Gold paper crowns and black fishnet leggings flooded the halls as juniors took Instagram photos in the student parking lot and against campus walls. Underclassmen admired the spectacle of juniors strutting around campus feeling a sense of senior recognition. Following senior checkout on May 9, the juniors were left to carry on the Senior Blackout tradition.

On May 24, juniors took part in a senior privilege, decked out in black denim and leather skirts to participate in their first Senior Blackout. According to tradition, seniors spontaneously dress in all-black outfits on various Fridays throughout their senior year. In preparation for senior year and to mark the end of junior year, the Class of 2020 united in one color.

The blackout served as a wake-up call for many rising seniors as they realized their last year of high school was approaching.

“I feel like it’s a right of passage to dress up in all black just like all the senior classes that came before,” digital media junior Sophia Dawson said. “I feel really old now, to say the least.”

Many juniors enjoyed the creativity of black outfits, as well as being able to dress up like their friends and siblings had done in years prior. Caggiani mentioned that her favorite part of the blackout was “the abundance of Burger King crowns,” which she described as “amazing.”