GLADSTONE, Ore. — With a flick of the switch Friday night the football field at Westview High School was bathing in light. This was not for a football game. That season has come and gone. This was for the high school seniors.
"This is a really extraordinary time for us," said Maureen Wheeler of the Beaverton School District.
Wheeler says every Friday night at 8:20, or 20:20 in military time, the class of 2020 will be honored. The lights at every football field in the school district will shine bright for 20 minutes.
"The high schools are mourning the time they're losing with the seniors," said Wheeler. "It's a very special time."
And not just in the Beaverton School District. The Gladstone School District is doing the same. The high school football field will be lit up for the seniors. They are the ones with so much to lose with the cancellation of in-person classes for the remainder of the academic year.
"It's definitely a partial send-off," said Cody Aker, athletic director at Gladstone High School. "This is a way to make sure this is always a place they can come back to but also this is a spot they've grown and achieved a ton."
Nobody will argue that or the hard-to-miss tribute. It is slated for every Friday night through mid-June.
"Those lights, when they come on, they light up a community and can be seen far and wide so we hope people will be thinking of our seniors," said Wheeler.