With the return of in person school for the 2021-22 school year, in person extracurriculars and school events have come with it. The beginning of school means the Back To School Dance was upon us.
As a senior, I was excited to go to the Back To School Dance, or this year’s case, Carnival. This has been the dance I’ve always been the most excited about during my time at San Mateo, and I was looking forward to a fun night with friends. Sadly, I was sorely disappointed.
The concept of the carnival was supposed to encourage students to keep their masks on and stay socially distanced in order to reduce the spread of COVID. “COVID protocols for outdoors are to “recommend” mask wearing at all times. For the most part, students kept their masks on while playing games and dancing. People that were eating and drinking were encouraged to sit away from the crowd while eating or drinking.” says Leadership teacher Sara Cowey. “We added the carnival portion at the beginning of the dance so anyone who didn’t want to be too close to others would have the option to be spaced out. We also asked everyone to wear masks and we only served packaged snacks.” says Catrina Sarno, Leadership Senior.
Although many students failed to unmask in the designated area, I have less of an issue with this as it is reflective of the school during lunch or brunch. What I believe is an oversight in following COVID safety is the large mob that was formed during the dancing portion of the evening.
Once the carnival and games had ended, nearly the entire group of students attending the dance congregated in one giant crowd in the middle of the quad to dance and sing the night away. This was reminiscent of all pre pandemic school dances, and left me feeling incredibly unsafe with the lack of any separation. Additionally, in the middle of this group, I was able to see students with their masks off, screaming and singing along to the blaring music.
While those students being unmasked already made me uncomfortable, engaging in singing, an activity already regarded as a “super spreader,” made the situation even more dangerous. Nearly immediately after I noticed these unmasked students, I made the decision to leave the dance, as I felt at risk of COVID.
As a student body population, we are not fully vaccinated. We’ve received multiple notifications of people at school and in our classes being diagnosed.
If San Mateo wants to continue to host school dances throughout the year, we need to reevaluate the COVID protocols followed at them in order to keep students safe and comfortable. I think that vaccinations should be mandatory to attend these events, as they have no impact on a student’s grades or their ability to graduate. Masks should be mandatory if not in the specific section designated to eating/drinking, and students not abiding by that policy should be warned or made to leave.
I want to have a senior year filled with the activities I’ve missed out on over the last year and a half. I don’t want to do that at the risk of my health. If policies are not heavily reconsidered before the Homecoming Dance, I can guarantee that I will not be attending for my own safety.
