At a time when it seems like America is missing his guidance, a Los Angeles high school senior’s request to get forever POTUS Barack Obama to serve as commencement speaker for the class of 2020 has understandably gone viral.
Lincoln Debenham, 17, tweeted at Obama, asking him to deliver a virtual “national commencement address” to replace schools’ canceled ceremonies as so many students will be missing out on the real thing.
“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, which had 130,000 likes and more than 20,000 retweets as of Wednesday night.
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A spokeswoman for Obama said that they were aware of the tweets and they were “very flattered” but declined to comment any further on the matter, according to CNN.
Debenham told CNN that he put out the call after hearing that Obama had endorsed his former vice president, Joe Biden, on Tuesday for the Democratic presidential nomination.
With the help of his older brother Eli, Debenham said the two came up with a tweet that they felt conveyed the right message to ask Obama to participate in virtual graduation rites.
“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 struggles of others.”
Debenham explained that Obama is an icon to his generation and 2020’s graduating class.
“They got to vote for Barack Obama in mock elections when they were little kids and they got to watch Barack Obama become the first black president and get sworn in while they were in school,” Debenham said. “I remember watching that in the classroom and feeling kind of amazed at such a young age and feel like I was a part of history.”
Hey, anything is possible and it’s not out of the ordinary for presidents and former presidents to give commencement speeches.
Obama gave several commencement addresses while he was president, but he hasn’t given any since he left office.
“It’s about someone who speaks for my generation,” Debenham tweeted, responding to somebody who remarked on a potential reaction from President Donald Trump. “That’s what this is about. Hearing that voice of hope again.”
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