The MCCC masking policy is unclear to faculty and students, to the detriment of everyone. The college’s home page tells the community that “everyone is expected to do their part to be a responsible member of our college community” and that “success starts with following the guidelines that protect against COVID-19 for the safety of everyone on campus.”
I could not agree with this sentiment more. Sadly however, the administration has not done its part by providing a clear policy for everyone to follow.
This issue is apparent to anyone walking past the student dining room where students eating indoors without masks, often at the same table, can be seen daily. In an anonymous survey of students conducted in person and via email, 20 of 20 students said they did not eat or drink in class, but 19 of the same 20 students said that they ate and drank indoors on campus. Many of the respondents were unmasked and eating in the dining area as they answered.
This would seem to violate the college’s stated policy against unmasking “in the presence of others” but that term isn’t well defined.
Presumably we are intended to follow the six foot of social distancing that we have all come to know and love. But nowhere is that suggested in the actual policy. If it’s not the six foot rule, then exactly how on top of each other must we be before there is a masking requirement?
Initial inquiries were sent to two different offices, each saying the other was where to direct this question. After a request for clarification, college president Dr. Jianping Wang agreed to sit down with me.
She said, “No policy can be effective, unless we all enforce it.”
She continued, “If you are in the cafeteria, and you are keeping distance, but someone come running, and they pull a chair right next to you, because they know you…and then you [should] say ‘can you move the chair over a little…because its better if we keep safe distance.” This is vague, but it is in keeping with The CDC’s recommendation.
The president’s next example, however, creates an undeniable inconsistency.
“Needless to say, when you are in the toilet on the stall, by yourself, with the door closed,
you don’t need to wear masks,” she said.
Entering a stall, a small, enclosed space, previously occupied by someone who while in the stall, was unmasked. Does this sound like a safe environment in which to unmask yourself?
Dr. Wang offered an example of “common sense” policy, which is both inaccurate, and demonstrates the need for specifics.
“No one is jaywalking on a highway, that’s a common sense. But we don’t have a policy, we don’t have any rule saying you cannot jay walk on a highway,” Dr. Wang said.
This would in fact violate New Jersey Statute Title 39:4-34. It is unlawful in New Jersey to cross a highway with median barriers unless a provision is made for pedestrian crossing. The New Jersey legislature apparently found “common sense” insufficient.
The reason offered for a lack of specifics, is exactly why they are needed. “The policy doesn’t stipulate each scenario…because if we talk about bathrooms…what if a closet, what if tutorial center, what if it’s a group study room…there are so many scenarios…” This complication results from nothing but a lack of a specific policy. If there were a specific distance, it would not matter where on campus one was.
Personally, until the administration moves beyond obfuscation to “common sense’” I will be following the masking advice offered by Mercer Honors student Elliot Smith, “When in doubt, WEAR IT!!”
