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ENTERPRISE — In Washington County, some people were calling for “No Mask Monday” to protest mandatory masks in schools, but many students did not like the idea.
Some Enterprise High School students were afraid the entire school would be shut down if enough students showed up without masks.
Because of the state mandate, students who refuse to wear a mask must be sent home. That applies to every school in Utah.
Instead, students decided to protest the protest, and it worked.
Cheerleader Dallee Cobb was one of those students. She stood up at Friday night’s football game in front of the crowd and her fellow students, asking them to mask up.
“We saw with the class of 2020 how fast things we love can be taken away from us,” said Cobb. “We, of all people, should know that wearing a mask is not fun. Neither is wearing a seatbelt, or a life jacket, or pads for football but we do all these things so we have a future.”
Cobb’s speech came in response to social media posts circulating around the small town of Enterprise last week.
One post said, “Everyone commit to No Mask Monday! Do NOT send your kids to school with a mask. They cannot suspend the whole student body!”
“Everybody’s got their own opinions, obviously,” said Enterprise High Principal Calvin Holt. “It’s a really emotionally charged issue.”
Holt said some students got wind of the protest and took time to reach out to each other and the community to stop it from happening.
We, of all people, should know that wearing a mask is not fun. Neither is wearing a seatbelt, or a life jacket, or pads for football but we do all these things so we have a future.
–Enterprise High cheerleader Dallee Cobb
Cobb’s father was proud of his daughter and others who took action.
“I’m just proud that they were able to have the nerve to stand for what they believe in,” said Mike Cobb. “Regardless what my opinions are or anybody else in the community. I’m proud that they made a stand and they’re standing by it.”
It worked. Holt said he was out greeting students as they came to school Monday and didn’t have any problems with masks.
“It shows a lot of promise in the future. We’ve got great kids at Enterprise High School,” he said. “We’re just happy to be back in school and we’ll do anything we can to stay here.”
KSL reached out to some people who were promoting “No Mask Monday” to hear their side but did not get a response.
