The last four years featured events—both local and global—that shaped the experiences of the Class of ’21. Let’s look back:

Fall 2017- Summer 2018

Aug. 28, 2017 – Dress code changes

ETHS rewrites the dress code in order to remove strick guidelines and focus on a dress code that reflects student expression, beliefs and identity.

Oct. 15, 2017 -#MeToo goes viral

Although the movement began in 2006, the Me Too movement went viral after a post about sexual abuse. #MeToo went viral as a way for people to share their stories of sexual assault and abuse and bring awareness to the issue and the silence associated with it.

March 14, 2018 – School walkouts in protest of Parkland school shooting 

Thousands of ETHS students participated in a school walkout in support of the March For Our Lives campaign following the February school shooting in Parkland Fla. Along with the walkout, students took action by calling Ill. representatives and senators to push for gun control legislation. 

Fall 2018- Summer 2019

Nov. 6, 2018 – Midterm election

The 2018 midterm elections resulted in a major increase in seats for Democrats in the House of Representatives and J.B Pritzker was elected the new Governor of Illinois.

Jan. 14, 2019 – Pritzker is the new Governor of Ill.

J.B. Pritzker is inaugurated as the 43rd governor of Illinois.

March 15, 2019 – School walkout for climate change

ETHS students walk out of school in the interest of bringing awareness to climate change and the lack of climate change policies  

Fall 2019 – Summer 2020

Dec. 18, 2019 – Trump impeachment

President Trump is formally impeached by the House of Representatives for the first time as a result of whistleblower allegations of his abuse of power as president.

March 13, 2020 – Quarantine begins

Friday, March 13, 2020, was the last day of in-person school for the foreseeable future as Illinois and the rest of the country went into the first quarantine shutdown of the COVID-19 pandemic

May 25, 2020 – George Floyd is murdered

George Floyd was murdered by police in Minneapolis sparking mass Black Lives Matter protests across the country against police violence, the policing system. 

Aug. 17, 2020 – First day of remote learning for the school year

ETHS students and staff returned to school for the 2020-2021 school year in an entirely remote setting with class being held over zoom or google meets where staff and students alike navigated the challenges with technology and remote learning. 

Fall 2020 – Spring 2021

Nov. 6, 2020- 2020 Presidential election

The historic 46th presidential election between President Trump and former Vice President Biden. The results were announced Saturday, Nov. 7 with a victory for newly elected President Biden and Vice President Harris. This was the first time many ETHS seniors had the chance to vote in an election.

Jan. 6, 2021 – Capitol insurrection and Trump’s Twitter ban

Following the violent attack and attempted coup at the capitol on January 6, Trump’s Twitter account was permanently banned after he posted tweets commending the violence and telling his supporters to storm the capitol and take back the election.

Feb. 23, 2021 – Evanston municipal elections

The second election for ETHS seniors to participate in decided Evanston’s next mayor, city council members, and city clerk. The victory of the mayoral race went to Daniel Biss, former Illinois state senator turned Evanston Mayor.

March 22, 2021 – Evanston establishes a reparations fund

Evanston became the first U.S. city to establish a reparations fund. Many residents are critical of the program citing it as a housing loan program rather than giving money directly to the people.

April 14, 2021 – Hybrid learning begins

After ETHS announced on March 1 that they would be transitioning to a hybrid learning model in the fourth quarter, staff members and cohorts of students began returning to the classroom for the first time since March 2020. 

April 20, 2021 – Derek Chauvin conviction

The trial of the police officer that murdered George Floyd began on March 8, and concluded on April 20 where he was found guilty on all three charges of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter.