On November 30th, 2020, the day following Thanksgiving Break, over 20 students didn’t return to campus. Why the startling shift in numbers? Well, a sudden coronavirus outbreak plagued the senior class following a supposed “pleasure trip” to Florida. Because of the risk of returning to virtual learning, and, even more, the health risks made by teachers and students every day, there is definitely cause for concern. However, in this article I won’t be covering the possible consequences of Covid-19, but rather investigating the truth in how the grade-wide spread began. 

There seems to be a general (yet possibly unfactual) understanding that a friend group consisting of 5 senior boys traveled to Florida together and visited college campuses, attended parties and frolicked around Universal Studios without a single precaution taken. Is this the reality of the situation or has hot gossip and a class-wide game of telephone skewed the truth and, in turn, slandered the reputation of innocent students?

Well, I will be sitting down with Student X, who attended the boys trip, to discuss his account of what actually happened. 

Lily: So, let’s start from the beginning. How do you believe the infection began? Was it from unmasked Floridians, or perhaps a little closer to home? 

Student X: A little closer to home. (Much closer) 

Lily: Would you like to be any more specific? Remember, there is complete anonymity in this article.

Student X: Uh.. a kid I carpool with. 

Lily: Interesting. Did you know [person] was infected prior to the boys trip over break? 

Student X: No, I did not.

Lily: Ok, so on to the actual trip. What was the breakdown of the excursion. How many people? What was the purpose? 

Student X: We had 5 people solely to tour colleges. Our days consisted of time in the car, checking into the hotel, walking around [an] empty campus with masks on, then getting takeout dinner and going back to the hotel room. 

Lily: So the supposed frat parties? Nonexistent? 

Student X: Completely. [There was] no extended contact with anyone but the guys on the trip. 

Lily: What about the trip to Universal Studios? Also a fallacy? 

Student X: Three of the guys, not including me, did go to Universal, but they kept their masks on the entire time and cooperated with the social distancing rules of the park. 

Lily: Was anyone exhibiting symptoms while you were together? 

Student X: We pretty much all had a stuffy nose and a slight heachache by the time we drove home, but none of the token covid symptoms such as a cough or loss of taste. 

Lily: Do you think the spread could have been avoided if you hadn’t traveled together? 

Student X: Wouldn’t be able to say for sure. 

Lily: Is there anything else you would like to share with the people of AMHS? 

Student X: Nope. Not Really. 

So, there we have it folks. All the not-so-juicy details of the senior trip that incited angry emails, parental concern and a mild uproar among the graduating class. According to Student X, the spread did not begin in an unmasked trip to Florida, but rather a little closer to home. There are still many unanswered questions that may never be explained. Would the spread have been contained if the boys didn’t travel together? Were they already hanging out in and out of school? How strictly were social distancing guidelines followed? Was a spike in the senior class inevitable? I wish I could tell you, but I don’t have all the answers.  

All we can do now is listen to the accounts of the present students, trust they have the best intentions for the Magnet community, and drop the drama. What’s done is done. We are living in unprecedented times and trying to do our best to keep each other safe, but mistakes will be made. This is new territory for us all and the best way to assess the situations is education, support and understanding, not pointing fingers. 

If I could ask for everyone to take away one thing from this article it would be that it is ok to mess up sometimes. (Not saying the boys necessarily did, this is just a general statement based on what I’ve witnessed) I see so much agitation and aggression from student to student, but we’ve all done dumb things in our lifetimes. Let’s agree that before we accuse, anger-post and “cancel,” we put ourselves in their situation .Think about how we would want to be and deserve to be treated, and carry on from there. We are all human and none of us are perfect. 

 *However, this does not apply to incidents of intentional racism, homophobia, bigotry or any other form of hate. That ish is so 1900’s* 

Carry on the raptor love and I’ll see you guys next time! Peace out for now! 

Xoxo, Lily <3