At American University, students are demanding freedom — the freedom to be forced to cover their countenance.
It’s a unique kind of liberation, but perhaps par for the 2022 course.
On March 21, the school ended its mask mandate. Hence, the private Washington, D.C. research institution is now punim-protector-optional.
Some students get angry. In protest, they recently held a “die-in.”
The Eagle is a school outlet
Katherine Greenstein, a sophomore in the School of Public Affairs and president of the Disabled Student Union (DSU), organized the (March 20th) rally in support of reinstating the University’s mask mandate along with the executive board of DSU, Cassidy Stoneback, the president of AU PRIDE, Cristian Mendoza Gomez, the president of the AU Public Health Association and Kaniya Harris, the director of Women’s Initiative.
Katherine said it so:
“[The mask-optional policy]It is not something that can be made in a timely manner. We have to be able to prioritize the most vulnerable, so that means having a mask mandate and hybrid learning, and those aren’t things that are being prioritized right now.”
Six speeches were made before everyone appeared to be croaking at COVID.
Amid her oration, Disabled Student Union Treasurer Laura Polomis said she was tired of being treated “as a commodity.”
“I cannot learn, I cannot grow if I’m in my dorm room scared for my life,” she pointed out.
An additional DSU member shared his thoughts on the policy change to favor preference:
“I was just heartbroken and frustrated and really mad because it seems to me that the people celebrating that decision were lacking basic compassion and basic care for others.”
As Access Center liaison for DSU Henry Jeanneret explained, it’s all about others:
“My discomfort [of wearing a mask] for an hour and 15 minutes is outweighed — and should be outweighed — by the health and safety of everyone else around me. Because I can take a break from wearing a mask, but my friends can’t take a break from being immunocompromised.”
The bunch isn’t the first to fight for compelled covering.
The University of Iowa students and educators rallied together in September to do the same.
My coverage
At the die-in, Master of Fine Arts student Rob Ascher remembered through a megaphone last week’s less-than-fantastic first day of class:
“In the rhetoric department, I come in, and there’s not a single student wearing a mask. That ain’t right. I go into my classroom. If it’s a good day, half of my students are wearing a mask.”
And don’t get him started on sports:
“There’s a football game this weekend. That’s a super-spreader and a half.”
Caleb Klipowicz, sociocultural anthropology doctoral student was also upset:
“[Campaign to Organize Graduate Students]He is calling for improved COVID policies at campus. Things like vaccine and mask mandates as well as creating alternatives for teaching and learning online, other things that will save lives, prevent disease.”
It’s an interesting take. Recall that the CDC used to report infection death ratios before any vaccine was made.
- 0-19 years: 0.00003
- 20-49 years: 0.0002
- 50-69 years: 0.005
- 70+ years: 0.054
COVID, as far as masking goes, seems like a part of the universe that is permanent. This will outlive everyone currently living. There are two alternatives available to you at this moment:
- You can always wear a mask because COVID is forever present.
- Do not wear a face mask.
But maybe I’m wrong.
It is clear that those who are at American UniversityYou can do it.
“Disability+ Faculty & Staff Affinity Group Leaders, students and faculty members” have issued an open letter to the school’s administration, insisting the mask “change can wait.”
They would like to see one more semester of force.
It is important to reiterate: We will reinstate the mask mandate through the spring semester. Students, faculty, and staff were promised in January that they would be protected. Now is the time to make sure we don’t disappoint them. We can make the necessary changes, but we must not delay.
What’s the justification for ending it in spring? Is it ever possible? That doesn’t seem clear.
Of course, they can mask as much as they wish — in every class, in every place, during every semester — with or without a mandate.
For the remainder of always, those at American University — and concerned Americans across the country — can don face-diapers:
- While you’re at work
- If you are a sports fan,
- Shower
- They were married in July.
- They sleep while they are asleep
- They swim when they can.
So goes freedom, and so goes the country — into the microbial unknown.
Concerning the immune compromised in this country, I wish them safety and health.
-ALEX
You can find more of my content here:
University Puts Freshmen Through Its ‘Equity’ Orientation, Schools Them on ‘Whitesplaining’
UCLA’s Director of Race and Equity Wishes Death on Clarence Thomas
A high school biology class explains to students that biological sex is a social construct
All my RedState works Here.
We appreciate your time! Feel free to comment in the section below.