By Owen Hardiman
On February 15, an all-campus email announced that Houghton College will undergo changes to masking requirements in the coming weeks. The email, sent from Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Marc Smithers (‘08), reported that on Sunday, March 6, the day many students will return to campus from Winter Break, masks will no longer be required to be worn in Houghton’s residence halls or townhouses. Smithers noted that the transmission rate on campus will be closely monitored as these changes go into effect, and if COVID-19 rates remain low the school expects to further relax masking requirements the following week on Monday, March 14. These changes will require masking only in classrooms and in chapel and would allow faculty members to elect not to wear a mask in their classes provided they socially distance themselves from their students. Additionally, the Dining Hall will be fully opened to students, faculty, and community members.
When asked why the Houghton PREP (Preparing a Residential Education Plan) team decided upon a phased approach to adjusting masking guidelines, Smithers stated, “A phased approach is particularly helpful when implementing significant changes like this to our policies as this allows us an ability to see how these changes play out in the community on a more gradual scale. As we’re returning from Winter Break at this same time, we especially want to be sensitive to the risks associated with reentry to campus, so this is another reason to be more cautious in any changes we would make to our policies at this time.”
The PREP team cited the low number of cases on campus and the decreasing number of cases in the area as a key factor in the decision to modify the school’s masking requirements. These changes were greeted with excitement from many Houghton students. Leah O’Connell (‘23) enthusiastically remarked, “I’m very excited that we will no longer have to mask in a majority of places. As an RA, I especially am looking forward to not having to regulate masking in the dorms.” This sentiment of enthusiasm was echoed by Mary Vandenbosch (‘23), who remarked, “I am excited for this step forward after the extensive amount of time that has been put into making this possible. It will be wonderful to see the many smiling faces around campus again!”
Other students shared they felt a mix of emotions regarding the upcoming changes. Sarah Halvorson (‘22) shared that they already see many students not following current masking guidelines, which is a cause of anxiety and anger for them. They noted, “I wear my mask out of respect for the community even though I am fully vaccinated. Now that the choice is on the individual and it is not blatantly disrespectful to the community to be unmasked or half-masked, I’ll have one less reason to be annoyed by others. Do I think everyone should be masked? Yes. But since half the campus doesn’t do this anyways, therefore nullifying the point, at least I can enjoy being maskless in some spaces with a clearer conscience.” This blend of eagerness and apprehension was affirmed by Elizabeth Veacock (23), who said, “I found myself feeling so excited and yet so very nervous. It feels like it might be too early to lift all of the masking restrictions and things could go back to being worse like they were in the beginning. However, I feel like we have to rely on God and trust that as long as we make small steps in the right direction we can get back to the way things were before COVID happened.”
When asked about the concerns that students may have about the new masking policy, Smithers noted, “Any sort of emergence from the policies that we have known for the last two years will be, at least at first, unsettling, particularly for those individuals who are at higher risk for severe infection but also for nearly everyone as this has been what our normal life has been since early 2020.” He went on to remind students that the best defense against severe infection from COVID-19 continues to be well within the control and choices of each individual, with vaccination being the best defense. “For students who are concerned about these changes, we continue to strongly encourage our community to be vaccinated and boosted, if eligible, and to social distance from others when in environments where you are unsure of the vaccination status of others. In addition to this, individuals can still continue to choose to mask in all areas of campus. There will still be many individuals who will be masked throughout campus, as they are identified as close contacts or may be in the last five days of their isolation period, in which the CDC allows individuals to be out of isolation but still requires them to mask around others.”
It was on March 13, 2020 when Houghton announced it would be shutting down and sending students home due to COVID-19. Two years later almost down to the day, Houghton will start to look more like it did pre-pandemic. ★
