After a long two years, students at Camas High School (CHS) finally will be able to experience a small bit of a return to pre-Covid life at school. On March 21, school district leaders in Washington will have the final say in whether masks are required for students and staff. This is because of the recent change in indoor mask policy that Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced on Feb. 17.

Residents of Washington expected this announcement because the governor of Oregon, Kate Brown, made a similar announcement on Feb. 7. Yet still, this announcement took most by surprise. Many still are shocked that there is finally an end to the pandemic insight, the announcement leaving many questions on CHS members’ minds. 

Doug Hood, the Camas School District (CSD) Superintendent, has already announced that on March 21, masks will be optional for all students and all staff members while on any CSD campus. Masks on school buses will still be required because the buses are considered public transportation.

“I feel like [no masks] are going to become a weird social thing. I think it’s going to heavily divide the CHS student body,” said CHS senior Brooklyn Chaney.

Unsurprisingly, this new ruling already sparked controversy at CHS. With Covid and mask-wearing being highly politicized, there is a lot of debate on whether or not this is a good decision to make with such little warning.

“I don’t think [the mask mandate] should be lifted because the majority of the people here aren’t vaccinated,” said senior Nyah Peterson.

On the other hand, many are welcoming this change with open arms because they feel that masks being required at school creates a lot of issues with social interactions, health concerns, gym classes, etc.

“Personally, I think it’s actually good,” said senior Avery Deringer, “I figured [Inslee] would follow suit with Oregon and California getting rid of their mask mandates in schools. To lift it so soon, it would be really great. I find it hard to listen to my teachers a lot, since they have to talk quietly, and then there are the masks.”

While CHS members are split on the decision to continue wearing masks personally on March 21 or not, students and staff alike are eager to see how life changes in and out of school.