In-person classes have resumed, and the Covid-19 virus has not gone away. Students attending Florida A&M University are being asked to wear their masks when in buildings, vaccinated or not.
Most students do not have an issue with wearing a mask on campus. They see it as their way of doing their part to protect themselves and others.
“I don’t mind wearing a mask in class, but I don’t wear one. So I’m not in class,” FAMU student Terrance Skinner said.
Most students wear their masks when inside the buildings, but many students do not wear masks outside when walking to class or just chilling on The Set. Some students feel like they should not have to wear a mask outside because it is more open. Others complain that it is just too hot to wear a mask outside.
The heat seems to be the main reason most students don’t wear a mask outside the buildings.
It’s no secret that it can reach temperatures over 90 degrees in Tallahassee, and walking around outside with a mask on can be uncomfortable. It can get sweaty under the mask and cause the face to irritate and break out.
“It’s too hot for that,” Genesis Lyles, a FAMU student walking on campus, said.
Even though the university asks that students wear masks inside the buildings, sometimes students still do not wear one in the classrooms. For some, they forget to put their mask back on when they enter the buildings.
“I will be in a rush to get to class sometimes. When I get to class, I just come in and sit down. No one makes a big deal about it, and it out one on one, I realize anyway,” Jaydn May, an SBI student, said.
New CDC guidelines recommend that fully vaccinated individuals in areas like Leon County, which are experiencing high rates of COVID transmission, wear masks indoors. However, the university is encouraging students to get vaccinated to help fight the rise of COVID cases on campus. But the university is sticking to a mask-optional policy.