MCCC administrators have announced that as of March 7, the college is lifting the mask mandate for students. Students can still wear masks if they prefer, but they do not have to. This decision comes after Governor Murphy announced that the mask mandate for K-12 schools would be lifted on the same date.
Mercer’s president Dr. Wang announced the new policy to faculty and staff in a Zoom meeting on March 2.
She said, “We are receiving CDC new guidance that is based on 3 new factors or metrics or indicators: one is hospitalization cases, another is hospital beds availability, and the last one is the percentage of cases per 100,000 in the previous week. Using those metrics the CDC has issued ranking from low, medium, to high for all local municipalities.”
President Wang showed a diagram and said that “because the college falls into the green zone, indoor masks will not be required.”
She noted the college’s low rate of COVID infection saying that the college started testing on January 4 and has done close to 9,000 tests with only 12 coming up positive.
In an online survey conducted by The College Voice, 105 people including students, faculty, and staff were asked if they would feel comfortable if masks become optional on campus. Almost three-quarters (73.3%) said they would be comfortable, another 12% said they weren’t sure, and 14% were opposed.
During Dr. Wang’s Zoom meeting several faculty and staff members pushed back against the change in policy.
Professor Holly Kaiser expressed concern for students who chose to continue masking responding, “There should be no tolerance for harassment, intimidation, bullying or retaliation against any individual in relation to their decision regarding wearing masks.”
This reinforced what Governor Murphy said past month, “any student educator, student, staff member or visitor who chooses to continue masking up while indoors, may freely do so, and we expect the school to take swift disciplinary action against those who may try to demean or bully anyone who chooses to wear a mask. We will not tolerate anyone being put down by exercising their choice to mask up.”
Professor Avery-Natale questioned the decision saying that students had paid for classes based on the college’s assurance of masking being in place.
Dr. Wang answered him saying that the choice to wear a mask “is never taken away from [the students] to mask themselves.” She noted that she plans to continue to wear a mask on campus in part because she has a mother-in-law who is extremely immunocompromised and lives next door to her.
In terms of student response to the change one student who asked to remain anonymous told The VOICE, “I feel as for me personally, I would wear the mask, but if anyone wants to not wear the masks it’s their decision, you know: their body their choice. I really get paranoid so I would wear the mask.”
Another student who answered the survey said they disagree with the school ending the mask requirement saying, “I feel that masks are helpful to prevent the spread of the virus and just the common cold as well. So I disagree in a way meaning I think it is just too soon to lift the mask mandate.”
While some were concerned, most students shared their support for the decision of masks being optional.
Nursing student Gloria Otto Adusei said, “I think it is good because having masks not required and not being so strict it’s okay. It allows some people to be able to [take masks off and] not get choked. You don’t get in trouble or sent home because you don’t have a mask.”
Ama Abban Baidoo a biology major student said, “I like the idea of masks being optional for people who are fully vaccinated and also they need boost it up because I feel like some people that are not vaccinated they kinda don’t want to get it because it is optional, so I like the idea for people who are vaccinated, but not for those who are not.”
MCCC will keep its cleaning and sanitizing protocols in place and while it will no longer force people on campus to get vaccinated or to wear masks, Dr. Wang says she strongly recommends they do so.
“These are the best protective measures for us and the tools we have at our fingertips,” she said.
