High school senior asks Obama to deliver a virtual commencement address

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By Donna Baeck

High school senior Lincoln Debenham tweeted former President Barack Obama on Tuesday asking to deliver a virtual commencement address to the graduating class of 2020, according to CNN.

Debenham mentioned in his tweet that many graduation ceremonies across the country are unable to be held in-person due to the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing. He suggested President Obama to deliver a virtual commencement address to replace the canceled graduation ceremonies, according to ABC News.

"Like most high school/college seniors, I'm saddened by the loss of milestone events, prom & graduation. In an unprecedented time, it would give us great comfort to hear your voice. We ask you to consider giving a national commencement speech to the class of 2020," Debenham said in his tweet.

CNN reported Debenham is a senior at Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles, California. He got the idea to tweet Obama after he publicly endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination. His brother, Eli, helped him form the tweet.

"We all at some point felt bad about feeling bad about" missing graduation, Debenham said. "People are dying, people are getting really sick, losing their jobs. I think a lot of us realized it's OK to feel bad as long as you don't minimize the struggle of others."

ABC News reported the tweet went viral, with more than 44,000 retweets and 219,000 favorites throughout the week. After Debenham posted his tweet, students and parents also responded with requests to Obama for a commencement address.

A spokesperson for Obama said they were aware and "flattered" by the tweets but declined to comment further, according to CNN.


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