Conversation About Masks
We’re All Working Together to Help Keep Our Montclair State Campus Healthy.
Posted in: Announcements, Dean of Students News, Featured News, Red Hawk News, Safety, Wellness
Dear Montclair Students,
I hope all of you are getting truly excited about the opening of the academic year! Hundreds of staff and faculty have been working diligently to get our beautiful campus ready for your return! We truly cannot wait to see you on campus!
Wearing Masks on Campus
Recently an updated University Mask Policy was sent to the entire Montclair State community. It was updated due to the Delta variant and the growing transmissions numbers nationally as well as in the state of New Jersey. While returning to wearing masks is not what we had planned for, it is the right and safest step for us to take as a university community at this time.
We heard from some students regarding eating in our dining facilities now that the Mask Policy has been updated. The sentence, “You may remove your mask briefly when eating and drinking, but only when you are able to keep at least 6 feet of distance between you and the others,” caused some people to wonder that you would not be able to eat with your friends in our dining facilities.
Sharing Your Status
At this time, over 90% of our students are vaccinated! This is an amazing accomplishment! What I want to emphasize is this: if you are not vaccinated and you plan to remove your mask and sit with your peers in our dining facilities, as members of the University community, you have a responsibility to share your vaccination status with your friends. While we cannot mandate that you do so, nor can we share with your classmates your vaccination status, for public health reasons, we ask that you share this information so that your friends can make informed choices regarding situations where masks are not viable (when eating, for example, especially if you are sitting at a table in Sam’s Place where 6 feet apart is not an option). Your honesty and compassion for others is what it means to be part of a community and care about the common good.
Working together as a community will help keep Montclair State University campus healthy and safe as we continue to battle this pandemic.
Thank you for your consideration! Looking forward to seeing you very soon!
Warm Regards,
Dr. S
Dawn Meza Soufleris, PhD
Vice President for Student Development & Campus Life