VIDEO: Graduating students demand a prom

Graduating student Ally Wyllie wants a prom, and more than 2,000 people agree.

Wyllie penned a lengthy letter to the editor to go along with her petition demanding that School District 23 take a fresh look at allowing some kind of in-person gathering to replace their prom night.

In her open letter to school district officials, the graduating student wondered how we can allow people to wait in long line-ups to get into stores like Costco, but we can't design an even for students on one of the biggest occasions of their lives.

"What is the difference between the grocery store line ups and graduates being able to have our prom walk at the same safe distancing?" she asked.

In a video interview with KelownaNow, Wyllie was quick to acknowledge that there are people in worse circumstances than she and her classmates because of the COVID-19 crisis, and she fully understands that her issue may not be the most important.

But she still feels it is worthy of consideration, and the number of signatures she was able to collect suggests she is far from alone, and she said the importance of the occasion can't be overstated.

"It's being with everyone," she said. "It's being able to throw our caps in the air at the end of the year, just with everybody, being with our peers, our classmates. This is our last chapter of being kids."

With schools now offering to have individual ceremonies where students will receive a diploma on a stage, all that's really missing is the prom. But that's a big one for Wyllie. She still believes something can be done safely.

"Even if we all just went in dresses in a big, big field," she suggested. "Even if it can't be the traditional walk downtown and dinner at the Grand, I feel that some sort of way to show off these beautiful dresses and this beautiful formal wear should be somehow put into this."

The virtual graduation being offered by the school district simply doesn't make the grade as far a Wyllie is concerned.

Dr. Rick Oliver at School District 23 said he feels for Ally Wyllie and all of the class of 2020 calling the situation "heartbreaking". But he said, "We're taking advice from the public health officer."

Given the statements coming from Dr. Bonnie Henry about how long it might be before large gatherings can be permitted, Oliver said they simply can't do it. "There really is no way to pull that off," he said.