Now that the University’s mask mandate has been lifted, Senior Columnist Andi Grene considers the social implications of students being able to engage with one another without the specter of COVID-19 guidelines and face coverings buffering their interactions. Grene reflects on the 2020-2021 academic year, noting that the friendships she cultivated were few and far between, a development she chalks up to the restricted atmosphere present at the University last year. While emphasizing that fears about the spread of COVID-19 are still warranted, Grene nevertheless expresses hope that the relaxed pandemic-era restrictions will permit greater social cohesion among the student body.
“The decision to remove the mask mandate marks the gradual, yet eventual, end to the pandemic’s social repercussions on our campus. Even though we must approach this transition with utmost sensitivity, it is a transition that is much needed. I, for one, look forward to its positive impacts on students’ social life,” Grene writes.
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