HINESBURG — It’s become a routine sight at Vermont’s largest secondary school: Every weekday morning, two mothers hold signs and protest the institution’s indoor mask requirement.
Champlain Valley Union High School’s mandate, which the women argue is a violation of individual rights, is meant to stop the potential spread of Covid-19 as the Delta variant drives up case numbers around the state.
But the duo — who both declined to give their names to VTDigger — are pushing administrators to scrap the policy by holding signs with messages such as “The mask is not the cure” near the school’s entrance, as hundreds of parents and students arrive between 8 and 9 a.m.
“It’s my choice,” said one of the women. “People need choice, because we’re in America, and we need bodily autonomy, because once you don’t have bodily autonomy, you have a tyrannical government.”
The other woman, who said she was a former Spanish teacher and volleyball coach, told VTDigger she resigned from her school last month because administrators wouldn’t exempt her from wearing a mask in the classroom — an accommodation she requested because of a medical condition she wouldn’t disclose to VTDigger.
The two women have been protesting since Monday. They still garnered attention Friday morning in the form of hand gestures and comments.
“As the days have gone on, there isn’t as much swearing,” observed one of the women, before she was cut off by the horn of a passing truck.
“Don’t you guys have jobs?” one man shouted out of his SUV. “Don’t you have anything more productive to do right now?”
Others signaled their support.
“I appreciate your efforts!” one woman called out before driving away.
“Thanks for being here,” said a man in a pickup truck. “Masks are muzzles.”
The pair said they plan to participate in “#ParentRising,” a nationwide protest against school Covid-19 protocols from Sept. 13 to 17. One of the mothers said she was still waiting on an email from Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine nonprofit running the protest, that would provide more information, though she insisted that the pair was not affiliated with the organization.
A post on the Children’s Health Defense website says “#ParentsRising” is a “National Walk-Out Week,” where parents are “urged to keep their children home from school and organize with like-minded parents to show up at local schools and state education departments in peaceful protest.”
A stone’s throw away from the two-person protest, Principal Adam Bunting waved to parents and teachers in front of his own sign — which advertised the Covid-19 vaccine clinic offered at the school.
As of now, the school doesn’t require students or staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19, but Bunting estimated that close to 90% of the community has been inoculated. On the whole, students have been compliant with mask rules, he added.
The school has received complaints from parents and staff members about the protests, but it won’t try to prevent the women from demonstrating, Bunting said, noting the moment could serve as a real-world lesson in civics.
“We’ve had some interesting discussions about what it means to respect someone’s First Amendment rights,” the principal said.
A more aggressive protest tactic, though, might spark Bunting into action.
“If it starts creating a substantial and material disruption to the educational process, then it becomes a different discussion,” he said. “At this point, there’s been very little disruption because no one really takes it seriously.”
As Bunting waved to cars, one with its passenger window open slowed and stopped in front of him.
“Where do you get the shot?” asked the man inside.
Bunting flashed a smile as he pointed to the school’s main entrance: “Right over there.”
