A high school in Washington state came under fire Thursday after images surfaced showing band members confined to miniature enclosures in an apparent effort to isolate them from their peers to curb coronavirus spread.
Photographs published by the the Wenatchee World on Wednesday showed Wenatchee School District High School students playing instruments inside green tents, one of whom had to crane his neck to narrowly fit inside with a tuba. The images have drawn scrutiny from both lawmakers and political figures as school reopenings have become a flash point for debate in the U.S. and COVID-19 cases are exhibiting a downward trend.
Ben Domenech, publisher of the Federalist, ridiculed the photo of the student with the sousaphone and wrote, “There I was, trapped in a tiny green tent with a sousaphone, and all I could think was: not again.”
“There I was, trapped in a tiny green tent with a sousaphone, and all I could think was: not again.” https://t.co/yNA6CXlfOE
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) February 25, 2021
Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene likened the display to “child abuse.”
STUDY SHOWS EXTREMELY LOW RATE OF CORONAVIRUS TRANSMISSION IN SCHOOLS, 0% FROM CHILD TO ADULT
Please stop this child abuse now! pic.twitter.com/2k4PbOrm4P
— Marjorie Taylor Greene ?? (@mtgreenee) February 25, 2021
Bill Gertz, a national security correspondent for the Washington Times, tweeted an image of the band with the words “Are you f—ing kidding me?”.
Band practice at Wenatchee HS in Washington state. Are you fucking kidding me? pic.twitter.com/iejHR4IwHs
— Bill Gertz (@BillGertz) February 25, 2021
“This is not normal,” another user tweeted.
High school band music in Wenatchee, Washington state.
This is not normal. pic.twitter.com/uCzt9MHzaZ
— James Melville (@JamesMelville) February 25, 2021
Not the Bee, a spinoff of the satirical news outlet the Babylon Bee, wrote “It’s been a good run Western Civ, but this high school band practicing in Rona bubbles is the final nail in the coffin.”
“Wenatchee has a history of ingenuity and creative problem-solving. The music pods are an innovative mitigation solution to allow music to continue safety in our schools despite the coronavirus pandemic,” Diana Haglund, communications director for the Wenatchee School District, told the Washington Examiner. “Wenatchee has award-winning music programs from our nationally-recognized Mariachi, to our acclaimed Golden Apple Marching band and our outstanding choir. Based on restrictive Washington State Department of Health Theatre and Performing Arts COVID 19 requirements, Wenatchee music teachers developed a creative mitigation method using music pods to safely allow choir and music practice to resume at Wenatchee High School.”
She added that “the safety and well-being of our students, staff, and community are paramount to our work” and the school was “cautious about reopening” and it “did not want to create a scenario when we would risk exposure and the spread of the virus.”
The enclosures were made to allow students “to safely sing and perform without wearing a mask,” Haglund said.
The students reportedly rehearsed in shifts to further avoid COVID-19 exposure. The move followed the recent resumption of indoor learning in the school system.
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The rock band The Flaming Lips in late January staged a full-scale concert where patrons and performers were placed in bubbles.
The floor is a 10 space bubble by 10 space bubble grid. Each bubble may contain one person or two or maybe three. There’s a fancy high frequency supplemental speaker inside each bubble as well as a water bottle, a fan, a towel and a “I gotta go pee/hot in here” sign. pic.twitter.com/p5r7LPNHpf
— Nathan Poppe (@NathanPoppe) January 23, 2021
