Nearly two years after the pandemic sent PUSD students home, the mask mandate was lifted in California, March 12. According to a Coronavirus map and case count graph from The New York Times, California has seen a 54% decrease in cases, as well as a 44% drop in hospitalizations. As the pandemic lowers in severity day by day, strict safety precautions, like masks, become less and less needed. While this progress has been long anticipated, there are still mixed feelings surrounding the need for masks among students and staff.

“I’m concerned that there will be another surge,” photography teacher Sarah Layne said. “And then people will get sick and overload our hospitals and we’ll have [students] out.” 

Layne said masks are an easy way to protect ourselves.

“If there aren’t any more surges, I’ll consider not wearing a mask next school year,” she said. “For me, I would just rather see how it plays out before I make the decision.”

A lot has changed over the course of this pandemic. News about variants, debates over the efficacy of various treatments, and fluctuating guidelines from the CDC have caused many to share this feeling of wariness

Grace Mordhorst (11) said masks will continue to stay essential in their everyday life. 

“I don’t know the lives of my classmates,” Mordhorst said “I don’t know if they have family members that are vulnerable to COVID-19.” Mordhorst said that keeping the people around them safe is a top priority.

“People don’t have a choice whether or not to go to school,” she said. “I know people who are still getting COVID-19 right now, so the pandemic’s not over.”

Others are still on the fence about this policy change. Many students said their decision to wear  a mask or not would be situational, depending on the people they were with, the weather, what class they were in, or teacher preferences.

For Colin Roland (10), continuing to wear a mask doesn’t feel as necessary as it did at the beginning of the pandemic. Even so, Roland said that many of his actions will be made with consideration of the people around him.

“If most people are wearing masks I’ll probably still continue to wear a mask because the mask isn’t protecting me from other people, it’s protecting other people from me,” Roland said. “But I just look forward to not having to wear a mask. It’s different when you interact with people with masks. You can’t see their facial expressions, how they’re talking to you, or the reaction when you say something.”

Roland said that vaccines and other precautions have made him feel comfortable with the mandate being lifted, but he also said he is  concerned about the public pressure that influenced the mandate changes.

“I feel like the mandate’s being lifted a lot quicker due to the reason that so many people are  adamant about getting it removed,” Roland said. “So it’s definitely being rushed, but in the end I [still] think it’s about the right time [for masks to be removed.]”

With the mandate now lifted, there is excitement towards going back to normal, more meaningful interactions. 

“The face expresses so much, so it’s going to be really beautiful to see faces again,” drama teacher Robert Townsend said. “For me to be able to see actors do their monologues without a mask on is going to change everything for me and the class.” 

Townsend said that connecting with people is much easier without masks, but he still feels a little conflicted.

“I’m tired of wearing a mask, but I’ve also enjoyed not being sick for the last two years because of masks, so I’m not sure,” Townsend said. 

In the end, this adjustment has many people feeling uncertain about their safety, mask-wearing, and their desire to interact with others on a true face-to-face basis again. Students are closely split half in half regarding their comfortability now that the mask mandate is gone, but whether or not students and staff still choose to wear masks is, ultimately, a personal choice.

As for Townsend,  he acknowledges the importance of masking earlier in the pandemic but is glad to get to interact with his students face-to-face. 

“[Masks] are important and it’s helped keep us safe,” he said. “I don’t have any problem with masks whatsoever, but I’ll be happy to say goodbye to them, hopefully forever.”