Evanston Township High School seniors will celebrate their graduation at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena this spring, marking the school’s first in-person, indoor graduation since 2019.

ETHS’ 2020 graduation took place virtually due to COVID-19. In 2021, seniors celebrated outdoors at the ETHS football stadium. Because of the stadium’s size, the school held six in-person ceremonies as well as a virtual graduation to accommodate all graduates and their guests.

ETHS graduation this year is scheduled for May 22 at 10 a.m., and will also be livestreamed on the ETHS Wildkits YouTube Live Stream channel. The rehearsal, on a date to be announced, will also occur at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Each senior will receive five guest tickets after the rehearsal.

ETHS graduation did not take place at Welsh-Ryan in 2017 or 2018 due to a 20-month, $110 million arena renovation. Instead, those ceremonies occurred at the NOW Arena — then the Sears Centre Arena — in Hoffman Estates. 

The arena now holds 7,039 seats, a decrease from a capacity of more than 8,000 prior to its renovation.

ETHS has not specified a masking policy for the event on its FAQs page. NU does not require masks to be worn in most indoor spaces, including athletic facilities, but does strongly recommend “masking in areas where distancing is not possible,” according to guidance from the University’s website. 

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