EDWARDSVILLE - A series of loud honks could be heard around noon on Monday as local parents drove by Edwardsville schools for a “honkening” in support of students who chose not to wear a mask despite instructions to do so by school officials.
A caravan of several vehicles participated in the event, with messages written on windows such as: “Stop bullying. Stop hurting our kids. No mask.” They drove by Lincoln Middle School, Woodland Elementary School and the Edwardsville administrative offices.
Rick Guntrum also displayed a sign on the side of his pickup truck reading, “Do the right thing. Mask optional.” He said he plans on displaying the sign every day.
In addition to the caravan, supporters driving past the school could be heard joining in on the protest.
The parents are urging people in the community to drive by the schools around noon everyday until Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow’s order is recognized for all students. They suggested that driving by when the students are at lunch would minimize class disruptions and would allow students to feel their support when they are all together.
Grischow granted a temporary restraining order on school mask mandates on Feb. 4. The order forbids Gov. J.B. Pritzker from ordering public schools to require students, teachers and others to wear masks while in school buildings. Pritzker immediately appealed the order, with the appellate court expected to expedite the case.
After Grischow granted the TRO, Edwardsville School District students were informed that only the individuals named as plaintiffs in the litigation would be allowed to attend school without masks.
Many students chose to attend school without masks regardless of the school district’s interpretation of Grischow’s ruling. Parents who attended the “honkening” said they wanted students to know they are not alone in their decision whether or not to wear a mask to school.
Local parent Jason Hohman said that while his children attend private school and were all allowed to attend school unmasked on Monday, he wanted to support the rest of the families in the community and make efforts to “get kids out of the mask.”
“They’re making that decision, and I felt that as adults we need to show them that we’re behind them,” Hohman said. “What better way than for them to hear us honking from the highway. They can hear us from here, and they can feel that we’re behind them.”
The parents also said their children felt more confident about walking into school unmasked when joined by other students.
“Strength in numbers,” Guntrum said.
Parent Jessica Durbin added that her son chose not to wear a mask and was sent to the media room. She said he politely asked for his school work and was left to teach it to himself.
Durbin and others also noted that while students have been forced to wear masks, it has not stopped the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses since kids returned to school in August.
“So you’re telling me to wear a mask? It doesn’t work, obviously,” she said.
A spokesperson for Edwardsville CUSD 7 said that no students were disciplined on Monday for not complying with the mask rule.
However, Superintendent Patrick Shelton warned in an email on Feb. 6 that “students refusing to wear a mask constitutes a rule violation and subjects the student to disciplinary action, just like any other school rule violation.”
He wrote that students who refuse to comply with the mask mandate will be directed to the media center while school administrators contact the student’s parents or guardians to pick them up from school.
Shelton informed students and their families that masks are still required for all students and staff unless they have an approved medical exemption or are impacted by a court ruling.
“While we believe in the importance of choice and parents making choices for their children, we also must trust in the information we are being provided by health experts and have an obligation to follow the guidance we are receiving to provide our students and staff with an environment in which they feel safe and can learn, grow, and thrive,” he wrote.