OPINION: MASK MANDATES

OPINION: OPTIONAL MASKS

THOUGHTS ON MASKS BECOMING OPTIONAL

Recently HSE Schools announced several updates concerning covid protocols. The biggest update being that starting on Tuesday, Feb. 22, masks will become optional in school. At this time, masks are still required on school buses following federal mandate; quarantine requirements will currently continue as directed by the Indiana State Department of Health; and student instruction through Zoom will no longer be available for students in quarantine. Instead, teachers and students will need to use Canvas for emailing and assignments and any work can be placed in the front o ce for pick up or drop o . The primary force behind the change is due to the steady decrease in positive coronavirus cases and mandatory quar-

Color your mask

antines across the district. From Feb. 14 - 27 there has been a total of 1,205,861 new cases in the US. In those two weeks, Indiana also had a total of 16,022 new cases. In Hamilton County there was 924 new cases. The mask-optional announcement has elicited a variety of reactions from students, families and teachers. Royals were surprised, slightly worried, and some excited. There are concerns about covid cases rising, but students have also kept a positive mindset about the change. “Masks becoming optional would give a sense of normal back at school after a long battle of online learning these last few years,” said sophomore Alyssa Damon. Although, I do understand people’s hesitations with masks becoming optional because of the increase in possible covid cases it may cause.” Several students have agreed on the fact that school and socializing has had such a great e ect. It is agreed that after virtual learning and the mask mandate, feeling a positive, radiating energy in school was di cult. “I would not prefer to do virtual learning now, said junior Sophie Boulet. I think that it was very di cult to form connections and friendships through virtual learning and forming solid relationships in high school years is very important. When we had a mask mandate, the overall energy of the school was low, and everyone just kept to themselves. Nobody was talking to each other, and everyone spent a lot more time in class on their phones instead of collaborating. The masks made talking to people awkward.” After the fi rst day of optional masks, “It feels like a lot more people are willing to interact with each other, in other words, senior Bentley Dombrow said. The school feels more like the community it used to be.” Several students see a change in the classroom dynamic and teachers have too. A change of seeing “More smiling, more audible laughter, more ability to read facial expressions, and less times I have to ask a student to repeat themselves,” said English teacher Jill McGrath. Being in-person, learning and teaching had been taken for granted before the pandemic. As of now, Royals deeply value the interaction with each other and productive communication they get while learning in the school building. Story by Allyson Carney.

The fi rst week of school without masks felt a little odd in all honesty. I had been so used to wearing masks that I felt like I was forgetting something because I wasn’t wearing one. It was a nice change though to be able to see people not just from the eyes up.

It felt very di erent going to school the fi rst day mask optional because I was so used to seeing everyone’s face covered up by a mask, and since we have been wearing masks for almost the whole year it felt very surreal.

- Mitchell Morical, 12

Hamilton County- Total Cases of Covid- 81, 296 Deaths- 646 Indiana- Total Cases of Covid- 1.69 million Deaths- 22, 963

Information from USA FACTS Organization

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0

Students in Classrooms on the First Optional Mask Day

Teacher A Teacher B Teacher C Teacher D Teacher E Teacher F Teacher G Teacher H

Wearing Masks Total Students Information collected from HSE classrooms on Tuesday, Febuary 21