New Hampshire high school marks students lacking coronavirus vaccine with sharpie for contact tracing purposes, draws backlash
Some wore a wrist corsage. Others got a number sharpied onto their hand.
Students attending prom at Exeter High School in New Hampshire were marked in black or red, depending on their vaccination status. The school district said it was for contact tracing, but some parents whose kids hadn’t been jabbed, or couldn’t prove they’d been, were incensed.
While the district also said students had been made aware of the contact tracing system when they registered for prom, students apparently hadn’t passed on the info to their parents.
The goal was to have a near-normal prom experience while keeping kids safe, the school district said. To do so, dance staff scrawled a number on the hands of students who could not provide vaccination proof, WMUR-TV reported. There were three dance floors, and students were asked to raise their hands after every few songs, so they could determine who they were standing near, school officials said.
“Our student and parent feedback has been extremely positive regarding the prom experience,” Principal Mike Monahan said in a statement obtained by WBTS-TV. “We are aware that some concerns have been expressed that students were singled out or had their privacy violated. We made every effort possible – while adhering to contact tracing guidelines – to ensure that this did not happen. We hope the community will understand that while no model is perfect, this model let the students enjoy a close to normal and highly desired experience to cap off their senior year. That’s the memory we want to leave them with.”
Irate parents, and one state legislator, said it could have been done differently, and that the method invaded students’ privacy.
“You had to produce your papers, and if you didn’t produce your papers, you were branded with a black Sharpie,” Republican State Rep. Melissa Litchfield told WBTS. “I’m just here because parents are afraid to speak up and they needed a voice and I understand.”
Monahan said it was the only way to ensure public safety in light of the pandemic.
“We are aware that some concerns have been expressed that students were singled out or had their privacy violated,” Monahan countered in a statement to WMUR. “We made every effort possible – while adhering to contact tracing guidelines – to ensure that this did not happen. We hope the community will understand that while no model is perfect, this model let the students enjoy a close to normal and highly desired experience to cap off their senior year. That’s the memory we want to leave them with.”
