After video of an anti-mask rally in St. George went viral, students at Dixie State University spoke out about the campus mask mandate.
The August anti-mask rally went viral on Sept. 14 after a tweet from late night TV host Jimmy Kimmel called a participant “the world’s dumbest person.”
This sparked a lot of conversations on campus. Some students said masking-up is the right thing to do.
“I feel like it’s a really good thing to have masks here on campus, especially during our classes because it is hard to stay that 6-feet distance from everyone once we’re in classes,” said freshman Chelsea Wistisen.
“I feel more safe wearing a mask, and with everyone else wearing a mask and keeping their distance,” said senior Michael Santoscoy.
“I don’t really like wearing masks, especially if I’m wearing like lipgloss or something, but I also understand like wearing masks isn’t about me, and so of course I’ll wear it; not a big problem,” said Senior Stephanie Du Par.
Other students said wearing a mask should be more of a personal choice.
“I don’t think wearing a mask on campus is necessary obviously because I feel like it’s not doing what everyone says that it’s supposed to be doing, like protecting us; and I feel like it’s impeding on our human rights to be forced to wear a mask when we don’t really need to. Nothing should be forced upon us ‘cause we live in a free country,” junior Rebekah Farris said.
The university requires students, faculty, staff and visitors to wear a face mask at all times in public places on campus.
Students who don’t follow these guidelines won’t be allowed to attend class.
The most recent count found 16 confirmed cases of COVID at DSU.
