USD reinstates mask mandate, for what?

Mask requirement shocked some students, ultimately the right thing to do

Olivia Synek / Opinion Editor / The USD Vista

After wearing a mask for a year and a half now, I am ready to take it off for good. I believed USD when they announced that there would be a normal return to campus in the fall, but this turned out not to be the case. 

We received many emails from USD’s COVID-19 Action Team, the Dean of Students, and President James T. Harris III, DEd last semester and over the summer regarding our normal return to campus. They said if students were vaccinated, we could attend school like normal. I was always going to get vaccinated, no matter what USD urged us to do. However, I also knew that there were students who would not want to get vaccinated, but would only feel obligated to because they would not want to worry about wearing masks.

On July 31, many USD students, employees, and alumni found out via Instagram that people returning to campus would have to wear masks indoors, regardless of their vaccination status. This post received a lot of backlash. One specific group of people that I noticed were frustrated with the news were people who did not want to get vaccinated, but received the vaccine because they wanted normalcy. 

Masks can be irritating, I understand. But, if it takes wearing a mask to finally see my friends and experience the normal college experience again, I will do whatever it takes. USD mandating masks has been blown out of proportion. I do not believe that USD is being too strict, too scared, or too cautious even by enforcing this type of protection on campus. I do not mind wearing a mask because vaccinated persons can still become infected with the virus and still have uncomfortable symptoms. One of my friends who is fully vaccinated tested positive for the Delta variant and had moderate symptoms.

This summer I went to Telluride, Colorado and because I do not have a problem with masks, I wore them every time I went indoors somewhere. I was in a store one day and when I approached the register, the employee thanked me for wearing my mask. We exchanged that we were both vaccinated, but he was telling me that even though about 80% of locals were vaccinated, the county was in the “red zone” because both unvaccinated and vaccinated tourists were not wearing masks and simultaneously spreading the Delta variant. 

I am telling this story because it helps me understand USD’s decision to require masks. Although being vaccinated means almost no breakthrough cases, fully vaccinated people can still be infected and spread COVID-19. 

There is a lot of misinformation going around about how masks do not work, and many people commented on USD’s Instagram post saying this. An article from Science Magazine called “Face masks effectively limit the probability of SARS-CoV-2 transmission” examined and proved that masks do mitigate the spread, and that they at least block some particles from being present in the air, reducing viral load. Like the store clerk in Colorado, I would assume that USD wants less people to be infected with the new variants no matter if people are vaccinated or not, which is why they would require masks on campus. 

You may be wondering, if I have to wear a mask anyways, then why should I even get vaccinated? Even with the mask mandate, there is a possibility of contracting the virus at any point, whether at school or other places around San Diego. Being fully vaccinated not only protects you from becoming infected as easily, but it protects you from going to the hospital. 

My number one concern is being able to have an entire semester of in-person classes. If the way for this to happen is to wear a mask, I really couldn’t care less. More cases on campus could potentially lead to hybrid classes and even having to be sent home again. One way to mitigate the spread is by wearing masks inside which is not as big of a deal as some make it out to be. If everyone gets vaccinated and wears masks, we will be able to have a lot more freedom in the future and to return to this normalcy that USD is promising.