Mask Mandate Met With Student Walkout

Written by Ethan Hecker & Ryan Hanchett

At ThunderRidge High School, a walkout was triggered by the mask mandate that Tri-County Health Department released on the first of September. Some students took part in a walkout that same day at about 9:30 in the morning. A sign reading “MY BODY MY CHOICE” was created by a student who cut a hole in the middle of his mask in an attempt to get his point across. Some students at the walkout argued that they did not have to wear masks because they already got the vaccine. A rough estimate found that around 250-300 kids participated in the walkout at ThunderRidge High School out of the 2,000 students who attend. Three news crews, including CBS Local and the Denver Channel, were also present at the walkout.

Personally, I somewhat care and also, at the same time, do not care about masks because they are preventing the spread of COVID-19. I only have my first shot for the vaccine, and I'm getting my second one soon, but once I get my second shot, I will still wear a mask until the mandate is fully over. I get where the students who took part in the walkout are coming from and why they did the walkout. They did a good job of voicing their opinions, and I respect that.

We asked the assistant principal for her opinion on the walkout.“As a former social studies teacher here in this building, actually, I wholeheartedly respect and appreciate our right to peacefully protest. It's huge, and I think it's something as teachers we need to teach. How do we do this so that we get our point across, and we can be respectful? I think that teaching the idea of civil discourse, where two people have a conversation where they don't agree but they can do it respectfully is huge. I think we're laughing at it. I mean not just students, but adults,” the assistant principal, Ms. McCarty, commented on the walkout.

Looking from the outside at the walk out seems like a decent idea to show how the students were against masks. However, the way it was handled made it look childish and hurt their cause. It ends up looking like a joke when Instagram accounts pop up with the intention to insult those who disagree with the students participating in the walkout. My opinion about wearing a mask is that it doesn’t matter. They’re just there, they don't annoy me nor bring me joy. However, I can also understand why some people might get upset over the mask mandate.