Editorial: Our advice to the Class of 2020: Avoid the hornets

By The Herald Editorial Board

High school graduates of the Class of 2020,

You must be asking yourself about now: “What did we do to deserve this mess?” And “What’s the latest news on the murder hornets?”

The answers: Nothing. And; a dead one was found last week in Custer, which is along I-5, a few miles south of the U.S.-Canada border, which should dissuade the 19-year-olds amongst you from making the trip to British Columbia once the border and the Vancouver bars open.

This isn’t what anyone wished for you.

While previous graduates have heard the strains of Elgar’s “Pomp and Circumstance” while accepting their diplomas, handshakes from school board members and applause from fellow graduates and family, you’re getting various levels of pomp under unforeseen circumstances, that being the precautions taken during the coronavirus pandemic.

Graduates of Edmonds School District were treated to a virtual graduation ceremony on Friday. Families for Marysville School District grads threw a city-wide parade of vehicles that passed by all four high schools in late May. Everett School District, because the county has now advanced to Phase 2 of the state’s Safe Start plan, has planned a drive-in commencement for this Saturday at the parking lot next to Memorial Stadium. Graduates and their families — one family per car — are invited to attend, and graduates will be allowed to get out of their cars — wearing a mask — as their names are called and walk the stage to pick up diplomas, before getting back in their car and then leaving. Immediately.

The cap toss has been replaced by the ceremonial removal of the face mask.

But one thing you won’t be denied is the unsolicited advice of adults, some of whom are responsible to varying degrees for the state of the world into which you now embark.

As we said: What did you do to deserve this?

Kidding aside — a least for a few paragraphs — your generation, including the recent classes before and after you, are being asked to enter adulthood during a difficult time. Other generations before you have faced formidable challenges and uncertain futures; others, while they share today’s circumstances with you, had an easier time establishing themselves in careers and community. (The worst the author’s generation had to face during the 1980s was the slide of a once-decent rock band, Jefferson Airplane to Jefferson Starship to Starship and “We Built This City.”)

You already know all the following, but we’ll recount it here to remind those older than 25 who might be wistfully thinking about how swell it would be to be a high school graduate again.

Along with the aforementioned pandemic, which threatens a resurgence even as a vaccine is still months away at best:

Those who are planning to attend college are likely to experience a learning environment that’s much like the one they’ve muddled through during the last few months of high school; with an emphasis on distance: distance learning, social distancing and commons and dining halls that are closed or at reduced capacity. For some time yet, college life won’t be anything like what your parents remembered; what they do remember of college life.

The first piece of advice: Choose your dorm mate well; you’ll be seeing a lot of that person.

Those who are entering the job market now or four or more years from now can’t count on an unemployment rate that was at historic lows just a few months ago. While the latest national figures showed improvement, the national jobless rate was around 16 percent for May. Snohomish County’s unemployment rate for April — at 20.2 percent — was the highest in the state.

Second piece of advice: Go to school; get a degree or a training certificate to give yourself the best shot at getting a job. Your high school diploma isn’t your ticket to the good life; it’s a transfer pass. If Snohomish County doesn’t have a lot of job openings right now, what it does have is quality community colleges with scads of programs in high-demand career fields.

Voters are facing perhaps the most consequential election in decades, as they choose not only who will occupy the White House for the next four years, but also control of Congress.

Third piece of advice: Register to vote; then vote. And not just in the presidential election on Nov. 3. Certainly, that’s where all the attention is right now, and that’s as it should be. Determining who’s in control of the White House and Congress as of January 2021 while determine the nation’s direction and success on numerous issues, at least some of which we’re certain you believe are important because many of you have been marching in the streets about them, including climate change, racial inequality, the rights of women, the role and practices of law enforcement in our communities, immigration and freedom of speech, among others.

But after this November, keep voting, particularly in local elections for city, county and legislative races. It’s the public offices at that level that most directly affect our daily lives. If it’s change you want to see in your community, it is those offices for state lawmakers, mayors, council members, school board members and others that can make those changes.

There’s so much more knowledge we could impart to you: Change your oil regularly; it’s a lot cheaper in the long run. No matter how tight your finances, stay away from pay-day loans; they’re a trap. When things open up again enjoy some live music. Subscribe to newspapers, even if it’s just a digital subscription; you’ll need that information. Learn how to roast a chicken; it’s pretty easy and it’ll impress your date. Call your parents, at least once a week (they told us to include that one).

One final bit of advice: Don’t envy those older than you because they might have had it easier than you will. Some did; some didn’t. But everyone has stuff they have to deal with. And the fewer the struggles in one’s life, the fewer the opportunities for growth and strength.

Oh, and keep an eye out for the murder hornets.