Elon’s New Mask Policy: a relief or a further cause of stress?
These past two years have felt like a never-ending roller coaster with COVID-19. One minute, it seems to be over and the next minute cases are spiking again. At the center of this pandemic seems to be one thing: masks. Everyone has been anxiously waiting for this pandemic to end, now seeming within reach due to some important announcements.
Starting March 7, North Carolina lifted their mask mandate and Elon University followed shortly after. Elon students received an email late February explaining starting March 14 – almost exactly two years after the start of the pandemic – Elon would switch to a mask optional policy. How do Elon students really feel about the new policies on campus? For some this could bring a huge relief, but for others, this means increased stress now that students won’t be as protected against COVID-19 anymore. We at The Edge decided to interview students around campus to see how Elon truly feels about this new mask optional policy.
Many Elon students feel relieved. For two years now, we have missed out on so much. Sophomores and freshmen just want to have a normal college experience. Juniors and seniors have been anxiously waiting for Elon to return to the place they knew and loved during the pre-COVID years. To many, the new mask policy represents the end of the pandemic and the start of a normal college experience.
To some, the new policy is steps in the right direction that should’ve happened earlier. A junior explains how Elon is one of the only places around Burlington that still has a mask mandate.
“When I go to any store off campus, no one is wearing masks, including Elon students,” he said, “I don’t see why it’s necessary to wear masks to class when we aren’t wearing masks anywhere else.”
Many students viewed the harsh mask mandate that was in place during the fall and winter semester as unnecessary since most students at Elon are vaccinated. Many are glad the mask mandate is being lifted but thought it should have happened earlier.
“My sister goes to school at Texas A&M, and she hasn’t had to wear a mask at all this entire academic school year,” said a current sophomore at Elon University “I wish more people realized that in a lot of places, there hasn’t been a mask mandate all year.”
For a lot of students at Elon, these new policies provide a sense of relief during a difficult semester. For others, however, these policies add increased stress and anxiety.
Some students are hesitant to believe this means the end of the pandemic. They reflect back on last summer, when the mask mandate was lifted in many places, but cases still spiked, and the mask mandate was implemented again. Others worry that lifting the mask mandate will encourage students to ditch any safety precautions they have taken during the pandemic.
Other students have concerns about the start date of the policy, which will begin the week of spring break when many students are traveling across the country where they could be exposed to COVID-19
“I’m worried cases will spike when we get back from spring break,” said a current Elon sophomore, “I wish Elon would wait a couple of weeks after break to start the policy.”
Since there is a possibility cases will rise now that students aren’t required to wear masks, some students worry about the policies surrounding missing classes due to COVID-19. Currently, many classes don’t offer a zoom alternative if students are not able to go to classes. Many have concerns they will get COVID-19 and will not be able to participate in classes while they are isolated.
This is a time of increased uncertainty with these new policies being put in place. We can’t know what will happen with cases after students stop wearing masks to classes, but we can hope for the best and keep our fingers crossed that this might mean the end of a crazy past two years.