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OPINION: Merrimack Should End Its Classroom Mask Mandate

Matt Cavoli

Merrimack college has done a great job keeping all their students safe during the pandemic. They have taken many safety precautions in order to keep the school up and running. For their hard work, myself and the rest of the Merrimack students are thankful.

However, despite the currently low rates of Covid-19  and life returning to normal again in cities and towns across Massachusetts, Merrimack is still requiring facemasks in the classrooms.

We can be in the dining hall, at parties, or at a sporting event with 100s of other people all unmasked, but the second we step into a classroom the school makes us wear a face mask. This was all understandable up until Massachusetts lifted the mask mandated in schools. Now, an unvaccinated fifth grader at the North Andover Elementary schools doesn’t have to wear a mask in class, but a fully vaccinated Merrimack college still needs to wear them. I understand this is done to protect the vulnerable faculty members, although Merrimack should make it up to the professors if they require masks in their class or not.

Obviously, if you are sick or feel more comfortable wearing a mask, then you definitely should. The pandemic is changing to be an endemic, and face mask mandates are being lifted elsewhere, so why can’t Merrimack do the same?