School Continues Masking Policy

Credit: Williston Flickr

joanna chattman

Credit: Williston Flickr

Williston revoked the optional mask policy the day before Williston students returned to campus following Thanksgiving break.

Head of School Robert Hill sent a school wide email on Monday, November 29 at 10:46 am, revoking the previously promised optional mask policy. The reinstatement of the mandatory mask mandate applied to the classrooms, dorms, and dining commons for members of the Williston community.

After large holiday vacations, such as Thanksgiving break, Williston students are given the first Monday of the week to travel back to campus before resuming the academic schedule on Tuesday. This 24-hour extension of vacation allows international students a chance to purchase more readily available and less costly transportation and have a day to travel back to campus.

Jakob Frates, a post graduate, was unaware of the change in policy until classes resumed on Tuesday.

“I was confused initially. It was a very quick switch, and I wasn’t even aware [of the policy] until I got in trouble for not having a mask on the first day back,” he said.

Jakob wasn’t the only student who was confused about the policy given the abrupt announcement of the change. Dyson Haaland, a junior boarding student, was perplexed after having learned about the policy from a friend’s private story on Snapchat.

“I was looking at my friend’s story, and they said something about how the no-mask thing was just a little joke, so I texted one of them and they said to check my email,” he said.

Williston students have been wearing masks since resuming in-person classes on September 7 of 2020, making this the fifth trimester of masks in high school. The last time returning students were mask-less in classrooms at Williston was March 6th of 2020, 644 days ago (as of December 10).

William Chalfant, a junior day student, is deeply accustomed to wearing a mask during the academic day.

“Often, I don’t even notice that its on my face,” he said.

Despite the consistent nature of the manditory mask mandate over the last two years, many Williston students were thrilled but wary about the optional mask policy. Kana Kitano, a senior boarding student from Tokyo, Japan, is not surprised that the mandatory mask policy was reinstated.

“I was a little excited for not having to wear a mask, even though I knew that there’s a chance we would get back and need to wear masks in classrooms, so it was a little bit disappointing, but not shocking,” she said.

Hill specifies the factors that impacted the reinstatement of the mandatory mask mandate were the emerging Omicron varient and rising cases within the community. He mentions the manditory mask mandate’s necessity between thanksgiving and winter holiday break.

“Williston has always tried to follow the science, do what’s best for the entire boarding and day community, and balance restrictions with common sense,” he said. “Because of rising cases of infection in our area … and the yet-to-be determined nature of the Omicron variant … it seemed logical to pivot for the short period of time that we return from thanksgiving break to when we leave for the winter holidays.”

The reinstatement of the mandatory mask mandate was not singularly Hill’s decision. Amber Mish, a nurse at Williston’s Health and Wellness, illustrates that the consideration of health regulations were necessary to make the decision.

“We do have protocols and guidelines to follow, for good reasons, to try to keep everything safe and contained, and our protocols have worked,” Mish said.

As part of Hampshire County, Hill’s decision was not only impacted by Williston’s cases but by the county’s Covid case count. A New York Times article updated on December 8, 2021, tracking positive Covid cases shows an average of 76 cases per day, which is a 92% increase from the week before.

Amy Lehane, another nurse at Williston, is accustomed to the uncertain nature of the pandemic, but hopeful for the near future.

“We are used to being flexible through the course of this pandemic and we understand that things can change on a moment’s notice, so a change of plans was not shocking,” Lehane says. “In terms of attaining a mask optional policy, I’m hopeful. I think it would be certainly not until at least a few weeks after coming back from winter break, but so much depends upon how the Omicron variant progresses, so it’s impossible to say right now.”