Masks becoming mandatory at school isn’t anything new, but there has been a new rule that has caused conflicting opinions. While sports are now being allowed to take their masks off if needed, extracurriculars in art will still require them.

As a player on the soccer team, it seems a bit unfair to me that people in art extracurriculars aren’t given the choice of taking theirs off. Despite activities such as drama, requiring physical activity, the option is still not given to anyone participating in these activities. 

I understand why people in sports would need to take their masks off when practicing, but I don’t understand why others wouldn’t have the same option. I’ve seen people performing in plays who move around a lot, sometimes running on stage, dancing, singing and more. Performing and reciting lines while moving around a lot is difficult, with a mask on or not. 

I support mask mandates and believe that everyone should be given the option to take their masks off for a small amount of time as long as they’re a safe distance away from other people. Having a mask on during a normal day with moderate physical activity is fine, but moving around a lot while having a face covering can cause others to feel constricted breathing. 

I also think that covid cases are not being taken into account when considering this. When looking at the number of covid cases that people who participate in sports have, it’s a noticeably higher number than the amount of covid cases than people who participate in art extracurriculars. 

An example of this is how the baseball team had to all get quarantined due to a player testing positive for covid early in the semester. Although the correct precautions were taken, when finding out about this case, I think this proves students in sports have the same amount of risk taking their masks off as students in arts do. 

I think it’s very unethical to allow the group of people who have the most covid cases to take their masks off rather than the group of people who have clearly taken more precautions and been safer about this pandemic. Many people believe that it is correct for only people in sports to be allowed to have their masks off since they’re required to be physically active, but I think that this is dismissing the fact that people in art extracurriculars are almost just as active as people in sports. 

I believe that not allowing an art extracurricular the same options as sports goes to show who is taken seriously and who is not.