We’re not ready to see your faces again, EU

Elmhurst University COVID-19 Task Force met on Feb. 14, to discuss the future of the mask mandate on campus as legislation surrounding the future of mask-wearing lingers throughout the state of Illinois. 

The discussion has garnered a lot of controversies nationwide, especially in the sector of education. 

School districts nearby are being met by a barrage of parents upset at the compulsory mask mandates for the past two years. While people have the right to be tired of continual mask-wearing, people also have to be able to know how to adapt to the consequences of a life-threatening pandemic. 

At EU, mask-wearing has been mandatory since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, with changing guidelines as COVID-19 numbers fluctuate. New strains like Delta and Omicron emerged right as COVID-19 was on the verge of becoming endemic. 

Spikes occurred as loosened regulations began to tick up throughout the United States, allowing large indoor gatherings with superficial mask mandates in major cities like Chicago and New York. 

These mandates in bars and nightclubs allow you to be maskless so long as you are actively eating or drinking; as one of the industries heavily hit by COVID-19, they are not going to be policing patrons as they try to financially recover from the past two years. 

These attitudes are not unique to bustling cities, they are present in the Elmhurst community. 

Mask wearing is required if you are in a public setting on campus and can only be removed if you’re actively eating or drinking. But take one look around the Frick Center and students are maskless huddled around tables with empty cups and plates to put on a facade of actively eating. 

Rarely do you see somebody actively monitoring the lounge ensuring that everyone is wearing a mask. Student-workers along with faculty are expected to confront maskless individuals, which may make them feel uncomfortable, especially student workers having to police their peers. 

If the campus has disregarded their own regulations, is it wise to lift the mask mandate on campus? It’s understandable why the COVID-19 task force met to decide on the future of the mask mandate, especially with the new legislation, but now more than ever they should carry the mask mandate out for the rest of the year. 

In January, the COVID-19 Task Force reported 170 positive cases from Jan. 1 to Jan 21, when campus presence was minimal because of J-Term. Those facts and figures do not promise a lot of hope, especially with the campus being back to normal with the majority of students in classrooms and in the Frick Center. 

With the emergence of COVID-19 in Dec. 2019 and the declaration of a national emergency on Mar. 13, it has been a tumultuous two years. Right when we see a dip in cases and fatalities, we’re met by a more potent strain of COVID-19 that sets us back to square one. 

Requiring masks for the rest of the 2021-22 school year is the most ideal situation that can be reassessed based on the state and trends of COVID-19 in the following months for the upcoming school year. 

As science has continually proved, the way to slow the spread of COVID-19 is to mask up, get vaxxed, and wash your hands frequently. We want to see your faces again, but not right now.