Austin Folkertsma
campus editor
A federal judge overruled Gov. Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates in public schools Nov. 10.
Texas schools reportedly had more COVID cases in the first two months of the school year than they did in the entire 2020-2021 school year, according to the Texas Tribune. The mandate was overturned because it violates the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Now, mask mandates can be enforced in lower education, but in higher education, the decision is still pending. TCC students share their thoughts on the matter.
“I think that a mask mandate isn’t necessarily out of the question,” NE student Sophie Estrada said. “It might not always be needed, but considering the cases go up and down, it really just depends on what the trend is. I think what matters most is the ICU beds, whether they are being occupied or not, because those beds are needed for other diseases that are actually unavoidable.”
Estrada said she doesn’t feel like it’s too late in the pandemic to enforce a mask mandate because some are unvaccinated, so it can still be spread.
She said she plans on coming back to TCC in the spring if there was a mask mandate put in place.
“If there is a mask mandate, I’ll go with it,” NW student Crystal Bustamante said. “I’m not going to throw a fit about it, obviously. I’ll do it to protect others. If they have it in schools, I’m fine with it. I don’t think it’s too late to have a mask mandate because people are still getting COVID. It hasn’t disappeared. The pandemic isn’t over.”
She said she does plan on coming back to TCC in the spring because she couldn’t do online classes.
“I’m OK with whatever TCC decides to do,” Bustamente said. “I’m chilling as long as we get to come back in person because I couldn’t do it online, so long as we are able to come back.”
NE student Jason Glover said if there is a mask mandate, he would be very upset because he already has his COVID and booster shots.
“Not even one person in my class has gotten sick, so I would find it very obsolete and very outdated to put in a mandate now,” he said. “It’s not even in the full swing of things anymore, it’s on the decline, so if we put in a mask mandate, they’re probably going to lose a lot of people if the colleges are going to do it.”
He said he believes it is the right of the student to wear or not to wear a mask and if he does, it is to protect himself and the people around him.
“On principle, I would love to say no to coming back if TCC had a mask mandate next semester, but I have nowhere else to go,” Glover said. “For this price range, I would have to come to school. Online classes, there’s so many glitches. You can’t really go to online school here because of all the crap that’s messed up.”
