6 | OCTOBER 2021
OP/ED
Hawkeye
ROD BUDDEN | HAWKEYE
MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCING ARE HERE
BUT ARE THEY WORKING?
By Rachel Davis and Maggie O’Hara HAWKEYE STAFF
A
llowing all students back into the building and slowing the spread of COVID-19 are the top priorities at MTHS. With the return of all students and staff to the building, this is now quite the challenge. Over the summer, the Edmonds School District and MTHS staff worked to ensure a safe learning environment, but whether or not the social distancing measurements are good enough to prevent spread of COVID-19 is up for debate. On the first day back in school, the hallways were shockingly crowded. While it was great to be back, it felt like the start of another regular year with almost no social distancing at all. After a year and a half of being advised to stay at least six feet away from other people, walking through crowded halls to get from class to class was alarming to say the least. Senior Ainsley Ward, class of 2022 Vice President, shared a similar sentiment. Ward is one of the many students impacted by the pandemic. She was one of the many students impacted by classes being shut down after three positive COVID-19 cases were identified in the first week of school. “I was affected by one of the six classrooms. I was in Dremousis’ first period AP Government class,” Ward said. “The
class at the time had about 47 kids in more, rather strangely open and quiet. it, and for the first week or so, we were Even George Dremousis, the AP cramped into his classroom with kids sit- Government, U.S. History and Senior ting along the walls and standing in the Social Studies teacher, felt uneasy in his hallway while he spoke.” first few days of teaching. With his small Multiple classes faced the issue of classroom hidden in a tight corner on overcrowding, but AP Government and the first floor, attempting to shove more Politics was one of the worst examples. students into the room than could fit In only the proved to be “When news came out that I was first week of disastrous. exposed, I was fuming. I had thought school, all 47 “When I the school district didn’t do enough to students in had a class protect the students, especially ours the AP Gov with 30 with as big as it is.” class, as well physical seats as students and 40 plus Ainsley Ward CLASS OF 2022 ASB VP in five other students classes, were enrolled and sent into another with quarantine with almost no notice. The 38 students, I did not feel that there was event was sudden and no one knew what a safe working atmosphere,” Dremousis the future of being in-person would hold. said. “That being said, I did make repeat“When news came out that I was ed requests to make the size of those two exposed, I was fuming,” Ward said. “I classes smaller.” had thought the school district didn’t do Communication was extremely unclear enough to protect the students, especial- to all students, including those quaranly [the ones in that class] with [it being] tined. Those quarantined didn’t know as big as it is.” when they could return, and those still The news about the class closures in-person didn’t know what to expect wasn’t surprising at first. With the school moving forward. building reopening, students getting Eventually, things were starting to look COVID and having to quarantine was up. Students were told that with a vacinevitable. Still, six classes and over 140 cine card and a negative test result, they students home on only the fourth day could return the following day. showed a grim reality about the effects of “Luckily we soon figured out that if we COVID-19. reported our vaccination status, a negaIt was eerie coming into school on Sept. tive COVID test and presented with no 13. The hallways weren’t crowded anysymptoms, we could get back into the
building very quickly,” Ward said. It was relieving to have people back in from the closure, and in the aftermath of this event, guidelines and restrictions changed. Teachers were required to enforce strict seating charts, ensuring students exposed to COVID could be tracked and quarantined with contact tracing. As of Sept. 27, the school also split the two pre-existing lunches into three: one before fourth, one in the middle and one after. Also, only two to three students are permitted to move from one advisory class to another, with extra emphasis on contact tracing. While a lot of the measures in place are working, there are still problematic situations across the school. During nutrition break after first period, for example, it’s almost impossible to walk past the HUB with all of the students congregating to get snacks. The halls, especially the intersection at the top of the main stairway, are also packed as students leave after school. A lot of changes have already been made to make MTHS safer since the first day of school, and more changes are sure to come. Going into the school year, many students’ outlook on staying inperson wasn’t optimistic. After experiencing the social distancing measures firsthand, however, there’s more hope that the actions being taken to minimize the spread of COVID will be enough to keep us in-person and maintain some level of normalcy. H
