Voice of the People
I am a Grade 12 student at North Nova Education Centre in New Glasgow. I've been shamefully quiet about the provincial government's treatment of the arts since the reopening of our schools in September. I have found it difficult to gather all of my thoughts and speak out about them. However, I've had my fill of standing to the side.
I am in my senior year. I am one of the co-presidents of the music program at NNEC and a member of the band and choir. When school first opened, we had many strict rules on everything throughout the school. Extracurriculars were on hold, social distancing and masks were required and you must go outside during breaks and lunch.
However, as September progressed, the NSSAF (Nova Scotia Schools Athletic Federation) was put in charge of all school sports management of COVID-19 across the province. The provincial government was in charge of the arts.
The NSSAF enabled sports to go back into full swing with teams practising in the gym for upwards of two hours and being unmasked due to the inhibiting factors of masks and heavy breathing/exercise. Sports teams could also travel to other schools for competitions and travel anywhere in the province from Halifax to Cape Breton/ Antigonish to Amherst.
Our arts program was not so fortunate. We were/are permitted to have band rehearsals for an hour as long as we are masked and socially distanced. However, woodwind and brass instruments (that require air) can only rehearse for half an hour due to the exhalation of air through their instruments and the concentration of aerosol particles within the room.
After half an hour, no one can rehearse in that room for 45 minutes in order to permit the ventilation system to do a complete cycle and clean the air.
Now tell me: what's the difference between breathing through a saxophone or a trombone with a bell cover and panting unmasked on teammates in a basketball tournament?
On top of this very tight restriction on band, we are prohibited from singing in the school. We have spoken up many times about how we would sing outside, masked and socially distanced if we wanted to.
We know the risks, we know the precautionary measures that would have to be put in place, but we cannot sing. We don't want to travel to other schools and stand three feet away from another group of singers and sing at them unmasked; we want to sing together and strengthen our school communities. We will do anything, yet we are prohibited from singing.
Tell me this: is there much difference in aerosol projection between singing and heavy exercise?
Earlier this month, the province announced that school facilities will be opened up to public group usage and the communities.
Our sports teams can travel to other schools unmasked, our communities can come into our schools, yet we cannot sing.
Over the past few days, due to the higher numbers of cases, the provincial government has banned sports teams from travelling for competitions. HRM is in lockdown as well.
Yet they can still practise and be unmasked and well within six feet of each other when practising. If cases keep rising and schools are shut down yet again, the sports teams will be able to say that they have had a good fall season. Yet we won't be able to. We want to sing together before it becomes a safety risk to all of us.
We learned during the past nine months that the arts are so important for us and for maintaining our mental health — from the Ultimate Nova Scotia Kitchen Party, to various other online events where community members got together and just had a good time.
Yet once we weren't at risk anymore and we could get together again, the arts were pushed aside and oppressed.
Music teachers aren't permitted to speak out, so we must. Students, parents, friends, family, spread the message. Bring back our music community and fight together for all of us. Many seniors want to go into music degrees next year, but 365 days away from choirs and bands and music won't benefit them at all. Those skills get forgotten. Some students are dependent on a music credit to graduate! Music is also highly essential to younger students in middle school and elementary school and they're at such a ripe age to be learning these skills! Let us sing!