Senior drag defies social distancing guidelines

On April 18, members of the community were invited to participate in dragging Main Street as a way to support this year’s senior class. The CDC has advised people to stay six feet away from people not living in their household and to have minimal contact with others in order to prevent more people from getting sick. Although the idea was good in theory- everyone staying in their cars, driving down Main Street- many students ignored safety regulations by meeting at Centennial Park before the drag to take pictures.
The actions of the people participating were irresponsible and completely defeated the purpose of social distancing in the first place. Not only did they put themselves at risk of getting sick, but they were also willing to risk the safety and lives of everyone around them. According to harveycounty.com,there are currently five confirmed cases of coronavirus in Harvey County, but if people do not take the stay-at-home order more seriously, those numbers are likely to increase.
There have been conversations of having more “recognition” drags in the future to support eighth graders and kindergarteners in the community. If these future drags are anything like the one held for the seniors, then the safety of this town will be compromised.
While some attempts at recognizing seniors fell short of making an impact, for example, parents posting their senior pictures on social media, there have been more successful ways to show support. “Be the Light” was an event held on April 20, from the safety of their own porches. Parents and family members of this year’s seniors from across the state stood outside and held up a light for the graduating class. In addition to porch lights, football and baseball stadium lights were lit up for the event.
Having a big social event such as dragging main is not the only way to support seniors. It was irresponsible and immature of students to use dragging Main as an opportunity to spend time with their friends. In order to keep the community safe, future dragging events need to be cancelled. No social event is worth risking the lives of others.