Mask On, Mask Off?

Mask On, Mask Off? Should Students Wear Masks at School?

YES: We Must Prioritize Others Health

An Editorial Opinion By Cami Perez

Students should wear a mask to protect themselves and others around them. Thousands of people are still affected by the COVID pandemic, and out of courtesy for others, we should take whatever precautions possible to prevent the spread. With new variants arising and more cases of COVID on the rise, taking preventative measures that prevent the spread is imperative. Wearing a mask is proven to decrease the spread of cases because your germs are filtered by the mask. Additionally, according to the International Infectious Disease Center at Mass General Hospital, the Omicron variant lives in your nose and upper respiratory area, which makes it all the more contagious than previous strands of the virus that reside deeper within your lungs. This proves that masks work in preventing the spread of not only COVID but its more infectious variants. According to the CDC website, the center “recommends universal indoor masking by all” students (ages 2 years and older), staff, teachers, and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status.” Another key reason why students should wear masks at school is to protect those who are immunocompromised. Immunocompromised people oftentimes are unable to get the vaccine, causing them to become more susceptible to not only contracting the virus but also potentially dying or getting seriously ill from it. I believe that even if someone does not like masks they should still wear them because the longer people don’t wear masks and ignore the CDC suggestions, the longer we are going to be in their pandemic. The outbreaks are not going to stop if people keep ignoring the information scientists are releasing. The last thing we want as a school is to go back online for the rest of the year because COVID cases are getting out of hand. If students truly care about the wellbeing of others, they should simply put on a mask because, at the end of the day, it does not harm the wearer and could prevent someone from contracting the virus.

NO: Masks Are Not as Beneficial as They Seem

An Editorial Opinion By Jane Elkins

Now that Governor Youngkin’s Executive Order #2 has been implemented at Bishop Ireton and CDC has changed its maskwearing guidelines in educational settings, students now have the option to not wear masks at school. This has caused the question of wearing a mask or not to be vested in students on an individual basis, rather than required by the school. In my opinion, students should not wear masks if they do not want to because the benefits of masks in preventing serious illness or death from COVID-19 among children are small. First off, COVID-19’s survival rate among children is 99.9%, making the disease less of a threat than the flu. Additionally, tremendous hypocrisy and inconsistencies are present in the principle of mask-wearing. Although it is minimally effective in preventing the spread of COVID, many don’t consistently wear them correctly and ignore other effective preventive measures that attribute to the spread of the virus. We sit in crowded lunchrooms completely unmasked, participate in sports competitions both outdoor and indoor completely unmasked, and many attend large social gatherings outside of school completely unmasked. These activities and circumstances completely disregard other preventive measures like social distancing, which is arguably more effective in preventing the spread than a thin cloth covering the nose and mouth. Arguably, what aspect of COVID that is most detrimental towards children is the psychological and learning toll masks make on children. Masks cover the entire lower part of one’s face, this reduces a student’s ability to communicate with her teacher and her peers, which for younger children can be detrimental towards their non-verbal communication skills. The strongest case for wearing a mask in school is that it protects students’ family members at home, particularly adults that are more susceptible to the virus. Although it is proven that wearing masks at school may be partially effective in shielding adults at home from COVID, when is it ethical to burden children for the benefit of adults? Now, especially with the availability of the COVID-19 vaccine, adults have no reason to put their safety ahead of the well-being of students. Vaccinations are the most effective way of preventing the virus, reducing hospitalization rates, and preventing death. Today, adults have no reason to put their safety ahead of the well-being of school kids. In all, if students want to take the precaution of wearing a mask at school, they should. However, it is important to remember that masks are not a guarantee of safety and consider that all actions during a pandemic affect all of us. Those who wear masks should also get vaccinated, practice social distancing, and not attend large gatherings, or wearing the mask truly provides no benefit.