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A form created by a Harvard senior and circulated online Monday invited members of the Class of 2021 to participate in a graduation trip to a tropical destination during the coronavirus pandemic.
The form stated that seniors should find an alternative to Commencement Exercises, which it speculated will not take place due to the public health crisis, to celebrate the conclusion of their college experience.
“Hi friends! The chances of having commencement in person look pretty slim, but let's have one last hurrah!” the form read.
It went on to pose a series of questions asking interested students to indicate their travel preferences. Destination options included Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Cancún, or Los Cabos, while the activity offerings spanned live music, catamarans, “boozing,” salon amenities, and scuba diving.
The form stated that the trip is open to all Harvard students and encouraged undergraduates to invite their friends and “significant others,” citing less expensive rates for larger groups: “the bigger the block, the better the rates.”
The form also asked students to select their budget for the trip, ranging from less than $1,000 to more than $2,000.
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The form — which was no longer accepting responses as of Tuesday night — did cite concerns about coronavirus, noting that the trip’s organizers take “COVID safety seriously.”
As of Tuesday, the world had recorded more than 100 million cases of Covid-19, including more than 419,000 deaths in the United States.
The form stated that all trip participants would receive Covid-19 tests before traveling and that they would travel to a resort that “adheres to high COVID safety standards,” including on-site testing.
“The agent booking the trip has handled trips for 70+ people in the midst of COVID without issue,” the form assured prospective travelers. “If the situation with COVID worsens and makes travel untenable, we will all have trip insurance for receiving full refunds or switching the dates.”
Respondents had the option to indicate the number of nights they would like to vacation, ranging from less than four to more than seven. The trip would take place during late May or early June.
The form’s apparent author, Alexis M. “Lexi” Mealey ’21, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.
—Staff writer Alex Koller can be reached at alex.koller@thecrimson.com.
—Staff writer Taylor C. Peterman can be reached at taylor.peterman@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @taylorcpeterman.
