By Katie Wilson

For the spring 2022 semester, University of Maryland administrators are requiring all students to wear KN95 masks in all classrooms and have suggested that students wear them everywhere indoors. 

Last semester, most students wore cloth or disposable masks in classrooms. With the sudden complete switch to KN95 masks, many students are left looking for this high-demand protective equipment. 

President Darryll Pines announced the mask requirement change on Dec. 16 during fall final exams. On their website, the UMD Department of Environmental Safety, Sustainability and Risk states that, “A KN95 provides better protection for the wearer than other face masks, while also reducing the spread of the virus from the wearer,” when compared to cloth and surgical masks. 

Freshman government & politics and public policy double-major Jahnavi Kirkire says that when it comes to how many people she sees wearing KN95 masks in her classes, “it depends on the day, depends on the class.” In her experience, she said fewer students wear KN95s in smaller classes, but “everyone’s wearing them” in larger lectures.

UMD is providing free KN95 masks to all students and faculty. These are available one at a time from the Adele H. Stamp Student Union’s information desk, which is located on the first floor. 

“It’s super easy. I just walked in, showed my ID and they gave it to me,” said Siddarth Vonna, a freshman finance, economics and criminal justice major. 

Residence hall staff also distributed one KN95 mask to each resident at their mail desks. 

KN95 masks are disposable, but ESSR says that they “are designed to be worn multiple times safely,” hence why students are restricted to obtaining one free mask at a time. 

“I feel it’d be difficult to access,” said Kirike, since students can only get one mask at a time from Stamp. 

Some students would prefer more mask distribution points across campus. “They should give them out in more places like in diners,” said Vonna. 

The federal government has started distributing N95 masks in pharmacies, including the College Park Target on Baltimore Avenue. The university is currently not recommending that students wear N95 masks in order to keep supplies available for healthcare workers. These masks, however, are intended to provide the best protection against COVID-19 infection.

Featured image: A student worker at the Adele H. Stamp Student Union information desk distributes a KN95 mask. Photo by Katie Wilson