The school is starting fresh and new! From the pandemic at the start of the year and the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement that has started over the summer, we have come back stronger, making sure all the students are safe and sure to be protected from Covid-19. Or are they? 

I walk into the school ready to see what the new start is, and hoping things will go the way it will be this year. Not even a week in, I’m starting to wonder why are students not wearing the mask as they should? Masks tucked under their nose inches away from dozens of students. Slipping their mask bands off their ears in the crowded hallways. I am surprised we haven’t gone on a hybrid schedule. 

The main problem here is the potential hazard with these improper masks. An anonymous junior from Mountain View has said “Hmm… I see some people wear it below the nose, but then it’ll go over their nose if asked, or they just fix it themselves.”  This may seem a little alarming but it doesn’t feel like a big concern. She continued saying “I tend to see it in classrooms when people are in their seats, but when a teacher asks them to pull it up, they listen which is good.” 

Another student in Mountain View who is a new incoming sophomore has also had the same experience. The sophomore said, “Yes, they wear them under their noses or just under their chin. Their only excuse is they can’t breathe.” I asked her if the same students were nearby other students, she responded, “Yes, there were students around. Maybe at least two times a week, if not three.”

I asked another junior from the school about her experience. The student says, “Oh yes. Most people wear them properly, but some don’t cover their noses with it. This happens in class, in the halls, anywhere. So there are usually a lot of people.” I questioned her why so? She responded, “I feel like they do it because they don’t take this pandemic seriously, or because they are rebellious?” She continues, “Most of the time, it’s guys in my Calc and English [classes] that don’t cover their noses.” 

I also asked her how much has this occurred at school, she responded with “I think I probably see it like 3-5 times a day.” 

The same student shared an experience at school openly with me, she says, “The other morning there was someone who wasn’t wearing a mask at all in front of my math class. He wasn’t eating or drinking, I snapped at him for not wearing a mask. Turned out he had a medical condition that made it so he wouldn’t wear one. I felt bad to snap at him for that.”

 Yes, it is our responsibility to keep our fellow students and teachers safe. We want students to understand the responsibility of why you need to wear the mask in a public area, especially a place you will visit five hours a day for five days a week, and a place that has a right to set their own rules by the higher standard. 

With us being in the orange range of the pandemic and at risk of potentially being the next school to be on hybrid schedule, it is an interesting topic to be acknowledged with the following questions– How is this situation affecting students with medical conditions? Will it be a drastic change if everyone wore masks properly at school? 

Will Mountain View enforce their rules with the masks? Or will this just be about their own individual rights?