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Middleton Students Speak Out After Being Teased Online Over DeSantis’ Mask Comments
BY LAYTH MEKKAOUI Tiger TV Network News Anchor Middleton High School
Students from Middleton Magnet High School arrived at the University of South Florida for a press release given by Governor Ron DeSantis this past Wednesday, March 2nd. The students, who initially thought the event would pro- mote their Cyber Security pro- gram, as well as other funding for the field, were in for a rather shocking surprise.
Before the Governor began his speech, he turned to the stu- dents and exclaimed, “You do not have to wear those masks. I mean please take them off.” Along with, “Honestly, this is not doing anything. We’ve got to stop with this COVID the- ater.”
The Republican Florida Governor is well known for his lax regulation in regard to COVID-19, including that of the issue of face masks. Earlier this year, Governor DeSantis passed legislation to withhold
funding from any Florida school district that decided to enact masking mandates.
Middleton High School is in the district of Hillsborough County Public Schools; in which a masking mandate was quickly enforced across all of its schools. Within the school, teachers and students follow the rule quite regularly, even more so when compared to other schools in the district.
While there are some out- liers, the student body, along with faculty and staff, mask up consistently with little excep- tion.
Furthermore, this writer had the opportunity to speak to the students who were the tar- gets of Governor DeSantis’s statements. I asked three stu- dents and one teacher exactly what they were thinking when the Governor told them to take off their masks. Eric Mar- shall, a student who did take off his mask and has since been ridiculed and made fun of by in- ternet memes, had this to say, “I was a bit surprised and shocked by what [Governor DeSan-
Middleton
William Vu (left) and Ananya Sista (right), who were scolded by Governor DeSan- tis over wearing masks.
tis] asked.”
Eric further expressed that
he wished the situation would die down after the media tirade that followed the event, along with memes about him being spread across social media plat- forms such as Twitter. I asked Eric why he took his mask off when the Governor asked and he responded, “I didn’t take it as him telling me to take it off, I originally took it as him asking for a photo op.”
Another student, Ananya Sista, who stood just feet away from Eric, similarly said, “I just thought it was for a press re- lease until he said we could keep them on” and that she “didn’t think it would blow up.”
One last student, William Vu, who stood between Eric
Marshall and Ananya Sista, said, “I kind of rolled my eyes at first” in response to the Gover- nor’s demand, “it was a political statement, and he can’t really enforce it” along with, “I knew it was my individual right and I wanted to keep people safe.”
William further explained that keeping his mask on “was not really a form of protest,” however, he did share with me that he joked with another teacher right before the event about keeping his mask on as opposition to Governor De- Santis’s well-known stance.
One of the teachers who also attended the event, Alexander Brightman, also chimed in, “Stand your ground,” and “keep your mask on, don’t back down.”
Mr. Brightman said that he believed that Governor DeSantis acted inappropri- ately in the confrontation. He further explained that students should not be deterred by events like these when it comes to keeping the public safe.
Since the incident, the su- perintendent of Hillsborough County Public Schools, Addi- son Davis, released a state- ment saying, “As always, our students should be valued and celebrated. It is a student and parents’ choice to protect their health in a way they feel most
appropriate. We are proud of the manner in which our stu- dents represented themselves and our school district.”
Superintendent Davis
approved the School District’s masking mandate earlier this school year in August of 2021. This mandate was put in place in defiance of legislation passed by Gov. DeSantis to block Florida School Districts from mandating masks.
Governor DeSantis has since doubled down on his re- cent statement, responding to critics calling him a bully with, “Bullying is forcing kids to wear masks for eight hours a day,” and that the situation was, “just further proof that COVID the- ater is all politics and is not based on any real medical sci- ence.” Along with this, Gover- nor DeSantis is currently supporting Florida legislators in passing a bill to redirect $200 million in funding from Florida School Districts that passed masking mandates. Republican State Representative Randy Fine claims that the legislation would only impact administra- tors making $100,000 or more. Additionally, Governor De- Santis announced his support for parents who are suing Florida School Districts who passed masking mandates in defiance of his orders.
students
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