A Petition to Mayor Michelle Wu- I am petitioning on behalf of my son who is a Massachusetts high school senior competing this year in the MA DECA State Conference. He has been working tirelessly the last four years of his high school career to earn a spot to compete in this annual event. His DECA instructor just informed our school’s regional winners who will be competing in Boston, that they must provide proof of vaccination status. Because not all students who have earned the spot to compete at the state level can, or will be vaccinated, I am told there will be no accommodations or exceptions for those students to take part in the competition in which they worked so hard for, and in many cases rely on for admittance into college or for jobs. 

If you know anything about the DECA program, it’s nationwide popularity amongst young people, the opportunity it provides, you would understand the gravity and the honor for a child to make it to the state level. We are very proud of our son. Had this mandate not been enacted a mere 60 days prior to the competition, my son along with many other children would have the opportunity to advance to the International level in April in Atlanta, Georgia- a no-mandate Final competition.  

As you can see this is going to be a major issue as many, maybe hundreds of students/parents are not willing or can not be injected with an experimental therapy in order to satisfy a new mandate implemented, sixty days before the competition in which we have been preparing for years. This mandate ultimately is forcing parents to choose between giving their child an experimental therapy (for an illness my son has recently healed quickly from) so that their child may attend the competition in Boston and fulfill their hard work and dedication to compete in their earned spot in the DECA State Conference, or not attend because of the mandate and miss out on a life-changing opportunity. As you may or may not be aware, all of the regional competitions did not have this requirement. Hundreds of students congregated safely to compete all over the state and country. It would be tragic for many students to not be able to continue on in their journey and be denied this opportunity because of vaccine status. 

My son has had an exemption on file with his school since 2019. I am petitioning for changes to the mandate or accommodations will be made publicly for such students to allow equal opportunity for those who are exempt, or are unwilling to take part in the treatment experiment. To be able to enact their freedom of medical privacy which can not be discriminated against in order to attend this event.

The 2022 DECA State competition does not end in MA. Students who are finalists in the MA conference will move forward to the International Conference in Georgia. The conference in Georgia does not have any limitations to students competing. The only requirement is a signature of acknowledgment releasing liability. A logical solution that could easily be implemented to provide equal opportunity for all children competing in Massachusetts. It would be incomprehensible that those students unwilling or unable to take a forced medical procedure for an experimental therapy, here at the state level, will miss out on the Final International competition in a city with NO mandates. This mandate blocks potential winners from moving forward to the next level unless the mandate is lifted or exceptions are made for students here in Massachusetts. 

Thank you, 
Adriana P 
Mother to a High School Senior in Massachusetts