Just as spring has welcomed new changes on campus, the budding of the trees that line the quad and 75 degree days which occur with increasing frequency, Cary Academy has ushered in an exciting new development. The recent lifting of the school mask mandate has signaled to many students and faculty the long-awaited end of the era of Covid-19.

Thomas George states that people are “generally happier with the lift of the mask mandate” and comments that while he chooses to forgo the mask these days, he’s “still wary about the possibility of getting sick and how it could affect me”. Mehitabel Surafeal provides the perspective of a new student who’s only known the masked faces of many of her peers. She states, “It feels good to be able to see my peers through a different lens without masks!”

Nathan Rudy provides valuable reasoning behind why he chooses to wear a mask despite the lifting of the mandate. He says he wishes that “more people were receptive to wearing a mask, because it is such a small thing that could save lives”.

Despite the variation in perspectives on the mask mandate, students at Cary Academy agree that their peers treat other students’ decisions with respect. Overwhelmingly, and despite individual choices, Cary Academy is excited and grateful to see the ending of the pandemic.