The Importance of Mask Usage at RHS

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic that is still wreaking havoc on communities across Los Angeles Countyand the entire country for that matter, Rosemead High School, students, staff, and visitors are required to wear masks in all indoor spaces here on campus with the goal being to help stop the spread of COVID-19, and to keep everyone safe and healthy. 

Our school’s current mask mandate is working. Here at Rosemead High School, our infection rate is less than 1 percent, which is very good considering what other school districts across the country are experiencing. Dr. Anthony Fauci, who is the chief medical advisor to President Joe Biden, said that “with the highly contagious Delta variant continuing to spread, it is important for everyone, vaccinated and unvaccinated, to [continue] wearing masks in all public indoor settings.” Personally, as a student at RHS and someone who has had the COVID-19 virus, mask usage on campus is vital. As a member of the Panther community, I do not want anyone to endure what I had to endure, especially if all it takes is for people, students and staff, to wear their masks properly and consistently. 

Since mask usage is still a hot topic in the media and school sites from coast to coast, students here at RHS were asked whether or not masks affected their learning experience and in general, the answer was no. For example, freshman student body president Alice Sar stated that, “Masks only really affect my learning experience positively. Knowing that others around me are safer and that I am safer as well allows me to learn stress-free.”  Moreover, students were also asked whether or not their comfort level changed based on whether or not others were wearing their masks, and most said that they were uncomfortable with others' inconsiderateness when choosing not to wear their masks. Alice Sar was asked again her thoughts on this matter, especially since she is a student leader/representative, and she replied by saying: “It’s incredibly inconsiderate and irresponsible of students and staff to not wear masks properly.”

Even RHS teachers agreed on the importance of mask usage on campus, and most said they felt safer with a strict mask mandate. When I asked Mr. Imperial, an RHS graduate himself, whether masks affected his teaching, he replied, "Masks are uncomfortable, but there are a lot more uncomfortable things in life, such as getting sick. I have to speak louder and frequently repeat myself in the classroom, but at the end of the day, if everyone goes home healthy it is all worth the extra effort and inconvenience.” 

Mr. Quick, from the RHS science department, also added that although it is frustrating that we [as a campus] cannot see each other's faces completely, and that thinking about the things he misses from before COVID makes him quite emotional, we still need to wear masks indoors because that's the only way to be safe right now. I also asked him whether or not families in our community felt safer knowing about our school’s mask mandate, and he said, “Yes, I have kids. They are not old enough to be vaccinated. Everyday I worry about them, but the fact that I know that my kids wear their masks properly and their school has a good mask-wearing policy gives me some peace of mind. The fact that our school and my wife’s school (she's a teacher too) require masks gives me some peace of mind as well.”