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Students who take classes in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management have noticed that some professors have chosen not to wear masks when standing by their lectern, which, for many classrooms within the college, is designated by red tape pasted onto the ground. These students said that their professors cited Whitman’s masking policy that allows them to remove their mask within these boundaries.

Syracuse University is currently on the “BLUE” masking level, meaning faculty, staff and students — vaccinated or not — must wear masks during academic instruction. But according to a university press release from August 2021, professors within “designated teaching areas” can remove their masks.

Emily Gray, an environmental policy major at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs who takes a class in Whitman, said that she was confused by the mask policy that her professor explained to her. She said she was shocked that Whitman seemingly has a different protocol than the rest of the schools she has classes in.

“(My professor) said that it was a Whitman rule. I was literally sitting there in the middle of class trying to Google the faculty masking policy on campus. I was like, ‘There’s no way this is right,’” Gray said.

Tenzin Norzin, a senior majoring in biology and psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, also has a class in Whitman. She was unaware that Whitman professors are allowed to unmask during class.

Norzin added that the red line in Whitman classrooms will not stop the spread of COVID-19. She said she would be more comfortable if all students and professors kept their masks on.

“It’s the safest option,” she said.

Sarah Scalese, the senior associate vice president for university communications at SU, said that faculty across schools and colleges are allowed to remove their mask when in a teaching box in an email statement to The Daily Orange. However, because of classroom sizes and spacing, not all classrooms have this accommodation, she said. Scalese added that there is no exemption for any specific groups of faculty.

Despite Scalese’s statement, Dawn McWilliams, Whitman’s director of marketing and communications, wrote in an email to The Daily Orange that all students, faculty and staff must wear masks when inside the building. Only when they are in their offices can they remove their masks. “The Whitman faculty are not exempt for wearing a mask at Whitman … same as the rest of the campus,” she said.

In the August 2021 press release, John Liu, the interim vice chancellor and provost at the time, wrote that courses that have a firm pedagogical reason for instructors to unmask can coordinate with their department chair.

Dona Hayes, an associate dean of the Newhouse School of Public Communications, said in an email statement she doesn’t recall hearing that faculty were communicating with their department chairs about unmasking in the classroom.

Additionally, Martin Walls, the director of marketing and communications at School of Education, said the school doesn’t have any special masking policies or guidelines beyond the official university’s. “We follow University masking policy, which is currently that masks are required for all in instructional settings.”

Other schools such as Maxwell, the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics are following the standard policy of code “BLUE,” which means masks are required during academic instruction.

Alex Dunbar, the communications manager of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, referred to Scalese’s statements, while the remaining six colleges at SU have not responded.

Students from various schools said they are confused about the masking policy. Tyler Lavaway, a computer engineering major at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, also said he didn’t understand the current mask rules in Whitman, especially relating to other colleges and the university as a whole.

“I don’t think it makes a difference if you’re in Whitman, if you’re in engineering, if you’re in Newhouse. The mask policy should still be the same,” Lavaway said. “If one school isn’t following the university’s policy, then I feel like that’s contradictory to what they’re telling all of us.”

Some students, however, were comfortable with their professors unmasking in academic instruction.

Olivia Browndorf, a real estate major in Whitman, has four out of five classes in Whitman, and all four of her professors do not wear a mask when teaching. She said she prefers her professors not wear a mask because it creates a normal setting and makes her professors more engaged.

Similarly, Annie Chazen, a marketing major in Whitman, also has four of her five classes in Whitman, where two of her professors do not wear a mask during academic instruction. She said she understood that professors are in class all day, and the freedom to take off their masks during instruction is helpful for them.

“Teachers work long days and they’re stuck behind their desk and there’s kind of a limited ability to drink and eat, so I find it fair that they’re allowed to take off their mask in that box,” Chazen said.

Eleanor Mellin, a sophomore majoring in supply chain management and marketing, said she’s had COVID-19 twice, so she doesn’t mind professors unmasking during academic instruction because she doesn’t believe that she will be infected again.

Mellin said she acknowledges that many students have different health conditions which may put them at a higher risk of being infected of COVID-19.

“I feel like people are just ready to get back to normal (after) hiding behind a mask for so long,” she said. “But for the people with health issues, it’s unfair.”

Riona Sheik, a sophomore majoring in international relations and finance, also said she is okay with her professors unmasking when they remain in the teaching box but is hesitant in certain settings.

“It does get a little scary,” Sheik said. “I just took a test and the professor was coming really close to us and passing the test out without a mask on, and so I thought that was a little worrying.”

Sharina Desai, a freshman majoring in marketing at Whitman, also said that she doesn’t mind professors unmasking, but if no universal rule allows them to do so then they should keep their masks on.

“Everybody should wear their mask above their nose,” she said. “If you’re a teacher and you’re not wearing your mask, and you’re not setting an example. And you’re telling other people to wear a mask. I don’t think that’s smart.”

Gray said it is hypocritical when professors require students to wear masks yet they unmask during academic instruction, and both she and Lavaway said they’d prefer if professors wear masks in class.

“I thought that the university policy applied to all schools,” Lavaway said.

Published on March 3, 2022 at 1:18 am

Contact Ivana: ixie01@syr.edu