Beck Wilmart, Grant junior, feels tension fill their classroom. Whispers of a lifted mask mandate circulate, leaving a queasy feeling in the air as “Are you gonna wear a mask even if we don’t have to?” is murmured back and forth. 

On March 11, 2022, Portland Public Schools (PPS) announced that the mask mandate for schools, extracurricular activities and sports would be lifted on Monday, March 14. According to a presentation created by Grant’s administration, “Portland Public Schools decided to lift the mask mandate starting March 14 based on collaboration with local agencies. It shared that all PPS students and staff will make their own decision as to whether or not they want to wear a mask and that schools will continue safety measures including enhanced safety protocols and air purification systems. 

The slideshow encouraged students not to judge each other saying, “We will support any mask-wearing decision made by students and their families,” and, “We will not make comments on or question anyone’s decision around mask-wearing.” The slideshow closed by asking students to report bullying to “us” or a trusted adult. 

The same day, after learning of PPS’ decision to remove the mask mandate, approximately two dozen PPS students rallied outside the district’s headquarters. Students at the protest cited many reasons for being dissatisfied with the lifted mandate—such as protecting immunocompromised people or those at a higher risk of illness. 

“Decisions people make outside of school regarding COVID is their choice. However, in school, because it is a required activity for everyone, there needs to be masks,” says Serafina Sabatini, a Franklin junior who attended the walkout. 

The protestors weren’t the only students experiencing strong feelings about the lifted mandate. 

“We were instructed multiple times not to judge people on whether or not they were to mask, but it’s human nature to judge people, of course we are going to,” says Wilmart. 

Despite the administration’s request for no judgment, students took to a popular Instagram account, “ghs.confession.page”, to share their feelings on the change. Confessions, submitted through an anonymous Google form, shared comments on masking from looks to safety. Some users asked others to wear (or not use) masks, while other posts stressed the importance of not judging each other’s decisions. 

Many confessions focused on looks, one said, “I don’t wanna wear a mask cuz I look so much better without it and that’s the only reason.” Another said, “Please keep wearing your mask, some of you are UGLY ugly.”

“A lot of students want to take off their masks and are afraid to be judged by their appearance or opinions,” says Dilan Holzman, a Grant junior. 

After two years of masking, seeing people’s entire faces feels strange to many Grant students. “It’s weird. I feel like it’s not okay to see the other half of people’s faces,” says Grant junior Addie Zeulner.

Curious about the changing atmosphere, PPS students returned to school without a mask mandate. Wilmart, says, “I was actually really pleasantly surprised when I came to school Monday morning to see so many people still wearing their masks.”

Overall, students reported seeing very few students maskless in their classes and the halls. Danny Cage, Grant junior and District Student Council representative says, “I’m kind of prideful, that the school that I go to and represent is continuing mask-wearing. It kind of gives a sense of self-awareness. People just generally feel like we haven’t yet moved on to where face masks aren’t needed anymore.”

Cage says, “I’d say there’s about 2-4 people maskless in my classes … it’s mostly men that we’ve seen not wear masks.” Cage feels a factor of this is because women are socially expected to care for other people.

Many students feel anxiety about taking off their masks. Grant freshman, Sophie Reilly, feels that even if there isn’t overt judgment, “People probably don’t want to take their masks off because they can probably feel others internally judging them.” 

There are many reasons people are apprehensive to unmask, a substantial reason being the risks COVID-19 brings. Referencing variants of COVID-19, like Delta and Omicron, that have caused peaks in cases Cage says, “We’re having continuous COVID spikes. When we stopped the mask mandate back the first time, we had COVID spikes, so it makes sense to keep wearing them now.” 

The risk of a spike causes more concern for many who are at higher risk for infection. “There are some people who come to school who are immunocompromised, or some people … live with people who are immunocompromised,” says Wilmart. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advises people with greater risks of illness “to wear a mask or respirator with greater protection in public indoor spaces if you are in an area with a high COVID-19 Community Level.”

Some students were nervous about the mask mandate being lifted before spring break as people will be traveling and visiting others without masks potentially leading to exposures. “I feel like after we get back from spring break, everyone is gonna have COVID and then everyone’s gonna get COVID because everyone’s traveling during spring break,” says Reilly. Students worried that schools will experience a rise in cases similar to the Omicron surge last winter. Immediately after winter break, there was a spike in COVID-19 cases that greatly impacted PPS, leading to several high schools transitioning to temporary distance learning,

Although many students are choosing to wear masks, some are not. While masks are a public health measure, since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, masks have been seen as a political statement. “Coming from a town where basically no one is wearing a mask in school, I definitely think (the) environment and political views sway people’s opinions on masks,” says Holzman. Many students fear that unmasking means that they will be seen as part of a political party they don’t align with. Alternatively, students are taking their masks off to show their political stances. 

Some students are simply following the guidelines provided by the government and because there is no longer a mandate they feel safe removing their masks. These students tend to view it with less social implications and politics. “I’m happy we finally have got to the point where the CDC thinks it’s safe to take off masks,” says Holzman.

Additionally, there are people that never wanted to wear a mask, so taking it off was an easy decision. “Some people generally didn’t want a mask throughout this entire pandemic and felt like it was a burden for them. They’re like ‘this is what I’ve been trying to do since the pandemic started,’” says Cage.  

Though the mask mandate has been lifted, many factors push students towards masking. Facing social stigmas and COVID safety concerns, most students continue to wear masks. How long will this last?