Archbishop Carroll’s mask mandate: Students say their piece

Students’ opinions of Archbishop Carroll’s mask mandate range from support to derision.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia instituted the mandate for its high schools at the beginning of the school year as COVID cases surged.

Sophomore Lisa Wallon is in favor of wearing masks at school. Wallon said she feels like people often forget that a global pandemic is going right now and that millions of people worldwide have died and been affected by this virus.

“If I can do my part to lessen the spread of Covid, I’ll do it,” Wallon said. 

Wallon talked about what it was like to contract the virus in December 2020.

“I felt like I was stuck in time,” Wallon said. “I had no energy. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move.” 

Senior Jasmine Ngyuen is in agreement with Wallon. Nguyen said even though masks are controversial, they’ve given her a sense of privacy.

“Knowing that not everyone has to see my face gives me comfort,” Nguyen said. “I honestly feel exposed whenever I go outside without one.”

Nguyen said she feels uncomfortable whenever she’s around someone whose mask is down. 

“It makes me so frustrated whenever I see someone without their mask on properly,” Nguyen said. “I think they’re selfish and ignorant,” 

 Senior Niamh Campbell is especially opposed to wearing masks and believes they  are over-praised.

“More times than not people do not wear them right anyway,” Campbell said.

Campbell stated that she was fully vaccinated and whatever one anyone else does, doesn’t offend her. After the death of her mother’s aunt, she said that she doesn’t believe that masks work.

“She was very scared of the virus, and made sure anyone she was ever near wore a mask,” Campbell said. “On the other hand, friends and family of mine that never wear masks never tested positive or had any type of symptoms.”