Photos of an overcrowded hallway in two Georgia school districts have raised COVID-19 concerns, and now two students have been suspended for posting the images.
Sequoyah High School, Etowah High School, and others started in-person classes on Monday with mask optional policies. Photos posted online showed several seniors walking shoulder-to-shoulder in a tightly compacted hallway trying to get their traditional first-day school senior photos. In some of the pictures that emerged online, none of the students seen were wearing face masks. Sequoyah High and Etowah High are both in Cherokee County.
The same happened in Paulding County on Monday and Tuesday. Students were squeezed together in tight hallways at North Paulding High School in Dallas. Less than half of the students shown in the pictures were wearing masks. An outcry over the district’s failure to enforce COVID-19 measures ignited online after the photos surfaced.
But now, two students have been suspended for posting the photos, which resulted in the school receiving criticism not just from critics online but from school staff and students. #HannahWatters told Buzzfeed that she was suspended from school for five days over the incident. Watters uploaded a photo and a video online. In one of her posts, she wrote, “Day two at North Paulding High School. It is just as bad. We were stopped because it was jammed. We are close enough to the point where I got pushed multiple go to second block. This is not ok. Not to mention the 10% mask rate.”
By noon, Watters was pulled into the school’s office on Wednesday and was told that she violated its code of conduct. “The policies I broke stated that I used my phone in the hallway without permission, used my phone for social media, and posting pictures of minors without consent,” she said. Another student, who preferred to stay anonymous, told Buzzfeed that they also were suspended for posting photos on Twitter. There are no details on who posted the first photo. Principal Gabe Carmona announced to the school body that any student that is caught posting images online or criticizing the school could be punished, Time Magazine reports.
In response to the images, Paulding County Schools Superintendent Brian Otott tried to reassure parents that schools are doing their part to keep students safe. He said that while the photos do “not look good,” the situation does comply with the reopening policy and is permissible under the Georgia Department of Education’s health recommendations. He then misleadingly cited a state health department document that lists the various ways people can become infected with the coronavirus. He claimed that exposure occurs after “Being within 6 feet of a sick person with COVID-19 for about 15 minutes,” however, he omitted that being coughed on among other things can lead to someone catching and spreading the virus, the Washington Post reports.
But Watters says that she took to social media because she wanted to highlight how her school “ignorantly opened back up.” “Not only did they open, but they have not been safe,” she said. “Many people are not following CDC guidelines because the county did not make these precautions mandatory.” In addition, Watters also took a tally of the students she saw wearing masks; the school decided against enforcing masks, calling it a personal choice. Watters said this is the first time she’s ever gotten in trouble at her school. “I think my punishment’s severity was excessive, but I do understand that I violated a code of conduct policy,” she said. “Wearing a mask is a personal choice, and there is no practical way to enforce a mandate to wear them,” Otott said, referring to comments about students not wearing face coverings. “What we will do is continue to strongly encourage all students and staff to wear masks.”
Watters isn’t the only person concerned over students coming back to campus. One teacher chose to resign last month over concerns for their safety when classes were going to start back up.
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