On February 28 many Watauga High School students were finally allowed to fully see each other’s faces at school for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. The Watauga School Board of Education voted unanimously to make the mask mandate optional. For some, this change was a relief and a sign that normalcy is finally feasible, but for others, it was a source of anxiety, with many questioning if the change was too early.
A survey sent out to the student body where 93 responded, found that 75% were in favor of the mask mandate becoming optional and the other 25% were not. The survey also discovered that 57% of respondents chose to be unmasked, 25.8% chose to be masked, and 17.2% said they both masked and unmasked depending on the situation.
“In my opinion, I think we should have kept masks around longer. Watauga county is still in the red for Covid cases and CDC guidelines also recommend we still wear masks indoors,” said freshman Lola Herring.
At the time of the mask mandate being changed to optional, Watauga county was in the red but that is no longer the case.
“We should listen to the science rather than the politics behind wearing a mask,” said Herring. “I understand people are tired of wearing masks because I am too but we all have to do our parts. We need to respect everyone’s decision because at the end of the day our peers and friends are what’s going to get us through this unusual time we are living through.”
This sentiment occurred frequently in the survey.
“I have been wearing my mask for almost 2 years now and it's honestly just become second nature to me,” said Juna Gersonde, freshman. “I have chosen to continue wearing my mask at school, although many of my friends have not. Making masks optional makes me nervous because people I know are still getting sick with COVID.”
Another anonymous Watauga High School student took a more analytical approach to argue that the mask mandate was lifted too early.
“Due to high number of unvaccinated people, and the direct correlation between lack of wearing a mask during its requirement and lack of vaccination, those who choose to not wear a mask and are unvaccinated far surpasses the exact polar opposite, increasing the probability of more surges and outbreaks,” the student observed.
The same student also made a compelling point about the situation before the mandate was changed.
“It's also important to note that the majority of those who wore masks during the mandate did not wear them properly, and the wearing of was not sufficiently enforced (in fact, not at all enforced), resulting in the constant witness of countless people not wearing masks properly, noses exposed - mouths and faces as well,” this anonymous student said.
Students who were in favor of the change placed an emphasis on the importance of the students’ rights to make a decision for themselves.
“I believe that masks should be optional, giving students, parents, teachers, and staff members the ability to exercise the freedom that our country fought so hard for,” said Karsyn Lee , freshman. “Removing a state, country, or county mandate it gives everyone involved the ability to make a decision and respect others even if their decision is different than yours.”
Other students also indicated a preference for the now optional mask ruling from the Board of Education.
“Although you cannot please everyone in any decision you make, making the masks optional at least gives people an option as to what they want to do, and for those of us that don’t want to wear masks this makes it to where we are able to not wear them, and for the ones that chose to continue to wear a mask if that’s what they want to feel safe,” says freshman Rylee Ward. “Although it still doesn’t please everyone, it gives us a choice as to what we want to do.”
Some students voiced concerns about judgment occurring on the basis of wearing a mask or not at school.
“I don't really like how some people are reacting to others who are still wearing their masks,” said Ayla Tipton, sophomore. “It's their opinion. You wouldn't want them to judge you like that so don't judge them. It's honestly just basic human decency to not judge others for their opinions. I'm pretty sure that most kids were taught that in kindergarten.”
While the majority of students are pleased with the mask mandate being optional, concerns over COVID cases rising are valid and as a new variant called Deltacron emerges, the issue could become more pressing.
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