We’re finally back on campus here at FIU. We can sit in classrooms with our peers again and be involved in our university. After a year and a half of remote learning due to COVID-19, it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of returning to what college life was like pre-pandemic. But, the pandemic is not truly over yet. We still need to mask up and FIU should be helping us make sure people are doing their part.
Wearing your mask is the bare minimum you could do during a worldwide pandemic. FIU does not currently have a mask mandate. The university only “recommends” wearing masks while indoors. However, this should be a requirement. The Delta variant is running rampant in Miami-Dade County right now. We do not live in a small city in Northern Florida. We live in the busy city of Miami. Millions of people live here and thousands of people go to this school. It only makes sense, for the safety of the entire student body and the FIU faculty, that masks should be required at least indoors.
FIU should also be keeping track of outside events and making sure that the proper safety precautions are being taken. People should not be gathering in huge crowds with little to no social distancing. Yes, usually it is not as big of a deal to be maskless outside. But, that doesn’t mean you should be in a huge crowd all up in each other’s space. That is a perfect storm for germs. FIU must make sure events like those are being monitored so no fellow Panthers end up infected.
If we’re not wearing masks and not following the proper social distancing rules, we may end up with zoom learning again. That’s something none of us want, we want our full college experience. So to prevent that, please mask up and keep a safe distance away from others. Make sure you’re keeping track of your symptoms on the P3 app as well.
Having a mask mandate and keeping a closer tab on social distancing outside will help us stay safe in the long run. The pandemic is not over and it probably will not be for a long time. We still need to focus on preventing the virus from spreading across our campus. We still have to get through the pandemic but we can get through this together.
Photo by Phillips Jacobe on Unsplash