When students walked into Gorham High School (GHS) on Monday, March 7, they were able to do so without a face mask on for the first time in nearly two years.
The decision to make Gorham Schools mask-optional moving forward was recently made by the School Committee after Maine dropped the mask mandate in schools. Now, nobody will be required to wear a mask at school, on school buses, or to any school-sponsored event — though they still can if they so choose.
Mixed feelings have been circulating GHS in regard to this decision. Most see it as a positive step forward. Some are hesitant to take their masks off due to health conditions, living with immunocompromised family members, or simply personal choice.
“I think it’s surprising how few people are still wearing masks,” said Erin Lawrence, a junior at GHS. “I guess I just expected more to keep them on. Personally, I was really conflicted, but decided to take mine off for now and put it back on if cases start to rise.”
Students and teachers were faced with choosing whether they would continue to wear their masks. Principal Brian Jandreau made it clear that everyone had the right to their decision, but no one could judge somebody else for their choice. In addition, it’s been a long time since some students have seen each other without masks on, and it is proving to be an interesting change to get used to.
Claudia Peterson, another junior at GHS, comments, “People have definitely changed. They look different from how I thought they would, but I like seeing faces again.”
Taking masks off changes the school environment for practically everyone. Teachers can see their students’ faces again when teaching lessons and friends are able to have conversations more easily.
Safety protocols, like quarantining sick students and maintaining a safe distance from one another, are still being carefully followed at GHS. Hopefully, if cases stay low, the mask change will be permanent.
“I think that we won’t know what comes from this for a while,” Peterson said. “It could go really well or it could backfire, but I trust that changes will be made if necessary.”
Taking off masks gives a lot of people optimism for the remainder of the school year. While the future is still unsure, for now, many at the high school are glad to be able to see the faces of their friends and teachers again.