Guest editorial: The full reopening of the school has consequences
Sumner Newscow report — The following is a guest editorial by Wellington High School sophomore Hunter Lough. It originally was written as a Facebook post. We thought we would share it here.
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“There have recently been talks of a sort of full reopening of school, and I would like to address that. I have been waiting for over 200 days for some sort of normalcy, some sort of good news about this nearly inevitable virus. Re-opening with a hybrid plan was a step in the right direction, but we’re far from finished. Completely opening the school again is like falling down the stairs.
You’re closing your eyes to the harm you may cause, which is preventable.
Even if the health issue does not cross your mind, when the first test comes out, our basketball season is gone. Our scholar’s bowl, our wrestling, our choir, our football, our band. All gone. The small administration of tests currently is only happening because of the guidelines being followed.
When school starts completely, that sense of security vanishes. I have followed every guideline, every mask rule, every social distancing rule, every CDC recommendation in these last couple hundred days just hoping to have my extracurricular activities back. And I feel this will be completely disregarded and ripped apart for some sort of forced political statement.
People’s lives are at an actual stake, and student’s mental health will be severely punished if you force this upon us, and we get shut down. We can not do this again. Us students can not be put through another shutdown. Hybrid is working. A majority understand that this schedule is what needs to happen for a while until it’s safer.
This routine is what we have grown to, and what we need to stick to. I would love to go back to full school. I would also love not to wear this mask. The only way we are going to get there is to do what we have been doing. Please. We have made very little advancements since the last shutdown, but our masks and distancing are working.
As a basketball player, a cross country runner, a choir member, a track runner, and the Sophomore Class President, I felt the need to address this as a testament to everyone I am representing. Thank you for your consideration.”
Hunter Lough
Wellington, Kans.
