After nearly two years of uncertainty with virtual education, students have finally returned to the building. But not everybody thinks that it will last–many are apprehensive about the likelihood of staying offline. With new COVID and Delta variant cases popping up around Wake County, the state of in-person school is still uncertain. 

The majority of students doubt our chances of staying offline. “I wish that we would be able to stay in school, but I don’t think we’ll be able to,” says senior Carleigh Weldon. “There are already so many cases in the school alone, so I don’t think we’ll last another six months…I wish, though. I want to be [in the building] for senior year.”

Her fellow senior Andrew Moore had similar thoughts. “I would very much like to stay in school, but with the way the virus’s metrics are going… it seems highly unlikely, especially with the fact that we’ve had a couple of cases in the school itself. I feel safe here, but I think that the overwhelming majority are feeling a little bit more on the unsafe side,” he says. 

Carleigh and Andrew aren’t the only students hoping to stay offline. “I enjoy being in-person more because I like talking with people,” says sophomore Lily Kirby. “I’m rocking with it,” agrees her classmate V Novelli. In fact, 72% of GLHS students surveyed said they preferred being in the building to staring at the computer screen.

Some students, such as junior Sania Musti, think Wake County will avoid going back online. “I think that even when the virus gets worse and our cases go up, we’re still gonna go to school,” she says. “I feel like our county really wants all kids to go in person, and so even when things get worse they’re still gonna be pushing for us to go to school. [Wake County] thinks that COVID’s in the past and they want to move forward.”

In the end, none of us know what will happen next. We might be in-person all year, return to regular lunch, and get back into the old routine, or we might be back online by the end of the month. Maybe we’ll be somewhere in the middle. For now, we students have to take things one day at a time. What happens will happen–we must stay calm, stay safe, and hope for the best.