Note: This article was written before the town voted on whether to lift the mask mandate in schools. As of Monday, March 7, Natick students are no longer required to wear masks. 

For nearly two years, COVID-19 has taken center stage in our lives. Masking has become a huge part of our daily routine, but now, things may change. On February 28, the Massachusetts mask mandate was lifted for schools. Natick has delayed this decision and will vote in the next few days on whether it is time to unmask. We decided it was time to settle this debate, once and for all.

Both of us also wanted to note that we strongly believe in COVID-19 vaccines as a protective measure. 

To Mask… 

by Bela Kumar

Dear Natick, 

It would be foolish not to uphold the mask mandate. Despite precautions, we are unprepared to begin unmasking for both health and societal reasons. 

For starters, we’re not entirely out of the woods with COVID! Does no one remember our recent Omicron outbreak? While the vaccine did help our community take steps towards a new normal, it did not prevent the rapid increase in COVID-19 variants, which will keep being produced because of people who refuse to mask. This means that unmasking will not only spread the virus, it will create more variants as the virus mutates. Despite Natick’s high vaccination rate, cases skyrocketed during the month of January. Now imagine an outbreak without masking. How can we guarantee that we won’t have to go remote again due to a surge in cases?

Moreover, wearing a mask prevents the spread of germs and viruses in general. In many Asian nations, it’s a common practice to wear a mask when they have a cold out of courtesy for others. I went nearly two years without having any sort of small cold until a random weekend in the fall. This also happened to be just after a cross country meet I attended where we were all unmasked. 

The truth is, I have absolutely no desire for people to see my face. No one is more insecure about their looks than high school students. I’d prefer not to have beauty standards imposed on my face or be silently judged by my looks. Unmasking would make students even more self-conscious. It’s a relief that no one has to watch my exaggerated facial expressions.

Another added bonus is that I can enjoy the freedom to mutter whatever I please under my mask. Let’s be honest, if I open Powerschool to find that I failed yet another physics test, the first word out of my mouth is unlikely to be something school-appropriate such as “darn” or “shoot”. It’s simply not my natural instinct. (Sorry, teachers!) With masks, we can express our feelings while keeping it PG. 

And on a more superficial note, masks have proven to be a fashion statement. You can get a mask in just about any color or pattern, and there are even customizable masks! I’ve actually spotted someone wearing a mask with the face of a dog. Celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Katie Holmes, and Billie Eilish have all been spotted wearing stylish masks. My personal favorite is Taylor Swift’s flower mask from the 2021 Grammys. Protecting your community is always in style. 

Most importantly, I can get away with just about anything. You’ve probably confused me with my sister a few times, as we look similar when masked. If I get caught for shadily loitering in the hallway, I can easily blame it on my sister. (Do not try this unless you want your older sibling to shove you in a locker.) 

Due to the numerous benefits of masking, it’s clear that we’re not ready to unmask yet. 

…or Not to Mask

by Jia Kumar

The COVID-19 pandemic has stolen two years from all of our lives. While it is necessary to have precautions for our safety, there are some restrictions that can be lifted. Continuing to require us to wear a mask is unnecessary and detrimental to our lives in a multitude of ways.

The vaccination percentage rate at Natick High School is in the 90s. Vaccines are proven to be an extremely effective measure against COVID-19. Requiring students to wear masks despite this high vaccination rate is unnecessary because vaccines are so effective. Plus, if  masks are off, then the unvaccinated <10% of people might be encouraged to get a vaccination because there would be no other preventative measures against COVID-19. This would be a good thing, because vaccinations are the strongest measure of protection against COVID-19 and will significantly decrease the chance of new variants.

If I were to get COVID-19, then I would’ve already gotten it at this point. There are a lot of instances during the school day where people do not wear their masks, including lunchtime. At lunch, we sit at tables of ten, and some people even move between tables. In gym class, most people lower their masks every now and then. People also hang outside of school without masks on. And let’s be realistic here, many people don’t keep their masks on in the bathroom. I could have gotten COVID-19 from some guy in my gym class, who got it from one of his friends at lunch, who got it from a random sophomore in the bathroom, who got it from one of his friends over the weekend.

Before COVID-19, I would often need to ask people to repeat what they said so that I could hear it. Now, I need to always ask people to repeat themselves two or three times in order to understand what they have said. I also have developed trouble controlling the volume at which I speak. I never know if I am being too loud or too soft, and unmasking will save everyone around me that second-hand embarrassment.

Yeah, I look good both ways, but I look better with a mask off. I shouldn’t have to wear one to hide my face. Most people look very different with and without a mask on. There are many people who I have met during the COVID-19 pandemic, but after seeing them unmasked, they look so different! Who knew that so many people had grown mustaches and beards?!

The amount of times that I have gotten confused with my freshman sibling is unreal. We have very distinguishable faces with our masks off, but look so similar with our masks on. They have blue hair, a vastly different sense of “style”, and are noticeably shorter than me. Somehow, students and teachers still confuse us. I do not want to face consequences for my freshman sibling’s “shady loitering”.

Some kids are monitored more than others about wearing a mask. I remember the one day I came inside from mask break and forgot to put a mask back on, I was warned by a teacher. I noticed that same day that other people (who forget to put their masks back on significantly more frequently than I do) were not warned. I have heard about an instance where a student of color got punished for not wearing a mask AT LUNCH, but nothing happened to her white friends. Let’s not have another rule that is more harshly applied to students of color than others.

Masks are another thing that I need to coordinate with the rest of my clothing, and I often can’t find the right mask to match my outfit. It really throws me off when the theme for my outfit is blue hues, only for me to almost wear a bright pink mask. (This is what happens when your younger sibling insists on getting the multicolored pack.)

If all of these reasons aren’t enough, this is my junior year. If our mask requirement is still in place on March 12, then I will have spent more time at Natick High with a mask than without. Many class events, such as Junior Prom, are already being curtailed. The collective sense of joy and community at Natick High has not been the same since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Unmasking will be a big step towards normalcy.

On a side note, I wanted to make clear that I understand and respect the decision of anyone who wants to keep their masks on. I just think that masking should be optional. I am not saying that COVID-19 does not exist anymore. I am not saying that those who want to continue to wear a mask should be forced to stop. I am saying that it is okay to take a calculated risk if there are certain benefits.

Natick High, it’s time to unmask.