Student holiday gathering causes possible Covid-19 exposure

Soumya Sahay, AVT Editor-in-Chief

Over the recent Thanksgiving break, a group of high school students from Amador, Foothill, and Village attended a local social gathering, unknowingly spreading the Covid-19 virus. 

“Students were obviously mad. Most of us have been staying home and doing what we’re supposed to do we can keep campus open and start playing sports again. It’s frustrating when others don’t follow the rules and we all have to lose out because of it,” said an AV athlete (‘21).

Unfortunately, because specific names are not known to the administration, the schools were forced to shut down their campuses until at least the end of the semester. For Amador, the means all in-person, voluntary camps that were previously hosted on campus are now shut down, to minimize the risk of the potential spread; this includes sport practices, music programs, and any other approved gathering that was previously on campus. 

“[If anything,] I hope that these kids are able to motivate our community to better follow CDC guidelines so we can get back to ‘normal’,” said Anonymous, a FHS student. 

AV principal Josh Butterfield officially released news of the event through an email to the school on November 30th, the Monday after the break. 

The PUSD district made headlines with this occurrence, as it has already been covered by abc7 news, Kron 4 News, East Bay Times, and the Pleasanton Weekly

Seniors have been especially vocal about the impacts of this scare.

It must be noted: while it is clear that the actions of the students involved were irresponsible, it is important to show compassion and empathy during these tough times. The situation is currently being contained by the administration; cyberbullying is taken very seriously at Amador, and will not be tolerated, regardless of the circumstances.

As AVHS Principal Josh Butterfield said in his message to the school: “Your choices to wear a mask when outside your house, to wash your hands frequently, and to not engage in close interactions with individuals outside of your family make us all safer.”

It’s important to make the right choices and remain mindful of the safety of others, and the consequences of your actions; you never know just how high risk someone can be until it’s too late. 

To ensure the safety of our students, we have decided to keep all student names as ‘Anonymous.’