Soon after being sworn in as governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin lifted Virginia's mask mandate.
A number of the state's school districts decided to defy the new governor's executive order and continue to force their students to mask up at school.
Roanoke County is one of them. The Roanoke school board decided to continue with the mask mandate well into February when it will "revisit the issue."
The politically motivated pandemic overlords rarely consider the opinions of those who suffer the most under their orders, the students.
At the Jan. 26 school board meeting in Roanoke, one student echoed how millions across America feel about mask mandates and the detrimental effect they are having on mental health and the ability to learn.
"I am a student, I walk alongside your children every day. I see what you don't. The truth is we are struggling. We are mentally drained and our suicide rate is through the roof. Your children are more likely to want to kill themselves than die from Covid. They are turning to drugs and alcohol to escape."
The student went on to say: "Masks do nothing for us. We still have to quarantine and students are still getting sick, the vaccinated and unvaccinated alike. ... We are only asking the school board to make the masks optional, not take them away."
Free Press International
