It was a brisk Wednesday morning, February twenty-third; I walked into Artesia High School for the first time since my resignation last May, after teaching English for four years. This particular morning, the school was very different from how I had left it. The office staff was bright, smiling at me as I walked in, and the principal, Mr. Greer, was beaming, all of their faces unobscured, visible in their place of work for the first time in nearly two years.
It had been nearly a week since Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham lifted the indoor mask mandate, but the excitement of both students and staff had not even remotely dissipated.
“It was a pleasant surprise,” Mr. Greer said, recalling the moment when he heard the governor make the announcement. He added that while he and the rest of the administrators for APS were expecting the mandate to be lifted soon, they thought it was more likely to come in March, when the governor’s current public health order was set to expire.
When I asked about student and staff reception of the mandate being lifted, Mr. Greer, who made the announcement over the intercom immediately after being given permission, said there was “Much Hoopin’ and Hollerin’ throughout the hallways” that day.
“To not have to be the mask police,” Greer continued, “that was a breath of fresh air and for it to be a choice for those who wish to wear it… we are completely supportive of that… it was a huge step of getting back to normal.”
But it was not just Artesia’s principal who was ecstatic about the change. I stepped into Mrs. Wachter’s first period English class to gauge her students’ perspective on the announcement.
“It felt weird seeing everyone’s faces,” one student said, another adding that she could only respond to the news with, “Are you kidding me? Are you joking?”, thinking it was all a prank.
One student, off campus at the time of the announcement, recalled her experience of getting the news second-hand: “My friend texted me [and told me]… I was so excited!”
The class as a whole erupted in excitement as one student mentioned the response on social media, namely Snapchat, as students took to the platform to take photos and video themselves and fellow classmates, maskless.
Allegedly, things got even more exciting than that— one student in another class was filmed ripping his mask into pieces, and Mrs. Wachter claimed her 6th period class “ran laps” around the commons area in celebration after the announcement came through.
While this news was met with excitement and hope, change has been a process, as the mask-wearing habits have been difficult to shake. Mrs. Wachter herself, as I entered her classroom with Mr. Greer, realized her hands had shot up to her face, grabbing for a mask that was no longer at her desk to cover herself. “My stomach dropped a little when Greer walked in,” she said, laughing at how quickly her mind had reverted back to how things were less than a week before.
An overwhelming majority of students at AHS, and APS as a whole, have welcomed the lifting of the mandate with excitement and relief— especially the seniors at the high school, who largely expressed that their hope going into this school year was the mandate being gone before graduation. However, it is important to note that for some, the announcement was not as encouraging.
“Something we have to keep in mind is that it wasn’t excited for everybody,” Mr. Greer said, estimating that perhaps as much as ten percent of students and staff at the high school were choosing to still wear a mask. “Some students had family members who battled [COVID-19] and were affected by it… we are absolutely supportive of anybody who chooses to continue wearing a mask.”
When considering the difficult navigation of such a sensitive topic, it seems Mr. Greer and his staff are handling the change with grace and understanding, which is all that can be expected of leadership when dealing with matters like this.
Artesia High School is enjoying their breath of fresh air (quite literally), and while some still choose to mask up, witnessing the joy on students’ faces as they walked down the hall, the freedom of choice back in their hands, was incredibly humbling, and something that I hope we can appreciate and not take for granted.
There is no better way to sum up the mood at the high school than to echo the quote Mr. Greer, who has served as principal at Artesia High School for the last seven years, shouted over the intercom the second he was given the go-ahead to announce the lifting of the mandate:
“Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!”
By: Zeke Montoya
