Masking Violations | Photo by Brett Hull | The Wright State Guardian
COVID-19 masking violations increased on Wright State University’s (WSU) Dayton campus during fall semester of 2021.
Masking compliance
The Covid Task Force, headed by Dean of Students Chris Taylor, sent out a campus-wide reminder of the COVID masking policy in an Oct. 27 communication.
According to the email, the reminder was sent out due to masking violations and issues.
“The COVID-19 Task Force has recently received reports of a relaxing of mask compliance, with some students and employees seen in the tunnels, hallways, and other indoor common areas without masks or improperly wearing masks,” according to the communication.
The communication further explained masking issues in regards to meetings and reminded the campus community to wear masks during events.
Dean Taylor emphasizes that the task force decided students, staff and faculty members needed the reminder and that the timing for it was right.
Despite this reminder, WSU maintains that masking on Dayton’s campus is not a widespread issue, according to Seth Bauguess, director of communications.
Masking incident reports
Students caught without a mask in any of the campus buildings are reported to the Office of Student Conduct. Staff and faculty violations are reported to the Human Resources Department.
Incident reports for the 2020-2021 academic year and the current 2021-2022 academic year show that there were 30 documented masking violations in 2020/21 and six documented reports in the current fall semester.
Violations occurring in 2020-21 predominantly took place in campus residence halls. Current incidents occur in campus housing, the Student Union, a classroom and a meeting space according to the reports.
One report dated Aug. 2021, details an interaction between an instructor and a student who was refusing to wear a mask.
“She (student) responded that it is ‘against her constitutional right’ for me (instructor) to ask her to wear a mask or leave class,” according to the report.
The report further explains that the student in question did not put on a mask properly during the class despite the instructor issuing verbal reminders and passing out physical copies of WSU masking policy to the class.
The report does not reveal how the situation was resolved or if the student was removed from class.
Dunbar Library policies
Three of the masking violations reported in the 2020-2021 academic year occurred in the Dunbar Library on the Dayton campus.
Mandy Shannon, Interim Associate University Librarian, reported that she was unsure about the frequency of masking violations for the fall semester of 2021.
Shannon did explain that the library staff fully supports the campus masking policy by enforcing the policy and giving building-wide announcements throughout the day.
According to the communication, those needing a mask may pick up a disposable one at the library circulation desk or at the front of the Student Union.
