When Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak repealed the mask mandate Feb. 10, the Nevada Graduate Student Workers at the University of Nevada, Reno, expected university President Sandoval would follow suit. They launched a petition in support of continuing to require masks on campus.
As of Feb. 15, the petition gleaned more than 2,000 signatures. Sandoval removed the mask mandate anyhow.
“Our petition was not being taken seriously, and we needed to up the ante by organizing [the Feb. 14 protest],” said Emily Bird, a member of the Nevada Graduate Student Workers.
“We knew we needed to get this heard really quickly because really quickly, this is going to become a problem for a lot of people,” said Madeleine Lohman, another member of the Nevada Graduate Student Workers.
Protesters gathered in front of the university’s Mathewson-IGT Knowledge Center before beginning their march to the Jones Center on the south side of campus. They walked to the cadence of a call-and-response chant.
“Reinstate!” Bird yelled. “The mask mandate!” the marchers answered.
Advocating for the minority
Lohman believes that the removal of the mask mandate only makes sense for students and university staff members who don’t have pre-existing health conditions, and disregards at-risk community members.
“Most people aren’t at risk. Most people aren’t disabled, but that doesn’t mean those people aren’t important,” Lohman said.
Many participants are community members with disabilities or have living situations that put those close to people at risk of serious or even fatal viral infections. During the event, organizers read statements from some of the signers of the petition.
The testimonies shared the struggles of professors who have pre-existing conditions, university members concerned about their immuno-compromised family members, and people worried about bringing COVID-19 into a home with young children and pregnant partners.
“As a disabled student, my community is under attack by those who are against vaccines and masks. We are vulnerable and dying because able-bodied people think their choice not to wear a mask is more important than our lives.” – student who signed the petition to reinstate the mask mandate.
Attacks on social media
The Nevada Graduate Student Workers rely on other student groups and faculty to spread the word when they create a petition. One of these groups is the Gender, Race and Identity (GRI) Club at the university, which was the target of a backlash from people who favor the repeal of the mask rule.
“We are now getting threats from people on campus, the community, and from other institutions across the country,” the GRI Club said in a statement on Instagram stories Feb. 11.
In a statement, they wrote that the threats show a lack of care or ignorance about how the pandemic has affected people other than themselves. That’s a clear sign of the attackers’ privilege, the statement noted..
The student organization switched their account from public to private in response to the threats.
Statements and regulations
While students and faculty are demanding the mask mandate be reinstated by the university, Sandoval has said that the university doesn’t have that option.
“… individual NSHE institutions do not currently retain the authority to unilaterally impose more stringent face covering requirements beyond Nevada law.” – President Brian Sandoval, in a letter to UNR students and staff.
Sandoval’s statement is apparently at odds with the Governor’s Emergency Directive 052, which states that “the Nevada System of Higher Education and other higher education institutions in the state may adopt a mask requirement …”
The Associated Students of Nevada released a statement after the march which urged “students to practice the same respect and kindness as you have for the last two years. We also encourage students to make the choices that align with what makes them feel safe and stay home if they feel sick. At the end of the day, we are all a part of the same pack.”
The statement, however, does not address the consequences of staying home. Some faculty members and students feel unsafe attending classes with unmasked individuals, but no options exist for them outside of in-person class meetings.
In-person classes mandated
Students have mentioned faculty members holding in-person classes, but not attending their own lecture. Instead, some professors show their faces on a projector screen while their students are packed into in-person classrooms.
Other faculty members still offer online options, or move classes online when they feel sick.
As university community members navigate through the frustrations and shock of the sudden removal of the mask mandate, some students remain hopeful.
“Even if things don’t get changed on, you know, a systematic level, hopefully we can inspire support for students to choose of their own volition to do what we can to protect all of us,” one attendee said.
I am an at-risk person that could be more susceptible to getting the virus. I take my own precautions and wear the “right type of mask” and watch where I am, where I go, and what I touch etc. I do not need to have everyone else conform to wearing a mask, as long as they respect me for wearing mine. If you see someone wearing a mask, please respect their actions and help them by keeping your distance and respecting the fact that they feel vulnerable and very well could be more susceptible to the virus etc.
When the next surge comes, you’ll know where to look for the reason.
Mandates aren’t legal. Freedom to breathe freely is legal.
If you’re at risk, you need to take precautions. However, you have no right to mandate a sovereign citizen to wear a mask.
A pandemic isn’t a reason to turn a country into a communist regime. The Canadians are fighting for their freedom of choice, and you want more oppression?
The Founding Fathers are turning in their graves.
This is sad how uneducated and uninformed these children are. Fighting to actually give up their basic freedoms because they’ve been conned into being afraid of a cold? Bravo to the dean for not listening to these idiot protesters. Anyone who wears a mask – especially now – really needs to reevaluate their life and (lack of) intelligence.