All Blue Valley students came back to school on March 23 and sat amongst the other half of the alphabet for the first time since March 12, 2020.

Going back fully in-person reminds me of one of the school board meetings where members of the community could use their voice concerning education during the pandemic. I remember watching the live-stream of parent after parent demanding schools be opened not because of their own child — but because of others.

They informed the school district of the students who have abusive home lives, who aren’t sure when food will be on the table and who are depressed or suicidal.

BV parents said, “Think of those children. Think of how much they need school.”

Yet, they were asking the school board to do something they couldn’t even truly do themselves.

You see, if you really care about those students being back in school, I wouldn’t be scrolling through countless Facebook posts of “Sweetheart.” I wouldn’t be swiping through the Saturday night parties on Snapchat. And I definitely wouldn’t have seen any posts of the senior trip to Mexico.

I’m not saying the issues presented above concerning students at Blue Valley are invalid, but I just can’t help to point out the hypocrisy of parents and their children using others’ trauma for their own personal gain.

It’s easy to blame “stupid teenagers” for the parties and lack of following COVID guidelines, but frankly it comes down to the parents — they decide what their children can and cannot do.

Some can argue rebellious teens will not listen to their mom or dad regardless of consequences, but it doesn’t even matter because those parents are the ones posting their child at super-spreader events (yes, that’s what a party is) or even hosting it.

Of course, many have suggested that those who feel uncomfortable attending school during a pandemic can always take virtual courses instead. So what? Some students have to choose between hunger or possibly exposing themselves to COVID-19 when eating a sandwich?

It boggles me how masses of people are allowed to declare they care about their community and its members, while at the same time, actively making choices that hurt those said community members.

The decreasing of cases can change in an instant. The majority of scientists i

nterviewed by The New York Times expect a fourth wave of infections. Vaccines are distributing across America, but that’s not enough.

According to Carl Bergstrom, a biologist at the University of Washington in Seattle, the outcome of the coronavirus mainly depends on human behavioral factors —  human behavioral factors such as wearing a mask, social distancing and not going to any super-spreader events.

In the U.S., more than 500,000 citizens have died from COVID-19. Eleven million children live in food-insecure homes. Almost 19% of high schoolers considered themselves suicidal. Nearly 700,000 children are abused each year.

It’s time to stop being a hypocrite and start actually caring about the students with the problems parents are so readily able to use.

It’s getting old to say this, but some of you still don’t get it — wear a mask, social distance and stop going to parties.

If you forget about those rules, feel free to look it up on the CDC website — I’m sure they’ll have plenty of information.