Mask Up, Please – How to Talk About the Importance of Wearing a Face Mask
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug 28, 2020) – Wearing a face covering is one of the most important things we can do to stop the spread of the coronavirus. At the University of Kentucky, wearing a face mask is required unless individuals are alone in a room, alone outside, eating, drinking, or exercising or when it interferes with required curricular activities. But the use of masks only works if everyone does it. Encourage your peers to do their part to keep our community safe. 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 is difficult to ask your friends, and especially a new peer that you may not know as well, to do something like wearing a face covering,” said Dominick Williams, director of student conduct at UK. “But at the end of the day, this is what allows us to stay together as a community, and that responsibility is on each and every one of us. Keep in mind, most people want to do the right thing. If we ask in a reasonable and respectful way, people will do what they can for others to feel safe when they are around.”
It can uncomfortable talking to your peers about such an important topic, but this policy is in place to keep you and them 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.
Everyone needs to do their part to keep the UK community safe and healthy. You can have the virus and not show any symptoms. 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.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.