Have Your Say: How do you feel about the end of the mask mandate on campus?
By Renée Bartlett-Webber
City College’s Board of Trustees voted to repeal the mask mandate on campus at the Feb. 6 Board of Trustees meeting. Masks are no longer required anywhere on campus. The Guardsman asked students their opinions about it the same day the repeal went into effect. Check out what they had to say.
Aaron Gonzales
Yeah, I received an email a couple of days ago. I think every situation is difficult, I think it depends on what information they got. If they got information saying that it’s safe, I understand that. And if it’s not, people are able to do what they are able to do, wear masks. But my personal opinion, I feel like if they got some good information saying that it’s safe, then we should be fine, But obviously, it should be encouraged because, obviously, it’s still an ongoing thing.
Carlos Navaez
I don’t really mind. I stopped wearing a mask in public a long time ago. I just respect the rules that we have here. I think going forth, I might continue wearing my mask just out of respect for everybody else.
Estefany Cantarero
This is my first time hearing about it, because today a teacher said that you need to wear masks. The teacher was mad. There were some people who came and they were like, ‘I don’t have a mask.’ And she was like, ‘here.’ Thank you for telling me. If I’m with a lot of people, like, for example, if I go to the gym, I’ll wear a mask, but it depends. If there’s too many people, I’ll wear a mask.
Lauren Waqa
For me, personally, I don’t mind. I think it’s just up to the students if they want to wear it, because I like wearing it, but I don’t mind if other students don’t want to. I get sick really easily and through the pandemic, I haven’t really had much contact with people. I find that whenever I get back to class, for me, I just like a mask on for safety.
Paul Wilson Jr.
I was in the Air Force for eleven years, so I’ve been a part of an organization much larger than myself and contributes to something bigger than me, so I understand sacrificing for the greater good. So personally, I think wearing a mask shouldn’t be an option. I think people should wear them because this disease is killing people. People are all about individuality, but it’s unfortunate because we’ve moved away from what’s best for everybody. I’m fully vaccinated, and I don’t want to get it, so I wear it as a choice. I understand that City is part of the San Francisco Unified, so they have to do what high schools are doing and that dictates more of what we do than the other way around. So I get it. But to each be their own. I’m going to wear a mask as a choice because I don’t want to catch it. And if I do have it, I definitely don’t want to spread it. My parents are part of a vulnerable population, so they have predispositions. I’m sure there was pressure somewhere, that’s the reason they chose to abolish it. Somebody always answers to someone else. It is what it is. But as far as I go, I choose to wear it.
Do you have a question to ask the community? Tell us! Contact Renée Bartlett-Webber at rbartle8@mail.ccsf.edu.