SUNY Geneseo mask mandate lifted, masks optional for fully vaccinated students

In a campus-wide email, SUNY Geneseo announced that wearing masks on campus will be made optional beginning Monday, Mar. 7. Students that are not fully vaccinated will still be required to wear masks in public places such as classrooms and common areas. 

Masks will still be required in some areas on campus, such as the Lauderdale Health Center, the South Village Health Center and the Sturges Hall COVID Testing Centers, and the college reserves the right to require masks at certain events.

According to the email, “The updated masking policy was developed in consultation with the Livingston County Department of Health and in alignment with current CDC guidelines. Our campus has maintained low positivity rates, and we have high vaccination rates for both students and employees. What’s more, the CDC has downgraded Livingston County’s community-level transmission to medium.” 

Per the CDC guidelines, a medium transmission level means that individuals who are at greater risk of severe illness should speak to a health care provider about wearing a mask and other precautions that may be appropriate for them. Regardless of transmission level, the college and the CDC recommend that all individuals receive both the vaccine and a booster shot. 

Many Geneseo students are relieved and excited about the changes to the mask policy. Lena Kiehl, a sophomore neuroscience major, said she feels that Geneseo is ready for a change. 

“I was fine with wearing masks this semester. It didn’t bother me, but I think the students are really excited. We’ve been wearing masks for a long time and a lot of people are ready to stop wearing them,” she said.

Some students, however, still feel nervous to embrace this fresh change. Sophomore sociomedical sciences and communications major Kaitlin Anzalone, said “I think that it’s dangerous, and we’re all going to end up with COVID.” Many students are particularly worried in light of the upcoming spring break, over which students will travel off into different areas of the state or country, collecting and bringing back all sorts of exposures from around the globe.

Thomas Malinowski, a senior adolescent history education major, said that he thinks a lot of students will welcome the changes, and that students were excited to hear that the mask mandate was being lifted. 

“I was actually in one of my education classes, and one of the students opened his email and announced the entire class that the mask mandate was ending on [Sunday], which prompted a whole discussion about it,” Malinowski said.

He said, “I think a lot of students are tired of wearing masks. I particularly don't care; I’ve been doing it for two years now and I could do it for another two, but I think a lot of students are tired of it. You want to see other people's faces, at a certain point. I think that students are ready for it, as long as COVID cases don't rise.”