IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH

Cough Cough–Yep, it is that time again…The time where everyone, I mean everyone, is getting or is already down with some sort of sickness. The time when the sound of constant chatter filling the classrooms is replaced with the constant sound of coughs and sniffles. And with sickness comes a great deal of things. It starts with going home sick, getting a bunch of absences, and if worse comes to worse, before you know it the law can get involved. So before that happens and your photo is the yearbook is your mugshot (In all honesty I don’t think they can let this happen) let’s walk through the policies and how to avoid getting in trouble with the law.

SAM STRANK AND ETHAN KOHNEN MARRIED IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH; PHOTO BY GABI HENRIQUEZ

ALERT: “There are sickos in the building!”

Oops my mistake, what that was meant to say is that “There are sick people in the school” but to be honest that is a boring way to word it. Despite that, the statement stands somewhat true. Roughly 80% of students in this school have shown up to school sick while about 15% of students claimed to have never shown up to school sick. As of this year, a good chunk of people, including both students and staff, are sick and still showing up to school. Now why are people choosing to show up to school sick, don’t they know they shouldn't be doing that?

The simple answer is, yes, people know that they should not go to school if they are sick, but there are other factors that play into this choice. One of the main reasons people decide to go to school when they’re sick is the amount of work given in school. Senior Cody Sherlock stated, “I think with our school's environment it's hard for kids to miss a day especially with AP classes and the amount of homework given out.” Sherlock went on to say that he thinks “people should be able to miss a day without worrying about falling behind given them time to get better.”

So while it is clear that it is important to stay home and take care of yourself when sick, many people don’t have the luxury to do that. Many students prioritize other things such as staying on top of school work, not racking up absences, sports, etc.

On the other end of the spectrum there are people who are strongly against showing up to school when sick. Junior Charlie Mulford said that “I'd prefer people stay home so that I and other people don't also catch whatever's spreading around.” Many students feel this way, whether that be a general dislike of being sick or for more serious reasons. In addition to this, senior Jordan Lux shared another important perspective that many do not consider. “I think we should have more excused sick days so we don't have to come to school while sick, it risks getting everyone else in the building sick (including our level 3 peers).” Our school is filled with a diverse group of people that share many different backgrounds, including our level 3 peers. The impact of sickness impacts everyone slightly differently. Others may feel a more intense effect while others may just feel slightly off. Everyone is different.

I think it is clear that both sides have valid reasons for why they are either not or are against people attending school while infectious. Senior Gwen Dao mentions,”If it's anything more major/contagious than that, they (infectious people) should not show up to school for the safety of their classmates.” This is something important to consider when making the decision whether or not to show up to the school sick.

To wear or to NOT wear the mask?

Way back in the year 2020, roughly six years ago (that is scary), COVID-19 became a prominent part of our lives. In 2021, when we came back to the school during this pandemic, masks were enforced. Everyone in the school, staff and students alike, were required to wear a mask. This requirement was put in place to limit the amount of people getting COVID-19. In turn, it also limited the amount of people going down with more common sicknesses such as the flu or a cold. Flash forward to now many people consider mask wearing as something of the past, something not super common outside of medical spaces. But should it continue to stay this way, or should we, like a trend, bring it back into style?

When students decide to show up to school sick, the majority of them end up not wearing a mask, and this is for a multitude of reasons. An anonymous freshman stated that “I don't wear masks because one I don't have any at home…” Not having access to masks is a big contributor to why many students do not wear masks. Why would you wear or use something that you don’t have immediate access to? Another reason many students don’t wear masks is because they feel it is embarrassing. Senior Julieta Ortiz shared that “I do not wear a mask because I would feel embarrassed to do that. It just feels weird to wear a mask nowadays since covid is ‘over.’ “ A few years following COVID-19, many people stopped regularly wearing masks at school when they were sick. When you are the only one to do something, it can be awkward, it can make one feel like a sore thumb. And who wants to feel like a sore thumb? The answer is not most people.

While a majority of people don’t feel the need or don’t want to wear a mask while attending school sick, there are still some students who feel it is beneficial. An anonymous sophomore said that “wearing a mask has become an issue it doesn't need to be.” They continued on to say that “wearing a mask helps prevent you from spreading germs to others, and because your immunity is low, it helps prevent you from catching anything else.” Many people when regarding mask wearing think that wearing a mask protects only others from their sickness, but this is not all mask wearing does. When in a public space such as a school many other people besides yourself can be sick. When you are sick your immune system is weak and susceptible to infection from outside sources such as other classmates that are also sick. So in addition to mask wearing keeping others around you safe it also keeps you protected from more sickness, allowing you to heal in due time.

Ughhhhh I don’t wanna go to school!

Many of us have felt that great amount of dread that surrounds having to go to school when you really just don’t want to go. Well remember back to the beginning of this article where it said that you would be in trouble with the law, well that is not necessarily the full truth. When a student obtains too many absences over the limit that do not fall under the list of items that are excused from the attendance policy, the student's parent “must be referred to the county attorney.”

One of the exceptions to the attendance policy is “are unable to attend school due to legitimate medical reasons.” Now does sickness fall under legitimate medical reasons? Senior Julieta Ortiz explained “I feel like the wording of ‘legitimate medical reasons’ is kind of vague and subjective…” And I have to agree. This is another issue many seem to run into. The handbook becomes confusing when many components of it lack the needed piece of clarification. As an important document, the handbook should be a resource individuals can reference without confusion or the constant need to follow up with questions. But there are many instances where an excuse does not fall under the exception of the attendance policy, such as sickness. Senior Gwen Dao feels that the attendance policy “seems very strict” by “not allowing of very many sick days.” Following this up Dao says that “Only missing 5 days of school in the whole year sounds unrealistic.” On average when a student becomes sick they miss anywhere from one to three days, depending on the severity of their sickness. This is when a student becomes sick, ONCE.

When students are constantly in a space where everyone around them is sick it is very likely for them to become sick multiple times. This is especially true for students with weak immune systems or other underlying factors that make them more susceptible to sickness. So yes this set rule surrounding attendance is “unrealistic.”

The handbook, while lacking clarity, can still be a helpful resource for many students, educators, and parents alike. An anonymous junior shares when regarding the attendance policy that “I think that it's pretty standard and holds students accountable.” Now this stands somewhat true. There are some students that skip school frequently just because they don’t want to go to school. This system is helpful for situations such as that. It is not helpful for students who get sick frequently or for students who tend to miss mass amounts of school when sick. This policy is an okay policy. It works for some situations but in other instances it clearly does not. While it stands to be acknowledged that creating a whole new system would take an immense amount of time and energy, some refinements to the already existing policy should take place. No system needs to be perfect, but we should always try to strive for as close to perfection as we can get. Change can start by getting the opinions of varying groups in our community. That's a wrap!

Sickness spreads like mascara after a much needed sob sesh, so when this season rolls around the corner it can get messy. When attending school everyone needs to consider the effects that their presence may have. While many of us can not afford to miss school, taking the precautions you can to limit sickness and the spread of it is important. Sickness in school is a double-edged sword and either way it feels like you are doing something wrong or that you are being punished. Either way you are gonna get stabbed.