Is Masking Off the Table for Students in the 2022-2023 School Year?

“I believe keeping everyone safe is much more important than the minor discomfort that mask-wearing causes. While more powerful ‘bivalent’ boosters are expected to be available in early or mid fall that will target both the original strain of the virus and Omicron sub-variants BA.4 and BA.5, doctors have said that that will not be a magic bullet. Another possibility is that people will be more complacent after the availability of boosters, potentially reducing mask-wearing and other safety protocols like appropriate hand hygiene. Therefore, I maintain my opinion that we should continue to wear masks and practice hand hygiene to protect our friends and family.” —Arko Chakrabartiroy, freshmen

“Personally, I will continue wearing my mask, but if others choose not to, I would understand and support their decision. I would like to believe that it’s fully my decision, but in reality peer pressure might be a factor. Monkeypox and polio aren’t necessarily airborne so masks wouldn’t help as much in staying protected; however, [their] emergence was a reminder that COVID is still around and [that] we should try to stay safe. Depending on the situation with COVID and others’ masking status, I may unmask at some point during this school year.” —Oleksandr Kurtianyk, sophomore

“A lot of people seem to be acting like COVID’s over, but it’s really not and it’s a lot safer if everyone just wears one. I think [the emergence of monkeypox/polio] will definitely increase mask-wearing because everyone’s worried about them, but also it might make people scared of going back to in-person. I am not going to unmask, [since] there is so much going on and I really just don’t feel safe doing that, and I think that effect will take a long time to go away.” —Arielle Eber, sophomore

“I think that it’s safest to enter the school year with our masks on. I’m sure that we’ll quickly get an idea of whether or not we really need them based on the infection rates we see in the first few weeks, but why not play it safe at first?” —Yarza Aung, junior

“I think the emergence of monkeypox and such just furthered me wanting to wear a mask. I have a grandma who lives with me and goes to my house often so I would rather protect her and take that extra [pre]caution.” —Vanessa Chen, junior

“Other people don’t really impact my opinion, [so] I feel very confident in my own decision to keep it on. The only thing that could make me stop masking would be a dress code change making it so you can’t wear masks and then I’d have to abide by the rules. Otherwise masks are essential for me at this point.” —Fishan Chowdhury, junior

“I personally will not wear a mask any longer since I find it unnecessary as COVID cases have died down and it is only at a fraction of its strength compared to peak times. If the vast majority are wearing masks, which I really do not think will be the case, I would probably wear a mask even if it is just to put others’ minds at rest. Even if monkeypox became more widespread, I would not mask up, as it literally doesn’t help in any way or form against exchanging bodily fluids.” —Faiyaz Rafee, senior

“I'm completely supportive of mask-wearing, especially in crowded indoor spaces like Stuyvesant. Though peer pressure will always affect me to some extent, my hope is that my judgment around mask-wearing remains mostly unclouded. That said, I do think seeing others wearing masks can be a reminder to put yours on and take any precautions around COVID that you may have forgotten such as sanitizing or social distancing. If COVID levels get low enough that the very mild discomfort caused by wearing a surgical mask stops being justified by the benefits it carries, I will stop wearing a mask. It seems increasingly unlikely that COVID rates will drop to that low of a level so my mask will stay on for the foreseeable future.” —Galen Jack, freshman

“My personal opinion is that everyone should be wearing a mask this school year. I certainly will be. The pandemic isn’t over until it’s over. This thing is serious, and I will continue to treat it as such for as long as it takes, no matter how much of a small inconvenience it is to my personal happiness and comfort.” —Kohl Shepherd, junior

“I’d feel more comfortable taking off my mask briefly for drinking water, eating, [or] whatever the case may be than I was for most of last year, but ultimately I still plan to keep it on. I would have kept it on even without the recent uprising of monkeypox and polio, but I feel like it emphasizes the idea that there’s a big pandemic happening. More people are probably going to take theirs off next year though, so I guess the weirdness of the adjustment would depend on how many people around me keep theirs on.” —Zareen Islam, junior

“My plan is to wear a mask the first month in and depending on how many of my peers wear a mask, I will decide whether or not to take it off for the following months. But hopefully, I plan to stop wearing a mask due to being more comfortable without a mask over the summer.” —Stanley Zheng, senior

“I think mask-wearing this school year doesn’t need to be mandated but COVID is still going around so it’s nice to always keep safe [...] I feel like, especially around NYC subways, I’m so used to wearing a mask, so I consistently will.” —Allison Lee, senior

“I’m definitely going to mask when I get back to school, but if it’s in a less crowded hallway, I’m not going to wear a mask as much. I feel like less people are going to wear their masks though, and I think less people will wear it in class. I honestly don’t really care if people wear their masks or not.” —Kate Alvarez, senior

“I will probably continue to bring a mask for school. I’ll follow the same policy I had for last year. When I’m eating, I won’t wear it, when I’m in PE, I won’t wear it, when I’m outside, I won’t wear it. Masks are left up to people and [they should] decide if they’re comfortable with it. I’ll wear the mask to make sure people are comfortable. But I don’t think I’m at a point where this has become a social thing.” —Talia Hsia, senior

“In terms of mask-wearing for COVID, I think we can keep it as it was during the latter part of last year (meaning have it be optional). I would say ‘better safe than sorry,’ [but] mask pollution would be a huge concerning factor. If ‘unmask[ing]’ means periodically taking off my mask, then yes, I see myself doing that. I just personally don’t feel comfortable without a mask since COVID, monkeypox, and polio virus exist and are still dangerous to some considerable degree. It would be awful to experience any and/or spread to others.” —anonymous, freshman

“I do wear a mask, and I highly doubt I will stop wearing one in the middle of the school year because I have gotten COVID before, and it’s really not fun at all. If COVID cases were down to less than 10, then perhaps I will take my mask off, but for now, I’m keeping it on.” —Judy Namkoong, sophomore