Wake County Schools

Parents gather in Raleigh to protest school mask mandates

Parents at the rally say mask wearing is doing more harm than good. One parent, whose children are in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, said her son had a fainting incident from wearing a mask during soccer tryouts.

Posted Updated

By
Aaron Thomas
, WRAL reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — More than a dozen parents gathered at Dix Park in Raleigh Monday, supporting the removal of the state mask mandate in public schools.
Parents and students got together at around 4 p.m. Monday for what they called a "Free the Smiles" rally. They strategically chose this location to rally, as Department of Health and Human Services headquarters is across the street.
Many demonstrators held signs with messages for Dr. Mandy Cohen, who serves as secretary for the state Department of Health and Human Services. Parents at the rally say mask wearing is doing more harm than good. One parent, whose children are in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, said her son had a fainting incident from wearing a mask during soccer tryouts.

Tracy Taylor, a Wake Schools parent, says the time for change is now.

"We're out here to let Mandy Cohen know, as well as Governor Cooper, that it's time to stop the mask mandate for our kids."

Another parent, Julia McLaughlin, agrees.

"If you want to wear a mask, it's a free country, but don't force it on my kids," she said."

Dr. Rachel Roper, with the ECU Brody School of Medicine says that because kids aren't eligible for vaccines yet, the mask mandates remain the safest bet.

"Yeah we have too many children that aren't vaccinated and lots of children can't be vaccinated yet," Roper said. "It's not approved for them, so yeah, our children are largely unprotected and that's why they need to wear masks."

Ultimately, parents at the rally want to have the option for students to wear masks in schools.

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