HERCULANEUM, Mo. (97.1 FM TALK) - A Missouri high school student was escorted out of school and driven home by a police officer for not wearing a mask, in accordance with the district's policy.
Tristan Watson is a senior varsity football athlete at Herculaneum High School and is currently fighting for his right to go back to school without a mask.
“The goal is to go to school,” Watson says. “And I’ve been told if I don’t wear a mask, I will be escorted out and charged with trespassing.”
On Monday, as many as 50 students at the high school walked out of class in protest of the district's face mask policy. Watson was there (photo above), holding a sign that stated, "I am trespassing if I go to school."
Watson says the threat is in place until masking policies change in the school district. A mask mandate for all students and staff in the district went into effect on Jan. 24, according to a COVID-19 Response plan release by the district. The district reviews its mask policy once per month.
Watson say he was told Jan. 26 about the mask requirement, but it wasn’t until the following day that he was removed from school.
Dunklin R-5 School District spokesperson Matt Lichtenstein says the Herculaneum Police Department was asked to help get the student home because his parents weren't home and the school's resource officer was out sick.
"He was not arrested. He was not put in handcuff," Lichtenstein says.
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Supposedly, a police escort off school premises was a warning Watson received.
“I tried to propose a compromise,” Watson says, “I proposed that I would go to band for the first two hours, and then I would sit in even just a small closet. And the only contact I would have with somebody is somebody delivering me my work. Because I figured that would be better than not going to school at all.”
Watson plans on protesting Monday afternoon, as he did on Friday, in front of the Dunklin R-5 School District's central office.
“Even if it’s not a policy change, I’d like to be able to go to school at some form without having to wear a mask," Watson says.
Watson – who says his GPA is No. 8 in his class and scored a 34 on his ACT – joined 97.1 FM Talk's Marc Cox Monday morning to share his story and his plan to return to the classroom. You can hear him in the audio at the top of this page.
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