To Mask Or Not To Mask
STATE COLLEGE, Pa– Penn State’s mask mandate has officially been lifted. After three and half semesters, we can finally go to class and guess this, we can see our classmates’ faces!
Picture it! It is March 27 and we are in Redifer Commons. We look down the stairs and see a sea of people. Most of them have bright and smiling faces. Although a few are wearing masks with their heads buried in a computer.
Five girls are sitting together at a booth. “It’s about time, they officially lifted the mandate. Now we don’t have to be yelled at for doing something, we’ve been doing for months,” one college student said. One can only wonder what she meant. Perhaps she was referring to sitting down at a table without a mask on.
This mask mandate and how Penn State handled the pandemic divided the student body. The students who were against the mandate would often voice their frustrations over social media. Madison Borkovich said, “I think the University does what other people do and follow the herd. They are not pioneers, leaders, or independent thinkers. Though I think that some steps, like offering vaccines and increasing sanitization stations, were great, others, like wishy-washy and non-science-based protocols, were not so great”.
When The Pandemic Hit/When Masks Were A Thing
In March 2020, the world went into lockdown. Liz Gordon, a fourth-year majoring in communications of arts and science, explained her thoughts when the pandemic first occurred. “When the pandemic started, I was in shock. I remember being on spring break in Canada and there was talk about the virus and my mom was telling me to be careful because there were 10 cases in the area I was staying in, and she viewed just that as dangerously. So, when I got home and the cases started getting into the thousands, I was in shock that everything was escalating so quickly,” Gordon said.
Dulce Gonzalez is a third-year student majoring in psychology. “I remember how shocking everything felt once lockdown was happening. I was glad to be home and spend time with my family,” Gonzalez said.
Delores Allen is a third-year student majoring in neuroscience. “I stayed home every day and did not do anything except watch Tik Toks. The pandemic impacted it a lot because I was not allowed to work and there were curfews that my town had to follow so I could not go out much,” Allen said.
Once the pandemic hit the status of the fall 2020 semester was in doubt. Students hoped we would return to in-person classes. “I was deeply hoping that Penn State would open back up! Before the pandemic, I had had the best time of my life far and away in college. This experience is so short, and I did not want almost half of it to be ripped away from me; I am still so bitter and resentful to this day that it was,” Borkovick said.
“I was hoping Penn State would open back up because I think everyone was sick of sitting around doing nothing, or at least I was. Over the summer of 2020, I felt lost and stuck in a rut, so I wanted to start getting out and feeling like I had a purpose,” Gordon said.
Sierra Harris is a fourth-year student. Harris is majoring in criminology. “I was hoping Penn State would return to normal. I was transferring to the main campus in the fall so I didn’t want my experience to be ruined by the pandemic,” Harris said.
Brian Abel is also a fourth-year student. Abel is majoring in electrical engineering. Similar to Harris, he was a commonwealth transfer student. “I was looking forward to a normal school year after finishing the previous one online,” Abel said.
In mid-June of 2020, the announcement came! Penn State will be returning to in-person classes. All of these students rejoiced.
The Masks
Besides the football team, the masks were among the most debated things at Penn State. Abel mentioned how he did not like the masks because they were uncomfortable. “I don’t particularly like having to wear a mask unless it is totally necessary,” Abel said. Abel did not provide an example of “totally necessary”.
“I didn’t mind wearing masks in class. In the spring I turned 21 so having to wear a mask to the bars was a bit of a bummer though. I’m indifferent about wearing masks. I don’t mind wearing them in class but in social settings, it is easier to talk to people without them,” Harris said.
Gordon had a similar response to Harris. “I did like wearing a mask because I liked being able to hide my facial expressions during class. At times I did not like wearing a mask if I felt like I could not breathe,” Gordon said.
Frustration or Agreement?
All the students agreed that by the fall 2021 semester, their views on the masks changed. Some of the students agreed that once they got vaccinated they should not have to wear a mask.
“I thought once I was fully vaccinated that I shouldn’t have had to wear a mask. The vaccine lowered symptoms so I thought even if I got COVID from not wearing a mask, the symptoms wouldn’t be that harsh,” Harris said.
“A lot of people felt baited and switched, and many of the tropes of “get vaccinated and you’ll get X, Y, and Z benefits” were reneged on. This, in my opinion, slowed vaccination rates down,” Borkovick said.
Abel had a similar opinion to Borkovick. “I feel like we were promised we wouldn’t have to [wear masks] upon vaccination until those statements quickly changed,” Abel said.
Gordon provided a different perspective. “I did not believe this because I know a lot of people who were vaccinated, and they still got COVID and the new strain of COVID,” Gordon said.
Aadit Ranjan, a fifth-year student majoring in computer science, was not a fan of wearing a mask but did not understand the backlash. “I never understood why people hated the mask and Zoom. Do people want to go to class? Most students barely show up,” Ranjan said.
The Mask Mandate Is Lifted
In late March of 2022, the mask mandate was lifted. The policy Penn State has now is up to the individual. The individual decides whether or not they wear a mask. This is similar to how Penn State handled the vaccine.
However, mask still need to be worn in public places such as the Cata bus. “I feel like it is hypocritical, bizarre, and someone image and politically driven, but things are what they are. Federal, state, and local laws are so inconsistent and change at the drop of a hat so often, that it is frequently difficult to keep up,” Borkovich said.
“I do not mind wearing my mask on the Cata bus because it is typically very packed, and I do not like feeling like people are breathing down my neck regardless,” Gordon said.
Once again, Harris and Gordon agree on something. “I don’t mind wearing a mask in places that still require them. Businesses owners should be able to mandate whatever makes them feel comfortable and people should respect that,” Harris.
Camille-Yvette Welsch, an English professor at Penn State, mentioned how she has mixed feelings about the mask mandate being lifted. “I am delighted to see my students’ smiles, to lecture without inhaling my mask, to be able to read facial expressions and to see what material is registering and how it is registering. However, I am concerned for my immunocompromised students and colleagues. I hope we give each other grace whatever personal decisions people choose to make about wearing and not wearing masks,” Welsch said.
The masks and Penn State’s mandates will continue to divide the student body. Borkovich provided an interesting perspective. “I am against a mandate being lifted but for personal choice,” Borkovich said. “A principle of our society is freedom and personal choice, and through public health and individual sacrifice are often important, there comes a point where rights and freedoms must come to the forefront.”
