It’s hard to say anything that’s not political these days, but during the past two years, no topic has been more polarized than masking. It’s been a controversial issue at both national and local levels, and debated to death on social media. The argument about whether to mask has never gone away, but for Fargo Public Schools, a recent change in policy brings new questions to the surface.

On November 16th, 2021, the Fargo Public Schools board announced that after the start of Semester 2, the masking guidelines would change from a mandate to a “strong recommendation”. Naturally, the reaction to this decision was mixed, but I was interested to hear what the students at South had to say about it.

I took a rough mental survey when walking the hallways on the first day of semester 2. I estimated that upwards of 80 percent of staff and students were still wearing masks — more than I expected. As the weeks go on, that number seems to be dropping. That’s not surprising, since much of the world slowly returning to “normal” even as COVID-19 cases increase in North Dakota.

There are some students, however, who don’t think anything we should change anything right now. Gwen Brotherson, a freshman at South, recently had three of her family members test positive for COVID. She says, “The numbers are increasing exponentially right now. I think wearing a mask is a small thing that each of us can do to make a big difference.”

A small thing with highly charged emotions on both sides. Another freshman, Jordan Gustafson, says, “A lot of people aren’t wearing masks already, so you might as well not force it, and let the people who want to mask, do it. I think it should be everyone’s own decision.”

And that’s really what it comes down to, isn’t it? Decision. Whether you agree with it or not, what the school board says stands. It’s up to the students now.

The question now is, what will we decide?