The mask mandate for Brookdale and New Jersey public schools, which required all students to wear a mask on public school grounds, ended on March 7.
Brookdale has chosen to go mask-optional due to many statistics, such as COVID-19 cases and Covid hospitalizations all going in the right direction. Students can now choose if they would like to wear a mask or not. This decision has sparked some controversy on whether this is a safe idea or not.
“I think it is OK, but it needs to be monitored. There must be a way to make sure that those who are unvaccinated stay masked, even if they already had COVID,” said Abby Moffett, an English major from Marlboro.
“I think it’s fair because the students are allowed to make their own decisions. It also is a good step because COVID is getting better, so people should be allowed to go maskless. However, some people may be comfortable wearing it, so it is good everyone can make their own decisions. I personally am excited because I am not a fan of masks,” said George Gibson, an undecided major from Freehold.
While some Brookdale students offered different solutions on how to end the mask mandate properly, others question if the masks are even effective, and also wonder why the mandate lasted as long as it did.
“Honestly, I don’t see the point of pushing mask mandates when 85 percent of your campus is vaccinated. Besides, the majority wear cloth and blue masks, which are not effective according to science,” said Frank Mejias, a psychology major from Hazlet. “America at this point has either had COVID or has gotten the vaccine, or both. We should be moving on from these dark times. Of course, this doesn’t mean to be careless, but the majority of us are young, and the reminders of a COVID-19 pandemic may be degrading to some. Of course, this pandemic was not mentally friendly toward many of us. Brookdale made a wise decision to lift the mask mandate. I think it is time for us to move on and make 2022 a great year.”
If a spike in COVID numbers is seen throughout Brookdale, the college will put the previous mask mandate back in place to protect the students.
To find out more about Brookdale’s changing mask mandate, please visit your school email for more information. To find out more about New Jersey’s Covid laws, please visit https://covid19.nj.gov/.