location for families to spread out along the route and walk across the street to chairs waiting for them in their designated 40 foot zone.
c. Live feed the entire event from a video camera in a lead car so all involved can hear and see where the commencement is now and cheer from afar.
d. Family members from around the world can join in live.
e. Photograph the event by a professional photographer in a trailing vehicle.
f. With a backdrop façade behind the principal, allow the families to hold up a phone or tablet to see their student standing next to the principal “on the stage” together.
11) Create a personalized work of art with their school, name, and reference to where they are going to school with a distance away or college name.
12) Have a professional music video produced of them in cap and gown for them to have forever.
UNIMAGINABLE?
I can imagine that all of this seems ridiculously complex and overzealous for a graduation that is planned for 2 weeks from now. It is already a lot and I imagine there could be more ideas that will come soon.
Part of this is to attempt to inspire you to think differently about what success in this situation and broaden the idea of possibilities.
I am not suggesting that you pick one of the items above and do it for the students. I am suggesting that you do all of them in order to make this the most special tribute to this remarkable group of students. They should remember their exit from our Irvine Schools with as much satisfaction as humanly possible today.
how it could possible to DO any of this let alone all of it. Aside from the famous people and the permission to stage the Turtle Rock physical ceremony, I believe that I, with a group of professionals, can quickly and effectively solve the rest.
Addendum 5-23-20
After writing the above, I spoke with 3 University High School seniors for one hour. Here are some ideas they came up with. Imagine what 1000 times this number of minds will come up with:
1. Special Jersey with their name and 2020 on it. (Choose favorite sport style or generic jersey style.) – Signed by someone famous or influential would be bonus. (sports figures, entrepreneur: Jordan Belfort, business leader: Bill Gates, celebrity)
2. Special Letterman Jacket for High School memories with ability to choose the patches and messages on your own jacket. Teachers names, clubs, event memories.
3. All School Collage Poster
a. Small group collaboration collage poster with images chosen and designed together (e.g. 20 friends create and each gets a copy)
4. Permanent tile mural.
5. Progressive tribute wall with signed messages from all class (sign up times to keep people apart). Perhaps everyone gets some copy of it.
6. Statue?
7. Local restaurant drive thru for free for grads (e.g. In-n-Out)
a. Each grad gets 1 or 2 coupon cards to use at personal selection from 20 restaurants in Irvine
8. Virtual Grad Night
a. Multiple Zoom Rooms setup
i. Poker tables
ii. Casino tables?
iii. Hypnotist at certain time in large Zoom
iv. Music room
1. Famous musicians performing short sets with Q&A during
2. Drake, Khalid
v. Comedian Room
1. Chris Rock
2. Kevin Hart
vi. Live stream youtube room
1. Big name youtuber hosts the group live in Zoom
9. Orchestrated Senior Sunset distanced but simultaneously experienced and shared on virtually as well.
10. Distance Movie Night
This group of students also suggested getting more ideas so we’ve created a place to gather them from other graduating students.
