As Pali’s policies have evolved over the course of the pandemic, faculty and students have adapted along with them. Since the beginning of the school year, anyone coming onto campus has been required to be tested weekly. During the first two weeks of school, regardless of their vaccination status, students and staff had to quarantine at home if they came in contact with an individual who had tested positive for COVID-19.

On Aug. 23, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) changed the protocol to allow vaccinated students to return to school even if they had been exposed to the virus — as long as they provided a negative COVID-19 test.

A Center for Disease Control (CDC) article published on Aug. 5 provides guidelines on how to safely and effectively reopen schools during the pandemic. Along with the full reopening of in-person schools, the CDC also recommends universal indoor masking, frequent screening, frequent testing and good hygiene habits. Students and staff also are encouraged to get fully vaccinated.

Pali junior Madeleine Rondeau voiced her approval of Pali’s return-to-campus guidelines, saying,“I think it’s been a lot better because I struggled with online school, interacting with friends, students and teachers.”

“The mask mandate doesn’t bother me. None of the COVID restrictions bother me,” Rondeau added. “I feel that they’re pretty tame compared to other schools.”

LAUSD took a bolder step on Sept. 9, mandating that all students over the age of 12 get fully vaccinated. District officials defended the move, saying that it was designed to “reduce transmission and ensure students can remain on campus in the safest possible environment.”

Rondeau applauded the district’s decision, saying, “I think that we should be enforcing it, and that’s one way that Pali can do better.”

Nonetheless, LAUSD’s mandate has drawn some criticism.

“It’s kind of a big joke,” junior and Cali Conservatives Club President Michael Francoeur said in response to the vaccine mandate. “I don’t know how people don’t see through this. People need to understand this is not about health, this is not about safety. It’s all political.”

Francoeur is also critical of Pali’s sports policies, especially the policy limiting the number of attendees to one-third of normal capacity for the Oct. 22 homecoming game at the Stadium by the Sea. 

“Kids want to go to the Homecoming game, and parents are upset too because their kids are on the football team,” Francoeur said. “Almost the entire school doesn’t care anymore, even the teachers don’t care about COVID.”

Pali varsity football player Nathan Spoonamore, a junior, spoke on behalf of the team and their prevailing attitude towards the pandemic and the school’s protocols.

“Everyone on the team definitely cares about COVID as much as they used to,” he said. “We make sure to keep our masks on through school, and most of the team has been vaccinated. No one wants to get their season taken away.”

Pali English teacher Stephen Berger said he supports the CDC’s guidelines as well, and commends Pali students’ commitment towards keeping the school open.

“People are coming to school, they know what the requirements are, and they are really respectful,” Berger added. “I don’t have any [students] that put up a fight or anything like that.”

Berger also shared his concerns, saying: “I have two unvaccinated children at home because they’re under 12, so I’m being really cautious. Outside of the classroom, I don’t have any control over that, and I just hope people realize that we all have to work together to keep school open and running.

“I really hope that when it comes to the faculty and the students and their families that we realize that we’re all a team, we’re all in this together, and if we work together we can get things back to normal,” Berger said.