On July 17, the news hit that high school marching band competitions would be canceled and thousands of kids were heartbroken. COVID-19 is no joke. With something this serious, I thought the response for all extracurriculars would be the same. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.

The responses to how to proceed with the football and marching band seasons have been completely different and unfair. 

As a trumpet player in marching band, I have experienced the inequality first-hand.

Band itself is already underappreciated ,and now all of what marching band is about is gone. There’s no marching, barely any rehearsal and no competitions. When I joined last year it changed my life. 

The friends I’ve made have had an impact on my life that will last forever. I also just genuinely love performing so much, and to have that completely stripped from me is devastating. 

Competitions were cancelled to lower the risk of spreading COVID-19. But, a max of 750 people watching a football game is allowed. 

Football is, in my opinion, more dangerous than marching band in general. Football is a contact sport, and the opposing teams are always in contact with each other. 

I’m not saying that this is in any way the team, the players, or the coaches fault. But what I am saying is that they got lucky. The football team can still do what they love. We can’t.

I’m glad that the football season is still going. But what bothers me is the favoritism and unfair treatment between the marching band and the football team. We always hear that the show must go on, but when it comes to an actual performance, I guess that’s not true.

I know many kids, myself included, who wait all year just to have another marching season. For many, this is their very last year, and to have it end this way is awful.

If it’s deemed safe enough for football players to tackle people from different schools, then it should be safe enough for me to march.