With Covid-19 cases going up each day, guidelines are constantly changing for students in and out of school. Many students are trying to keep up with their daily lives while also keeping up with new mandates and staying safe.

The New York Times has recorded that our county alone has had about 2,722 cases from August 29, 2021, through September 12, 2021. Here in Butler County, we average 198 new cases each day. Our own school has made adjustments to ensure students and facilities are safe.

 A couple of days before school started, Lakota announced that masks would become mandatory. Of course, there were people who disagreed and felt that Lakota was taking away parents’ rights to make decisions for their children. Protests were done in front of the Lakota Board of Education office in Butler County to show their frustration with the district’s decision. Even now, as this is being written, President Biden is set to announce new covid steps ahead of the upcoming U.N meeting. These new guidelines are confusing and hard to follow since everyone has different opinions on the situation. Some students even feel worried or lost since there is something else being said all the time. 

One student said: “[Since] hey keep changing things every minute so sometimes I don’t know what to believe. I think that students should be able to decide if they want to wear masks because they can be really uncomfortable to wear all day. If the student wants to be safe they can take precautions, if not then they can face the risks.” 

Like any situation, some believed that it was the right decision and some believed it was wrong. Another student said, “Well, I know some nurses that are losing their jobs because some hospitals are requiring vaccines. I wonder if the school will make us get vaccines because I’m not sure I want one. And it gets confusing like when they tell everyone to wear masks in public but only half do.”

It seems that constant confusion and changing of the rules is what makes people not want to obey the rules.