It’s easy as a Board of Regents or President's Cabinet to conclude that “masking up” and mandating vaccines for students is a necessity. However, it is highly likely that the board members that make this decision have already graduated from a college or university. They have already experienced the unique experience of going to home football games and cheering with friends, they have already experienced their friends smiling faces when they’ve gotten an A on a final exam, and they’ve already experienced a multitude of memories that masks restrict for students in college. 

Going to college I expected to be able to experience university life like my parents. They were able to go to as many dances, games, and campus events as they wanted to without having to remember to bring a mask. They were able to go to class and experience being able to talk to their peers about class work or lecture without sitting 6 feet apart and a mask concealing half of their face.

In addition, the constant flip- flopping of the way instruction is presented is mentally and physically exhausting. Students are planning to learn hands on one minute, and then are abruptly told they have to learn online. Which is unfair and unjust to students who want to be in a classroom. 

 As a rising junior, I have experienced one semester of this, so called “normal college experience ”. One out of four semesters of my college experience has been “normal”. I only have four more semesters in college and would love to be able to experience the life lessons and exceptional people my university has to offer, without restriction. 

Obviously, people have their reasons for wearing a mask; and by all means if a student wants to wear a mask they should be free to. However, many of us, vaccinated and wanting to experience college in the most authentic way possible, do not want to wear a mask. 

Please, for the sake of a genuine college experience, do not mandate masks for students. Many Universities have announced a “back to normal” fall initiative, including Eastern Kentucky University. Do not damage the trust students have for their institutions by constantly reversing the way in which we learn and experience college.