PARK CITY, Utah — Students at Park City High School were handed fliers that told them to “say nope to the poke” regarding COVID-19 vaccines, while mask protests were held outside the Park City School District. 

The group called See My Smile said Friday they wanted the choice for their students to wear a mask or not.

The Utah state mask mandate expired Saturday, April 10; however, school districts still have the right to enforce a mandate inside their schools.

“Together Mask or No Mask!” said Nathalie Peepito.

That’s what Peepito and the group See My Smile argued against.

“Say you don’t like wearing it, you can get in trouble or get negative feedback,” said Madison Mccleure.

Dozens of people came out to protest the district mandate.

We got rivalry masks protests in Park City. #KSLTV pic.twitter.com/G6esya2dA4

— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeNews) April 16, 2021

“I don’t want this division anymore,” said Peepito. “I just want to show people that we are kind. We just want the choice. That’s it.”

They were met with counter protesters.

“We just kinda saw the pictures of the protestors on the street across from us, and we just wanted to show that a lot of the Park City High School students are pro-mask,” said one student.

Everyone seemed to clear out by 4 p.m. Friday.

“It’s really just a cloth on your face,” said the student. “It is not that bad to wear, and it’s been scientifically proven to prevent COVID deaths, so it’s a pain, but it’s a necessary pain.” 

“I really hope we can choose to mask if we want to and choose to unmask if we don’t want to,” said Mccleure. 

The group said they tried opening conversations with district officials and will continue their efforts moving forward.