Navigating the Mask Mandate at Kean University

By Julia Strugala | Published by November 19, 2021

Covid has become a household topic over the past year and a half, and our lives have completely changed in a way we would have never imagined. For many people, this new lifestyle meant working and doing school from home, going drastically long periods of time without seeing friends and family, and turning the news on every morning to see the number of cases skyrocket.

Luckily, the vaccine has allowed us to return to in-person classes, but at what cost? Students here at Kean University received an email on August 31, the day before classes began Mask Mandate in Effect at Kean on Wednesday, September 1.

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Mackenzie Powell, an education major in her senior year at Kean University shared her experience with being a residence assistant while the new safety precautions are in use.

“As an RA, the mask mandate has been incredibly frustrating inside the residence halls. A lot of students feel that since they are vaccinated, the mandate does not apply to them so myself and the other RAs feel like a broken record having to constantly ‘remind’ students to wear their masks.” Powell said. “As a student myself, I too am frustrated that we need to wear masks, but I honestly do feel more comfortable wearing it than not. It is important that we wear masks as a preventative measure.” 

Makenzie is ongoing her third year of being a resident assistant and says residence life has gotten pretty close to normal as compared to last year and if a lot of students were to begin contracting covid, she is nervous the university will return back to square one of being remote.

A professor in the communications department also shared his experience inside the classroom

with the mandate thus far. He says, “I personally have not had any difficulty with students refusing to wear a mask in my classes. I did have a student at the first of the semester who came to class with the mask pulled down below his/her chin. I simply wrote an email reminding the person that masks were more effective if they were covering the nose and mouth. The student complied completely by the next class”.

“I do have a student who is hearing impaired and has requested that I wear a transparent mask to facilitate lip reading. I have requested the University to supply this type of mask to me for the student. The university said that they would, but up until this point, I still do not have that mask,” he states. 

This is a major problem because Kean should be accommodating to everyone with any type of disability. This student is now going on one month without being able to fully comprehend their professor’s classes, not receiving the same education level as their peers. 

Furthermore, after reaching out to Margaret McCorry- Director of Media Relations here at Kean for information on the mask mandate and the timing the students were informed of it, she responded with the following. 

“Kean University’s top priority is the safety of the entire community. Many students and faculty expressed concerns about returning to campus without masks. The decision to institute a mask mandate was made in response to changing conditions during the pandemic. The University will continue to monitor state and federal guidelines on mask usage and adjust accordingly”. 

As for the repercussions students face for not complying with the mask mandate, they are outlined in the Kean University COVID-19 Community Standards Policy for Students:

Violations of the COVID-19 Community Standards Policy pose a threat to the health and safety of the entire Kean community. Therefore, the conduct administrator of the Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct or her designee may impose any remedies/sanctions, including those that result in suspension or expulsion, after the Student Conduct Conference without holding a Student Conduct Hearing 

Kean is not taking the mandate lightly and students will face consequences if showing an issue with the rules put in place for this semester. 

Most students are also dreading the possible return of Zoom classes, which is why many came into this school year with the intention of wearing a mask in their classes regardless if there was a mandate in effect or not. Some reasons behind this are older, more susceptible family members at home and keeping in-person classes going for as long as possible this semester. 

Overall, the student body at Kean University is doing a great job taking safety precautions to make sure everyone is staying healthy and protected. As long as we all continue doing our part by wearing masks properly, staying home when you feel sick, and keeping your professors in the loop when you need to take a sick day and get tested, this semester will continue running smoothly.

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