Hickman High School students walk out in protest of Columbia Public Schools dropping COVID mask mandate

Saying fellow students were falling ill from COVID-19, around 120 masked Hickman High School students on Monday walked out of class in protest of the Columbia school board's decision to drop a mask mandate that was in place.

The protest lasted approximately 20 minutes.

Cases were rising when the school board last month voted to end the mask requirement when students returned on Jan. 4, said junior Alex Moore, 16.

"This pandemic is not over," Moore said.

The 14-day rate per 10,000 people within school district boundaries on Friday was 139, up from 123 the day before. There were 34 staff members on leave and 187 students out either testing positive for COVID-19 or quarantined as a close contact.

An online Change.org petition sought the school board to call an emergency meeting to discuss the masking decision, but the board didn't even place any discussion on the agenda of its regular meeting on Monday.

The petition had more than 2,500 signers on Monday, and some of the student protesters mentioned they had signed it and circulated it.

Petition organizers sent an email to Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Brian Yearwood and the school board members who voted to repeal the mask requirement. Members of the media were copied in the email.

"The Columbia community has spoken. We have 2,500 signatures asking you to reevaluate and discuss your COVID safety measures," the email reads. "Our community has reached record high active cases for four days in a row. You are not following the guidance of the health department as you state in your mass communications."

More:Columbia school board removes COVID-19 mask mandate effective Jan. 4 in split vote

Case rates are as high as they were when the pandemic began, said sophomore Eamon McManus, 16.

Cases are rising in schools, said senior Cami Williams, 17.

"I want everybody to be safe and healthy," Cami said. "It's not that hard to wear a mask."

The school board dropping the mask mandate when it did with the omicron variant on the rise was bad timing, said Exavier Jeffries, 15.

Students feel unsafe when masks aren't required, said freshman Ebonie Asamoah-Booda, 14.

The school board listened to the anti-mask faction of the population, but the board is paying no attention to those advocating for a mask mandate, she said.

"I don't feel like they're listening to us," Ebonie said. "We feel like we're unheard."

More:Resource officer contract, COVID-19 masking not on Columbia school board agenda, but bond issue is

Getting the attention of the school board was the main purpose of the walkout, said sophomore Quinn Felts, 15, one of the protest organizers.

People are getting sick, including some helping him to organize the protest, he said.

School board members took sides on the masking issue based on politics, Quinn said.

"We're so much better than that," he said.

More:Hospital staffing strain in Columbia worst since start of COVID-19 pandemic, officials say

He said he doesn't care if the protest gets him into trouble at school.

Battle High School student Ada Chapman was visiting Hickman for Japanese class, but he said he wanted to take part in the protest.

Having special education and disability plans as he does makes the school board's change difficult, he said.

"The board has been very inconsistent with its decision," Ada said.

As a senior, Ada said he worries that another senior class will miss out on a traditional graduation like the class of 2020 did.

rmckinney@columbiatribune.com

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