Maskless in Class?!
Graphic by Ande Wittenmeier
As we’re sure all of you know, masks are now *optional* in class unless an individual is unvaccinated. Meaning: it's up to each individual to decide whether they want to wear a face covering during in-person instruction or not. It’s hard to even fathom that we are at this stage right now, considering how much we have been through since 2020. At the end of the day, one person’s comfortability differs from another, which results in a large mix of opinions on campus about the mask policies and how they should be implemented.
After a few weeks of adjusting to the new regulation, it's safe to say that the many classes tend to have a 50/50 situation, in which half the students continue wearing masks, while the other half isn’t. Those students who felt restricted over the past two years now feel a sense of liberation with the permission to attend class maskless. Many people also feel happy about finally seeing who has been “mask fishing” in their classes and confirming whether or not they should send that text.
However, a lot of students express concern about the lack of masks across campus buildings, fearing that the relaxed restrictions could lead to another lockdown that implementation and enforcement of mask-wearing could prevent. The concern arises from the fact that SU decided to lift the requirement after Spring Break, when many students, faculty, and employees spent the week traveling to different cities, states, and countries (specifically places, like Florida, that do not enforce the same mask policies as New York state). Therefore, many could have contracted COVID-19 and brought it back to campus, spreading the virus to others more easily with fewer people wearing masks. And with the end of the school year nearing, these students express fear of bringing COVID-19 back to their homes and potentially infecting their families.
While both sides of the argument are valid, as well as all the other arguments in between, the question of when and how the mask restrictions will loosen is still unanswered (if there even is a “right” answer). So the campus has decided to answer this question with another question: how comfortable are you? Turns out that nobody has any answers about COVID-19 even after two years.