AUSTIN FOLKERTSMA
senior editor
austin.folkertsma@my.tccd.edu

A Florida federal judge struck down the mask mandate for public transportation April 18, and some students are looking forward to this change. 

The mandate required people to wear masks while riding in vehicles such as buses, trains and airplanes. The Biden administration has appealed this decision after the Center for Disease Control and Prevention determined it’s still necessary to protect the public from the spread of COVID, according to a CDC press release.   

NW student Jeffrey Muñoz wonders if those banned from planes will be unbanned for breaking mask guidelines.

Videos of individuals not abiding by COVID policies and throwing temper tantrums went viral, which caused an uproar, and the airline staff wanted this mandate to be lifted to protect the staff, Muñoz said. 

“I’m glad this was approved, but those individuals shouldn’t have caused so much drama in the first place.” 

NE student Justin Rohm said the people that didn’t adhere to the rules set in place should still be banned.

“It shows that they can’t follow rules, and just because rules change doesn’t mean that actions are ignored,” Rohm said. “I usually don’t wear a mask anywhere besides planes since you’re closed inside a white box with windows and seats. It’s way easier to spread.”

NE student Patty Gamez is appreciative the mandate was lifted. 

“It was very more conscious than it should’ve been, and with everything being lifted now, I didn’t understand why transportation had to be like one of the more serious ones,” Gamez said. “As much as I don’t like masks, I still know that if a rule is set there, it’s not there because we want it to be there, it’s there because we want to keep everyone safe.”

If there was a rule, Gamez said she’d respect it and would wear a mask, maintaining accountability.

“Rules are in place for a reason, and if people couldn’t follow them in the first place, then they would have consequences because they did wrong,” she said. 

South student Paige Elmore feels some businesses’ punishments went too far.

“I think it was harsh to ban them entirely, but revoking their tickets and canceling their transaction would’ve been a better disciplinary action,” Elmore said. “It’s not hard to wear a mask, especially in crowded areas specifically designed for transportation.” 

My body, my choice, Elmore said.

“What others do with their body is their choice,” Elmore said. “I’m vaccinated, and if they aren’t, then I shouldn’t have a say in their autonomy.” 

NE student Bella Norris said she’s a frequent flier.

“It’s gross being next to someone who doesn’t respect personal space and will fall asleep mouth breathing onto me or spit on me while trying to get a drink from the flight attendant,” Norris said. “I think in open spaces, it doesn’t matter. It should be at the owner’s discretion in a business at this point, but when everybody is forced to be close to each other, I think it makes sense to have everybody mask up.” 

Norris said if someone is in an open space like Target, she doesn’t care if they’re wearing a mask or not because she can give the person space to roam around.

“I feel like, especially on planes, everyone is so close together and traveling from place to place, usually taking a few flights in close quarters with people, and a flight is so expensive that it’s the kind of thing most people won’t reschedule because of cold-like symptoms,” Norris said.