Pictured Above: Though USF will not require students, faculty or staff to be fully vaccinated or wear face masks on campus this fall, some professors plan to implement their own safety precautions in the classroom.
Annalise Anderson | The Crow’s Nest
By Isaiah Sterling
USF administrators suggested classrooms should return to operating under pre-pandemic standards earlier this spring. Due to a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant, professors remain cautious.
On Aug. 10, Mayo Clinic reported an average of 16,484 Florida residents test positive for COVID-19 every day. 629 daily cases are specific to Pinellas County.
Mayo Clinic also reported only 49.8% of Florida residents are fully vaccinated.
As cases climb and state vaccination percentages barely reach 50 percent, professors plan to suggest students protect themselves against COVID-19 during the fall semester.
Creative writing professor Heather Jones said she plans to practice social distancing and to encourage students to wear a mask.
“I plan to go in to look at my classrooms before I teach in them, and move the seats as far apart as I possibly can. I’m going to mask up, and I’ll suggest the students do as well,” Jones said.
Professor of English, literature and cultural studies Tom Hallock said he fears for his own and students’ safety.
He said he plans to gather student opinion on a possible classroom-wide mask requirement.
“I cannot imagine why the school would not want everyone masked as much as possible,” Hallock said. “What I plan to do is ask our class to reach a decision, democratically, and ask everyone to adhere to the classroom policy.”
Hallock and Jones said they plan to design their courses in a flexible way, with the ability to switch from face-to-face to online instruction quickly in the event of an emergency.
In response to the surge in national cases, universities such as the University of Dayton, University of Missouri at Columbia and Yale reinforced face mask mandates for the fall semester.
Based on Gov. Ron DeSantis’ threats to cut state funding from schools who force students to wear masks, Florida universities will most likely continue to operate without mask mandates.
DeSantis’ threats came in a executive order on July 30 shortly after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended teachers and students wear face masks regardless of vaccination status.
The University of Florida, Florida State University and Florida International University join USF in not reinforcing a mask mandate for the fall semester.
Department of History associate professor and Chair Brian Connolly said USF should be enforcing face mask and social distancing mandates.
“While we are in a particularly difficult situation, given the state government’s refusal to do anything to counter the spread of the Delta variant, USF, and all the universities in Florida should be enforcing these mandates,” Connolly said.
Connolly said the least USF can do is enforce mandates to protect the health and safety of students, staff and faculty.
In most recent university COVID-19 guidance, USF said it expects “individuals will take steps to protect themselves by choosing to get vaccinated and wearing a mask.”
In a letter to the student body on Aug. 9, Dean of Students Danielle McDonald encouraged students to get the vaccine, wear a mask and have a plan for quarantine.
“We expect all members of our community to wear face masks until we emerge from the latest surge in COVID-19 cases,” McDonald wrote in the letter.
In the same letter, she reminded students that if they return to campus unvaccinated they “assume significant risk.”
USF still plans to return to pre-COVID-19 in-person classes and activities this fall and promises its guidance echoes that of the Board of Governors, who strongly encourage everyone to get the COVID-19 vaccine and wear a mask if they have not been fully vaccinated.
The COVID-19 vaccine is free for USF students, faculty, staff and family members. Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccinations are available at all three USF campuses, according to the vaccination clinic schedule.
