Mt. Spokane High School students protest facemask mandate

Dozens of students at Mt. Spokane High School took part in a protest Friday over the state’s face mask mandate in schools.

Students gathered Friday morning outside of the school for the protest, during which students attempted to go to class without masks. Current COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Washington require masking in K-12 facilities regardless of vaccination status.

Students without masks, however, were kicked out of their classes and sent to the auditorium where they stayed for several hours, said 15-year-old freshman Zoë Monroe, one of the protest organizers. She said the students were allowed to go to lunch. They were not allowed to go to the bathroom unless they had masks on.

Those who refused to go to the auditorium were dismissed from the school, said 15-year-old freshman Aurora Skipper, who was aware of at least two students who were sent home. She said students tried multiple times to return to class, but were sent back to the auditorium each time.

“All we are wanting from this is we just want a choice. We don’t want to be forced to wear something that we don’t want to,” Skipper said. “We want it to be – if you’re worried about COVID, you’re welcome to wear a mask, but we would like to have our rights back to not have to wear a mask.”

A representative from the Mead School District did not return a request for comment.

“As we heard on Wednesday, Governor Inslee said he will have more information next week regarding the mask mandate,” the district said in a message to KHQ. “We look forward to when masks are optional so that our parents and families can decide what is best for them. Overall, the pandemic has taken a toll on our students, and returning to more normalcy will make a positive difference in their social and emotional well-being.”

Monroe started an Instagram account to spread word of the protest across social media.

Students are planning another protest for Monday, with aims to continue every day until the requirement ends, Skipper said. This despite allegations that participants have been spat on or subject to obscene language and gestures from other students.

“We are just being very discriminated against and we know that this is going to now affect the rest of our lives in high school, but we just want to make a difference,” Skipper said. “We want to show people that we are going to stand up for our rights and our choices, and we want a choice to be able to choose to wear a mask or not.”

Monroe said she and other students plan to send a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee. The governor this week said he plans to announce a time frame for lifting the indoor mask mandate sometime next week.

“Out of all of this, the big major outcome is that the school now knows how we feel,” Monroe said.