Why We Mask UMich

ALT Stylized image of people wearing masks. An orange bar at the top contains the header, “#WhyWeMaskUMich, Instructors deserve the right to require masking!”. A light blue box contains the following anonymous testimonial, “I caught COVID from an instructional setting in Spring 2022. I continue to mask in class and around others, but feel less safe than last year.”

ALT Stylized image of people wearing masks. An orange bar at the top contains the header, “#WhyWeMaskUMich, Instructors deserve the right to require masking!”. A light blue box contains the following anonymous testimonial, “I am currently enduring Long Covid after my kid’s daycare refused to institute masks even after proof of community transmission. I was in bed for 6 weeks, got pneumonia, and am experiencing symptoms three months later. My kid is not yet eligible for the updated boosters, and I cannot get sick again, nor can I risk getting him sick — I won’t be able to do my job! Even if folks don’t care about the health impacts, even a few days of illness will severely disrupt my ability to do my job. Not being allowed to require masks in a large cramped lecture hall makes no sense and is asking for extreme disruption to the business of the university. “mild” covid has disabled me, and it is immoral for us as an institution to do nothing to prevent it from disabling others.”

ALT Stylized image of people wearing masks. An orange bar at the top contains the header, “#WhyWeMaskUMich, Instructors deserve the right to require masking!”. A light blue box contains the following anonymous testimonial, “I have had multiple students show up to class unmasked, and then email me the very next day saying they have tested positive, thereby having exposed me and their peers. I've had students with other viruses -- mono, colds, etc -- come to class unmasked and coughing since "it's not COVID." I've worn my KN95 to class each day this semester and opened windows (when I'm not in a windowless classroom). So far, I've been personally lucky -- but I recognize it to be just that: luck. I have enough to manage in the classroom; I shouldn't be put in a position to plead with students to wear masks. I want to be allowed to make this a policy.”

ALT Stylized image of people wearing masks. An orange bar at the top contains the header, “#WhyWeMaskUMich, Instructors deserve the right to require masking!”. A light blue box contains the following anonymous testimonial, “I’ve chosen to work from home as I have a 5 month old at home. Thankfully I am not in a GSI position and I can work from home. But if I were teaching I would be very concerned on how teaching in person could put me and my baby at risk— especially when they cannot be vaccinated until 6 months old.”

ALT Stylized image of people wearing masks. An orange bar at the top contains the header, “#WhyWeMaskUMich, Instructors deserve the right to require masking!”. A light blue box contains the following anonymous testimonial, “Because I live with a high risk individual, I chose to take my fellowship a year earlier (even though I didn't want to), just so I could avoid teaching. And now that my fellowship has ended, I've taken up another remote job for this semester. And I have already started looking for another job for next semester. So I have to also spend my time and effort on looking for jobs rather than focus on research. It's also a lot of uncertainty - What if I don't get another job? I will be forced to put my family's life at risk for a job that won't even cover any COVID related illness.”

ALT A light blue box contains the following anonymous testimonial, “As someone with chronic conditions, the loosening of covid/masking requirements has been a huge blow to my sense of safety. I live in a student co-op and we have had covid-positive cases for a whole month straight this academic year. In other words, aside from this week, there has not been a time where we have not had covid cases in the house since I have moved in. Because the university isn't enforcing any covid restrictions, it gives students a false sense of safety, leading to these types of situations and unsafe norms. Listening to public health guidelines is important and keeps us safe and healthy; data from both domestic and international sources is screaming this to us. Long covid is not fully understood and I do not know why we are risking everyone's long-term health just so we don't have to wear masks. For a university that has such a large emphasis on research, we are doing a miserable job listening to the data.