By Daniel Vega
It has been 18 months since the Covid-19 flipped our lives upside down and disrupted just about everything we valued. Now, we are finally back on campus, but Covid has not disappeared, it’s just moved around in the background. For that reason, Eisenhower as well as the entire country has instituted Covid protocols to keep everyone safe as well as limit the spread of Covid-19 in schools. A few of these Covid protocols include: wearing of masks, constant cleaning and sanitizing of classrooms after each class period, mandatory quarantines for students exhibiting Covid symptoms, as well as social distancing. However, just because all students and staff must follow these protocols does not mean that they support them, begging the question, “What are people’s opinions on the Covid protocols?” There are clearly 3 main opinions present within the population at Eisenhower.
The first opinion is that these Covid protocols are good, they belong, and they should continue as they help keep everyone safe. One student said about the protocols, “They’re good because teachers are enforcing it and sanitizing, so it helps keep people safe”. This opinion is common throughout Eisenhower. Another student said “The protocols are good, and it's basic safety until everyone gets vaccinated”. One staff member also said that, “They (the Covid protocols) are necessary because they protect you, your loved ones, and those you interact with”.
The second opinion that people exhibited was that although the current protocols keep everyone safe, they need some improvements to keep everyone even safer. For example, one student said, “These protocols are good, but they need improvement, not all teachers sanitize after class”. Another student shared that, “They are good but not heavily enforced leading to an increase in Covid cases on campus”. Some other students said, “I don’t like it, it gets too hot and some subs and teachers don’t even wear it right”, as well as, “They’re (the Covid protocols) are safe enough, but they’re the bare minimum”.
The last opinion that was present here at Eisenhower was the opinion that people should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to wear masks. According to one staff member, “It should be a personal decision, people need to have the right to decide what they do with themselves”.
As you can see, Eisenhower is a very diverse place, and many different people with many different opinions make up our Eagle Family. Although these protocols are here to stay, at least for a little while, it is equally important what we think about these protocols. When we lose our sense of opinion, we can no longer stand up for the things that we think are right or point out the things that are wrong. It has been 18 months since our lives were first flipped up-side down, but hang in there eagles, we made it through last year, we’ll make it through this year too.