On Wednesday February 23rd, the Frederick County Board of Education voted on whether or not the mask mandate should be lifted in schools. The vote was 6-1 in favor of making masks voluntary for students, staff, and visitors. News of the vote quickly reached the ears of students and parents. There have been conflicting opinions on the ruling with many students chiming in about how they feel.

Conner Hughes, a senior at Tuscarora, shared how he feel regarding the lifting of the mask mandate. “I believe that it is a bad idea. I understand why many want the mandate lifted, however there is still a significant number of people in this school who are unvaccinated. Additionally, nobody really knows if there are going to be anymore outbreaks or other variants.”

Luke Marunycz and Payton Wallace, both sophomores, shared similar thoughts about the recent news regarding masks in schools. “I am glad because I want everything to go back to normal.” Luke and Payton are not the only two looking for a sense of normality.

Another sophomore at Tuscarora, Tyler O’Brien, related the lifting of the mask mandate to something in his past. “The mask mandate is very similar to the first time I ever bench pressed two hundred and twenty five pounds. I was incredibly excited after it happened, and my closest friends were also just as happy about it. But, I woke up the next morning incredibly sore and was sick with Covid the following weekend. I feel that this will happen just the same in our schools. People will be excited early on, but the inevitable will catch up to us and only lead to more problems.”

Over the first few days since the mask mandate was lifted, this “new” change to the school day has been all the students and staff can talk about. Many are wondering whether this will last, or whether it is the best idea at the moment. Only time will tell if lifting the mask mandate was a good idea. Nevertheless, it is a step in the direction of returning back to normalcy.

https://www.wfmd.com/2022/02/24/mask-mandate-to-end-friday-in-frederick-county-public-schools/#:~:text=Frederick%2C%20Md.,and%20visitors%20to%20school%20buildings.