Face-off: Lift the campus mask mandate

It is in a way unbelievable that it has been almost two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. So much has changed, ranging from daily interactions with other people to how entire institutions operate. In this span, from 2020 until now, tests have become readily available, and a vaccine has been developed with an additional booster shot to increase immunity to new variants. 

If there had to be one symbol that will forever be synonymous with this virus, it would be the mask. An opinion many have agreed on since the start, regardless of their attitudes towards mandates, is that masks are uncomfortable. 

Mask mandates have entirely vanished in some states, whereas states such as New York have removed, then reinstated, to once again no longer require them. On Feb. 10, 2022, the mask mandate in New York State was removed again. However, SUNY Geneseo continues with the requirement, a rule that carries over from last semester. 

One issue with mask mandates on a college campus is where it they are enforced. In the common areas of a dorm building, it is required, yet once inside a suite, the mandate ceases to exist. While getting food in the dining halls they’re required, but once sitting, no requirement—quite obviously. 

There is the understanding that masks reduce the threat of COVID-19 significantly, wherever they are, but it's foolish to believe that they’re being correctly worn at all times, especially when not in formal settings such as classrooms and academic buildings. It seems pointless to require the same group of students to wear masks in a classroom, where they will then return to their dorms to be in a close space together and remove them.   

It seems to be conflicting that the same state that manages the SUNY system has removed the mask mandate in indoor spaces, but still has requirements in its schools like SUNY Geneseo. It’s odd that in public there is no requirement, but once on school property, the logistics of COVID-19 alter. It seems there should be some line of consistency with mandates, as opposed to certain institutions being forced to require them, while others are not.  

With the number of procedures students have had to go through since returning, they should finally be able to return to a certain amount of normalcy. Students have been mandated to get the vaccine, then the booster and then a test before returning to campus. Even with all those procedures, masks are still not just encouraged, but required. 

Masks should have never been politicized, and while I agree there was a point in time when they should have been required, much has changed in the past two years and enough preventative measures are already in place. As a student who began their college experience in fall 2019, and will be a senior next academic year, I will never have a full year of a normal college experiences if something does not change soon. While there are frequent reassessments to the policy, perhaps one day the mandate will be removed entirely.