Dear mayors and city council members,

I appreciate that when you are making decisions for the community, you have the best interests of your constituents at heart. But as a young person, I firmly believe that it would be to the betterment of our communities if we were included in the decision-making process as well.

This issue hits close to home because in my community, there was a poll conducted to all the members on returning to in-person schooling for the start of the new high school year. The results of the poll showed that the majority of the parents and board members wanted students back in school. However, an overwhelming majority of students in the poll did not want to go back, because they did not feel safe.

No one seemed to care about the students’ voices, and forced over 2,500 students to return back to school, where as much as administrators might attempt to enforce social distancing, it is impossible. If there was a youth member on the board, I sincerely believe they would have made an effort to recognize the importance of the results of the youth poll, and put up a fight so that our voices would not be ignored.

After a month of this in-person schooling, there were unsurprisingly 75 positive cases of the virus, with even more people quarantined due to possible close exposure. Judging on other students’ Snapchat stories and social media updates throughout the day, besides wiping down their desks after every class, social distancing and other public health guidelines were out the window. Despite the unanimous feelings of uncomfort, the students continue to attend the 100 percent open school everyday.

Read the full article about involving youth in decision-making by Nicole Zhong at The 74.