A University of Waterloo student scrawled “mask mandate is a joke” before class in one lecture hall, according to a post from a university instructor.
The Ontario school controversially reinstated an indoor mask mandate on Wednesday, giving students less than 24 hours notice. But it seems that not all students are willing to go along with it.
“This was on the board in my classroom,” business lecturer Brent Matheson wrote on social media. “I guess at least one student doesn’t like that masks are back at the University of Waterloo.”
Matheson also posted a picture of the whiteboard message.
“Lots of students won’t put them back on,” Matheson wrote in another post, describing the scene he witnessed at the university.
The public and medical response to the return of the school’s mandate has been divided.
“My alma mater is UWaterloo,” wrote one Twitter user, responding negatively to the school’s post on the return of mask mandates. “I will never give you a dime despite having the financial means to do so.
Dr. Sumon Chakrabarti, an infectious diseases physician who works in Toronto-area hospital, was one of several physicians who recently told True North that bringing back mandates isn’t the path forward.
“At this point in time, a perspective shift is necessary,” Dr. Chakrabarti said. “Every single time we hear hospitalization rates go up, I don’t think mask mandates are the answer.”
Are you a student or faculty member at University of Waterloo who has information to share about the response to the renewed mask mandate? Email us at [email protected].
