No Drama, Just Diplomas

FRANKFORT, IL — As so many vowed it would, the spotlight Wednesday shifted from a year's worth of tension and tempers, to the 443 golden graduates of Lincoln-Way North High School.

A palpable sadness was matched with pride as the school sent off its final graduating class before a football stadium packed with family and friends.

It was the last time such ceremony would take place on this particular stage, an honor not lost on the graduates. The school will be shuttered as the district attempts to dig itself out of a dire financial hole that landed it in on the state's financial watch list. The school board's decision has drawn the ire of the district community—sparking investigations, lawsuits, and protests.

But for the time it took to receive their diplomas, the Phoenix and their fans rose above it all.

Principal Mark Cohen touched on the trying year as he stuck to tradition and burned a list of the 2015-2016 school year's accomplishments.

"To be a Phoenix is to know all things end, to be thankful for the good times, and optimistic when things aren't the way we want them to be," Cohen said.

Cohen advised graduates to turn their focus to the future, rather than dwell on achievements or losses or past wrongs.

"I asked a lot of you this year and you rose to the occasion. You should all be very proud to have been a Phoenix," Cohen said. "I most certainly am proud to have been your principal."

Retired principal Gardner, who also stood before the school's first class of graduates in 2010, resumed the same role before the final group.

"The Phoenix rises from the ashes. Never forget that," Gardner said. "Never give up."

There were no bitter remarks from the students, who used the podium as a chance to share positivity. The graduates bestowed a senior gift of a glass display case to hold "eight years of triumph and success" and to serve as a "tangible memory of all that was accomplished by the Lincoln-Way North Phoenix," said senior class sponsor Britt Christensen.

Class President Brian Keck noted his classmates' strength throughout the year.

"History and literature alike shows that some of the loudest opinions and beliefs aren't necessarily the right ones. As far as next year goes, none of us know exactly what to expect, but that's OK. We are ready for anything that comes our way and this class has proven multiple times that we can overcome just about anything," Keck said.

Meant for the students, Cohen's words earlier in the evening were poignant to all those who have witnessed what so many call the fall of L-W District 210.

"A Phoenix moves on from the past and looks forward. One way to do this is to forgive others, and ourselves, of the errors of the past," Cohen told the crowd. "Just as we let go of the accomplishments of yesterday, we must also let go of yesterday's anger. Holding a grudge will not make you strong, instead it makes you bitter. Demonstrating forgiveness doesn't make you weak, it sets you free. Everyone deserves the peace that comes from letting go of negativity."