Class of 2022 Graduation
This article was last updated on: January 1st 2023
A discussion on Willemstan's fate following graduation.
"The graduation of our class from Williamston High School marks the beginning of very uncertain times for Willemstan. While we have limped onward to 2023, we have no doubt seen a great decline in activity and a stalling in our political system. The reality is, the Willemstan of old has not coped well with modern times. More than ever, Willemstan must not shy away from radical reforms."
- Ian Hampton in a speech in #propaganda, 01/02/2023.
"Just keep it going, why should we dissolve it just because there's not as much activity as previously? It's still fun."
- Charlie Nolan on continuing Willemstan, 11/28/2022.
Lore
The graduation of the Class of 2022 from Williamston High School occurred in May 2022, and the graduation ceremony took place on June 5th of 2022. This event marked the graduation of all of Willemstan's original members and almost all of the active members. This event has no doubt severed the link between Willemstan and Williamston Community Schools. While the member count in the Willemstan Discord Server has remained stable during 2022, server activity has taken a decline not seen since Annie Payton's rule.
Initial Speculation
See also: Immigration
The Class of 2022's graduation had been long prophesied by many Willemstan members to be the end of Willemstan or the natural stopping point. With its oldest members finishing high-school and moving on with their lives, it was believed that graduation would cause a gradual end to Willemstan as a result. Ian Hampton believed graduation would be the end of Willemstan, unless younger WHS students were recruited into Willemstan to continue its legacy. As a result, under his leadership, the Recruitment of Underclassmen Initiative began, which roped many students into Willemstan. Prior to this, Wee Willemstan under Sean Kavanagh's second reign was intended to be a trial for newer members.
In 2021, Malcolm predicted that Willemstan would sputter out and die after a while following graduation.
In August 2021, Ian called a vote on Willemstan's future, in which some Willemstan members voted for Willemstan's retirement following graduation.
Post-Graduation Uncertainty
Since the summer of 2022, activity in the Willemstan Discord Server has been low. While activity is usually low during the summer in Willemstan, server activity did not rebound later in 2022, which was unusual. This is no doubt a result of graduation. The question of what to do with Willemstan remains largely unresolved, and there are divided opinions.
During the Summer 2022 Election, Joey Badra proclaimed that only server members still enrolled in WHS should run for Dictator. This seemed to be an idea that some Willemstani agreed with, while others did not.
While Recruitment of Underclassmen Initiative resulted in server growth, it did not result in increased server activity and the creation of a stable second generation of Willemstan citizens. Out of the 20 or so younger students recruited into the server, only a handful, if that, remained active. The initiative was a failure. In August 2022, when Ian realized that server activity in Willemstan was not recovering, he called active members still enrolled in WHS in #propaganda to recruit more people to Willemstan if possible. This did not result in anything. Furthermore, the increase of younger members into Willemstan was a polarizing decision, and one that may have harmed activity Willemstan long-term. Devin Abood left the server in June 2022, citing one of his reasons as not wanting to share a server with people who are still high school students.
Ian calling Willemstan's few active members still enrolled at WHS to action.
Theorizing that WHS influence was crucial in generating Willemstan activity, drama, and politics, Ian brought up the idea of retiring Willemstan to Izzy's administration in October 2022. Citing graduation as crippling Willemstan, Ian wanted to put the Willemstan Discord Server's retirement up to a vote. This had been preceded by Joey calling for the political aspects of Willemstan to be removed following graduation. However, when none of the other members of Izzy's administration offered strong support for Ian's idea, it was dropped. In particular, Charlie Nolan claimed that Willemstan is still a fun project despite low activity.
Izzy's administration discussion on Ian's proposal to retire Willemstan.
Despite these uncertainties, Willemstan continued on. The Winter 2022 Election occured on schedule, with Charlie elected as the 9th Dictator of Willemstan.