Cherry Hill High School East will hold its graduation event outdoors on June 17 at 7pm at Cherry Hill High School West’s Jonas C. Morris Stadium. The school currently plans to give each graduating student three tickets for their guests to attend. In the event of inclement weather, the graduation will be moved inside to the Cherry Hill West auditorium and will not allow for any guest spectators. Rules regarding Covid-19 precautions have not yet been determined. The event will be livestreamed.

The event will feature speeches and will have graduates walk in front of or across a stage to receive their diplomas. East Principal Dr. Dennis Perry said his goal was to have as close to a normal graduation as possible this year.

The ongoing pandemic and associated public health regulations have forced the ceremony to change in location and logistics as compared to previous years. Until New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced changes to state regulations on April 26, a graduation event was not going to occur. When the Governor loosened restrictions to allow for graduation ceremonies, East began planning for its event.

In past years, the event has been held at Temple University’s Liacouras Center, where it accommodated as many as ten or more guests per student. This year, the varying regulations of the university, the city of Philadelphia where Temple is located, and the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey made holding the event at the Center difficult. Facing the prospect of having to have three different graduations ceremonies with no guest spectators allowed at any of them, East leadership sought other venues.

Speaking about the difficulty of finding a venue, Perry said “We called all over, everywhere, to try to find a venue so we could have more people.” Holding the event at East was not a top option because of the school’s lack of adequate fixed seating capacity compared to other venues.

Perry said he is thrilled that the graduation event is able to happen, adding “It’s amazing. I am so excited to have the class come together.”