By Minnie Stephenson
The new mask guidelines on campus have not been in effect for very long, but students and professors alike have much to say about it.
Following new Prince George’s County mask guidelines, University President Darryll Pines laid out the new mask guidelines for indoor spaces on campus in a Feb. 25 email. As of Feb. 28, masks are only required in classroom settings, public transportation such as Shuttle-UM and in patient care areas, like the Health Center and COVID-19 testing locations. Masks are no longer required in places such as on-campus gyms, libraries and dining halls.
Since the start of the semester, KN95s have been required in classrooms, and that guideline is still in place, but no specific mask type is required for other indoor spaces.
Students had different reactions to the email. Grayson McCord, a sophomore government and politics and French double-major, said she was caught off guard by the email.
“There’s a lot more cases than his email let on, and I just feel like it’s an irresponsible decision,” she said.
McCord said she still wears her mask in mask-optional spaces, though she might try to get used to not wearing it.
“As the semester goes on I might get more comfortable with taking my mask off in certain places,” she said. “But I think for the most part I’m gonna try and keep it on just because it’s a health and safety precaution for me.”
Maya Long, a sophomore communication and diverse marketing double-major, shared a similar sentiment.
“[The email] didn’t make sense. Why did we have to wear masks in classrooms but in my [residence] hall, I don’t have to wear it?” she said.
Long said she doesn’t necessarily support one side or the other of the mask-wearing debate, but wishes that the guidelines were more consistent.
“I thought [Pines] should’ve picked one or the other,” Long said.
Elisabeth Charles, a sophomore English and criminal justice double-major, said she had already heard of other colleges and universities doing the same.
“After hearing from a lot of my other friends at different schools, I wasn’t surprised that he was following the trend of lifting a mask mandate, especially because that’s what’s been going on with P.G. County and Montgomery County,” she said.
Charles said she wishes the classroom requirement wouldn’t specify KN95s as the only acceptable mask.
“It’s kind of tough to keep the KN95 masks specifically because they’re the hardest to find,” Charles said. “On Amazon, a pack of 50 was almost $50.”
Both McCord and Charles mentioned the spike in COVID-19 at the end of last semester, and how different guidelines were at that time.
In an email sent on Dec. 16, Pines wrote that final examinations will continue to be in person.
“The data we track show that the risk of transmission in classroom settings is extremely low, which will allow our students to complete the academic semester without further disruption or postponement,” Pines wrote in his email.
In the Feb. 25 email of this semester, Pines wrote that the KN95 requirement was “out of an abundance of caution, given the increased density over a prolonged period of time in many instructional settings.”
Beth Parent, a principal lecturer in the University of Maryland Department of Biology, said she’s happy the KN95 requirement is still in place for classrooms because she often teaches large class sizes — her largest is 173 students.
Even if the guidelines continue to change throughout the semester, Parent will still do what makes her feel more safe.
“I would still wear a KN95 in class till the end of this semester,” she said.
Featured image: Students sit at tables while masked in the Parren J. Mitchell Art-Sociology Building. Photo by Minnie Stephenson.