Since school has started, students are exposed to more germs than their immune systems are used to. This is especially true with masks not being mandated. As a result of this, a highly contagious cold has been spreading throughout Dakota High Schools’ multiple buildings. Classrooms are filled with coughing and sniffling and more students are absent everyday. This is concerning because the symptoms of the cold are the same as the symptoms of COVID, which leaves students questioning what they are actually sick with. If a student comes to school thinking they just have an ordinary cold but really have COVID, it will put the student body and the faculty at risk.