Seniors used to flood into the room sporting their caps and gowns, with their smiles exuding anticipation.Graduating at The Palace has become something of a tradition for UCS seniors after many years of graduations there. And yet, that tradition has collapsed with the closure and soon-to-be destruction of The Palace.

Since the announcement of The Palace closing, the location for future graduations has been unknown.
Though graduation isn’t until the end of the school year, it can be vital for the schools that an appropriate location to host graduation is discovered. One location largely in question is Little Caesars Arena (LCA) in Detroit.

“I don’t think [graduation will be at LCA],” teacher Anthony Smith hypothesized. “I think they’ll do something close.”

Despite talk of LCA being the new location for graduation, it seems that some staff members are not on board with the idea.

“I don’t think [LCA] was a good option,” administrative assistant to the principal Deanna Steinwascher said. “The establishment wasn’t set up like The Palace where you can get people in and out easily.”

Because of the many options of a location for the graduating class of 2018 and years following, the process of settling on one specific location is still ongoing.

“I know Chippewa Valley Schools use one of those soccer arenas over in Auburn Hills,” Smith said. “I think they’ll look for something similar to that unless they work out a deal with the Ilitch family and go down to Joe Louis [Arena], but I can’t imagine that’s going to happen.”

Information regarding the date and location of graduation will be shared by principal Tom Lietz when it becomes available. For now, though, the location remains to be determined.