High school criticized for “marking” unvaccinated students at their prom

(CNN) – A New Hampshire high school faces criticism after writing a number on the hand of every student who attended the school’s prom and who ‘could not provide a vaccination card because they did not have or did not share a card or had not completed the vaccination process, “according to a statement from the school.

Exeter High School’s 2021 prom was held outdoors and under a large tent on June 4, according to the school’s statement. “We were very happy to hold an outdoor prom that the students really loved and enjoyed very much. Our goal was to allow them to dance, while taking proper safety precautions for the more than 300 attendees, ”the school said.

According to the institute, in order for all seniors to participate without wearing masks, a covid-19 contact tracing system was established and all students were notified about it. As they registered, students were asked for their immunization information and provided background information about the prom through a dedicated website, the school said.

As part of the tracking system, students who were unable to provide a vaccine or who had not completed the vaccination process had a number written on their hands during the dance. The dances were divided into three tracks and after each song the numbered students were asked to raise their hands to determine who was nearby, the school said.

The school insisted that no unique identifier could be linked to students who could not show proof of vaccination, as the only set of cards with the information was to be destroyed.

According to the Exeteinstitutor High School, there have been no cases of COVID-19 associated with prom. “Feedback from our students and parents has been extremely positive regarding the dance experience,” Principal Mike Monahan said in the school’s June 10 statement.

However, Republican State Representative Melissa Lichtfield said in a Facebook post that some of her constituents had written to her “upset about some things that happened” at the school’s graduation event. “These complaints revolved around the confidentiality surrounding those who received and did not receive the COVID-19 vaccine, and the corresponding labeling,” Lichtfield said.

According to the Lichtfield publication, one of the voters compared the students to “prisoners of Nazi Germany”, while another claimed that the list of student names with information on whether they were vaccinated or not was left on a table outside after the dance and met the next morning.

In response to the complaints, Dr. David Ryan, superintendent of School Administrative Unit 16 (SAU), which includes Exeter High School, issued a statement on June 11, saying that the SAU was very aware of concerns expressed regarding the lead tracing plan at prom.

“Right now, our focus must be on graduation and ensuring that our seniors have a positive experience closing their chapter in high school after 16 extremely difficult months in a pandemic,” Ryan said. “We take these concerns very seriously and, as a result, we are going to conduct an internal audit of the processes that the school developed and used at the prom.”

“We hope that the community understands that, although no model is perfect, this model allowed students to enjoy an almost normal and much desired experience to complete their final year. That’s the memory we want to leave you with, ”said director Mike Monahan.