To the Class of 2021:

What a four years it’s been.

While this graduation season will not feature raucous parties, sentimental family reunions in Hyde Park, or drawn-out speeches in ninety degree weather, we hope that you will find it no less special. Graduating university is a momentous accomplishment—and graduating from the University of Chicago even more so. Those of us with time remaining in the College will miss your leadership on RSOs, late-night life tips, and, of course, the 2 a.m. problem set hints you so generously provided.

The class of 2021 is populated with our friends, mentors, former RAs, and a number of phenomenal outgoing contributors to The Maroon. You introduced us to campus, recruited us for campus organizations, instructed us on the finer points of campus roofing and UChicago’s party scene, and served as a model of intellectual and personal tenacity as we navigated the pandemic together.

We know that soon, you will be public servants, activists, artists, innovators, physicians, jurists, dealmakers, and leaders in every sector. Your choices will help define the future of your fields and industries. At The Maroon, we eagerly await the opportunity to write headlines about these ground-breaking accomplishments. Today, we feel lucky that we also got to know you as meme-makers, Scav masterminds, Reg rats, Kuvia enthusiasts, campus baristas, and primal screamers. Thank you for bringing your creativity, humor, and sharp minds to our campus community: We have benefited from your presence here, and now the world will benefit from your presence.

We also want to recognize that this class of Maroons is graduating into an uncertain economy and a world reeling from crisis. The class of 2021 has the unique task of building post-graduate lives as the global community itself rebuilds post-pandemic. You might not know what comes next for you, and that’s okay. After all, you’ve already made it through The Core, bar nights, all-night thesis sessions, econometrics problem sets, and fourth meals at Bartlett—sometimes in the same 24 hours. What could stop you?

Wherever you may be reading this issue—at home, on campus, or somewhere else entirely—we hope that it gives you a moment amidst the frenzy of graduation to reflect on these past four years. We can’t wait to see what you accomplish in the future, and we will be rooting for you every step of the way.

Adyant Kanakamedala, Matthew Lee, and Ruby Rorty