Mask Up, Wildcats.

Wearing a mask or face covering is one of the most important things we can do to stop the spread of the coronavirus. 

On my walks around our campus, I see members of our community wearing them, and I’m grateful to see them doing their part to keep their friends, neighbors and loved ones safe. 

As a reminder, wearing a face covering is required on our campus, unless you are alone in a room, alone outside, eating, drinking, or exercising or when it interferes with required curricular activities. And here is the most important point: masks only work if everyone wears them. Please encourage your peers to do their part to keep our community safe. 

In particular, we need our students to wear masks in the William T. Young Library. 

Here are some pointers for when you see someone not wearing a mask:

• Stay calm when approaching your fellow student. Remember to leave six feet of distance between you and others. 
• Approach and kindly remind your peer that wearing a face covering helps everyone stay safe in our community, and ask they put on a face covering. 
• Keep in mind, we all need to do our part, but it is not the expectation that you police others. Remind your friends and classmates of the expectations. 

It can feel uncomfortable talking to your peers about such an important topic, but, remember that this policy exists to keep us all safe and healthy. Here are some phrases you can use to respectfully ask your fellow wildcats to mask up:

• Please wear a mask when you come over to my room.
• Let’s keep some physical distance between us while we talk.
• Just to help us be safe, would you put on a face covering? 
• Let’s walk this way, to avoid the crowd, just to be safe.

We are a community of people, each doing our part to protect those around us. 

Review the mask guidelines to ensure that you’re wearing your mask correctly, and be sure to wash your hands, maintain a physical distance of six feet and do your daily screening.