On September 16, the Davenport Community School District voted to make masks mandatory starting on Monday, September 20. While many people supported this motion, others did not. This was shown when a crowd of protesters gathered outside the Davenport Community School District administration building  on Monday morning. A TV6 news crew said that there were 20-25 people, some even holding signs that said things like “my body, my choice” and “coercion is not consent”. 

Hallie Westercamp, who has three children in the district, said “I think parents, if they want their children to wear a mask that’s fine, but also parents that don’t feel comfortable if their kid’s wearing a mask for 8-hours a day, they should have that choice. I don’t think the discussion has been fair in regards to this. I think parents should have the freedom of choice. To put on their kids . . . if they want to wear a mask or if they don’t want to wear a mask.”

People have said that masks are a false sense of security, and that they don’t protect people from getting the COVID-19 virus or the variants. However, 60% of Americans say they will wear a mask in public. One woman said her family moved to Iowa to avoid a mask mandate, and will now be changing plans for her daughter’s kindergarten year. However, Mike Vondran, a spokesman for the district said “The day was quite normal in terms of attendance.”

Whether or not parents and students comply, the mask mandate does not seem to be going anywhere.