The trio says their campaign has galvanized students in the district to push back on what they see as overreach by the state government.
The mask wars have been heating up in school districts across the country in recent weeks, notably in purple Virginia, where Governor Youngkin’s administration has been battling defiant school districts over his recent executive order making masks optional. Even in reliable blue bulwarks such as Washington state, some students are saying “enough” to masking requirements and are organizing peaceful protests to pressure legislators to end the Covid-19 restrictions.
This week, a video featuring an outspoken student mobilizing peers to demonstrate against the state’s school mask mandate went viral on Twitter with the hashtag #WashougalHSWalkout. The students who organized the Tuesday protest told National Review that it drew roughly 75 students, and it came on the heels of another protest in which 250 students walked out of class.
Cade Costales, a senior at Washougal High School, along with fellow seniors Caleb Bennett and Harrison Tanner, spoke about the movement they’ve sparked.
The trio, calling itself the Freedom Fighters of Washougal on social media, says their campaign has galvanized students in the district to push back on what they see as overreach by the state government.
“It’s not the school district as it is the state that is mandating masks. We are trying to get notice up to the state level to get the mask mandate revoked so it’s optional in schools. So we have freedom and liberty,” Tanner said.
Costales delivered a speech in Fishback Stadium adjacent to the school parking lot on Monday urging his classmates to keep the protest civil, remain courteous to faculty, and remember that the real culprit in their case is the state, not instructors or the district.
“This is not an excuse for you freshmen and sophomores to disrespect your teachers. If I hear of anybody disrespecting teachers or staff tomorrow…that makes us look bad. We want this to be a peaceful respectful movement. We are just trying to gain back our rights as citizens,” he said. “The teachers in the end are just doing their jobs. It doesn’t come from them. It comes from the state.”
He continues to stress that state legislators, not not school administrators, are responsible for the excessive mandates.
“They are following what the school board is telling them to do and the school board is following the state. We weren’t the only school that did a walk-out that day. There was one in Winlock, Washington and another in Ridgemont, Washington. While the school board and district have shown no support, we have support in community, Washington state, and the country,” he noted.
During his stadium speech, Costales told fellow protesters that he hoped they would be kicked out of school for refusing to mask, as that would inevitably get the state’s attention.
“What we’re hoping is that they kick us out. Sounds bad, but we’re hoping that they kick us out. Because they have to report that to the state. If the state sees a day where 100 kids are absent, they’re going to start asking questions. Our hope is we can get this statewide. Now I might get in trouble for this but the plan still stands for tomorrow,” he said in the speech.
“You can get me in trouble, you can suspend me, I don’t care. We’re done with this. And obviously you are too. Obviously you all are done with the masks too,” Costales told the crowd of kids. “We’re doing this peacefully and respectfully. If a staff member asks you to put a mask on, you say ‘No, thank you’ and keep walking. And if they kick you out, then go home. If if people need rides home, then I’m sure some of the seniors can start giving people rides home.”
On the day of the protest, the group met at the back of the senior parking lot and walked into school unmasked. Around the first morning bell, they were told to go home. “100 students had unexcused absences,” Costales noted.
Otherwise, the school has been surprisingly accommodative without condoning the civil disobedience, even arranging a separate designated location and time for a previous protest, which took place on January 31 and had a turnout of at least 250, according to Bennett.
“Our school is supporting our right to protest but they are not supporting the protest. We were given 20 minutes to protest at our school and put our masks back on,” Costales said regarding the Monday event.
But during the Tuesday protest, Bennett said that a handful of students who were wearing masks were also told to go home for “suspicion of protesting,” he alleged.
As seniors, the three can’t afford suspensions or too many absences on their record as they need to graduate this year. But they’re still coordinating behind the scenes, despite the risks, hoping their petition reaches all corners of the state and finally Olympia.
“We plan on spreading our voice through social media platforms. We are planning to participate in a rally up in Olympia. We plan on scheduling at least two more walkouts to grow our fanbase and show we’re not backing down,” Tanner said.