Mask requirements should return at KPU this fall semester

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As the fall semester approaches, the COVID-19 virus is still sweeping through the community and impacting even the healthiest of people. 

This fall, more classes are being offered in-person with few online. This means more three-hour sessions of sitting next to your peers in class and group conversations, who may not be wearing a mask. 

After two years of being online, I am overjoyed at going back in-person. But at the same time, I’m apprehensive. The dominant BA.5 variant of Omicron is making its way in British Columbia. Thankfully I recovered once from it, but I don’t want to catch it again — it took me weeks to fully recover. 

I lost my taste, had no energy, and it took weeks for my energy to come back. This was particularly difficult when I had classes to complete. I also struggled with anxiety while recovering because of the risk I posed to others. 

The provincial government has been silent on any new mask mandates since they lifted it in March, leaving it up to individual businesses and institutions to apply and enforce a mask mandate to protect their workers and customers if they choose. 

When the mask mandate was lifted at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in the spring, there was hope that normalcy had returned. While this is an optimistic outlook, it ignores those who are at high risk and those afraid of bringing the virus home to family members of high risk. The removal of the mask mandate eliminated the safety net many reached for. 

There are some students who don’t feel safe coming to an in-person class due to the absence of a mask requirement. This results in instructors having to accommodate them in an online setting of some degree. Although this allows for students to pursue their education while feeling safe, it causes students to miss out on meaningful discussions and singles them out. 

Re-introducing a mask mandate would ease anxiety and fear of spreading COVID within classes, especially when students are taking multiple classes with different people. Without a mask in the classroom, there is a higher risk the virus will spread, and also potentially infect the instructor who teaches other classes. 

For the health and safety of our university’s staff and students, KPU should bring back a mask mandate for the fall semester.  

Afterall, a hybrid format was decided for the KPU Senate this coming semester. This raises the question on why they decided to have a hybrid format, yet students and instructors are forced to attend in-person classes without the hybrid or virtual option. The lack of virtual and hybrid class options has dwindled down greatly. It is upsetting and anxiety inducing. 

The fall brings about a new semester, and the strong possibility for another wave of infections. We will have a full campus as new students from high school join our university. As with any flu or common cold, the colder seasons bring about greater influxes of infections. Based on last fall and the rise in COVID numbers, we need to be prepared for new variants that strike despite vaccine protection. 

To keep more people safe, a mandatory mask mandate is crucial in making sure everyone’s anxieties are considered and those most at risk are kept as safe as possible.