The cycle continues as the Board of Trustees has once again decided to extend the current mask policy until their next meeting, at which point it will be up for review once more.
On Nov. 18, the Board decided that the University-wide mask policy will be maintained until the next board meeting on Dec. 15, per President Seidel’s recommendation. This represents the latest in a series of the Board extending the policy out on a monthly basis since back before the academic semester.
“I mean frankly, I understand the need for safety and precaution against further infections,” Journalism student Skylar Lewis said. “It does make me curious on if this will keep being extended until a more permanent solution to covid and schooling is worked out.”
Student Aurora Weinzierl expressed similar concerns and understanding, though she had other thoughts regarding general mask usage.
“I’ve grown pretty used to them due to my work requiring them throughout my shift,” Weinzierl said. “I honestly think there’s some merit in wearing masks during cold or flu seasons, or whenever you’re sick, which is something that already occurs in other parts of the world.”
In a recent news publication by UW, President Seidel expressed his gratitude for the community’s compliance with the policy.
“Our indoor mask requirement has helped us have a traditional fall semester without a spike in COVID cases, and we appreciate the willingness of our community members to do their part by complying,” Seidel said.
While most students willingly comply with this policy, some expressed their discontent with its continuation, even if they felt it was a justified decision.
“I’m not surprised that they extended it at all,” student Manuel Gonzales said. “Considering we’re getting a week off for thanksgiving it’s a good idea to ensure the spread is at a minimum, but it’s complete garbage.”
Individuals working on campus also shared their thoughts on the subject.
“I understand prevention. I get why they’re doing it. I just don’t think the masks help as much as people think,” Dylan Wood, a past UW student said. Wood is on-campus only when required by his job, which works with the university to prepare newly constructed classrooms.
“On-campus it doesn’t matter because every student is going to a frat party or a bar and spreading it regardless as there are no mask mandates there,” Wood said. “There’s going to be a ridiculous amount of waste too, as everyone uses disposables. I say wear one if you want.”
One reason Seidel provided for continuing the mask policy was the upcoming holiday, which could cause more cases to appear on campus.
“It will be important for us to maintain a high level of compliance before and after the Thanksgiving break so that we can complete a successful semester,” Seidel said.
Active cases and vaccination rates on campus are among the major factors evaluated when considering changes to the mask policy, so a sudden increase in cases following thanksgiving could influence the decision to be made on Dec. 15.
On Nov. 18, the university had 42 active cases, 39 of which were students. 42.9% of students had reported getting a vaccination against COVID-19. All stats are according to the UW COVID-19 Dashboard. http://www.uwyo.edu/alerts/campus-return/covid-dashboard.html.
The Dec. 15 meeting will also include a discussion of the policy to be used for the Spring semester. At this time UW plans to maintain its random testing policy through next semester, regardless of the masking policy on campus.
