In alignment with new guidance from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Orange County Health Care Agency, masks will no longer be required on campus, excluding a few key areas.

Chapman University President Daniele Struppa sent out the announcement at 3:06 p.m. earlier today, noting the change would go into effect immediately. Within minutes of the shrill Outlook notification, students and professors turned their attention to their devices; some individuals proceeded to promptly drop their masks, while others chose to keep the facial coverings in place.

On-campus masking will be optional in nearly all indoor facilities — including residence halls — for all students, faculty and staff, regardless of vaccination status. Mask-wearing will continue to be enforced on Chapman shuttles, in the Student Health Center and at the Rinker and Orange campus COVID-19 testing sites.

This leaves masking up to the discretion of the individual, although Struppa wrote that indoor masking is still strongly recommended.

“Those who are personally at high-risk, or in contact with high-risk individuals, or who are more comfortable wearing a mask should continue to do so,” Struppa wrote in his March 3 announcement.

Further, unvaccinated individuals are required to complete a negative COVID-19 test each week. Previously, these students were required to test twice weekly. 

These changes come after a three-question, campus-wide survey gauged community comfort level regarding masking.

According to the survey results, 59.6% of students, faculty and staff reported they would feel “comfortable” if the indoor mask mandate would be eliminated on campus, while 40.4% reported they would feel “uncomfortable.”

Further, 57.2% of students, faculty and staff responded they would feel“comfortable” with faculty determining mask requirements in the classroom, while 42.8% reported they would feel “uncomfortable.”

While these data points seem to support the elimination of a mask mandate, the third question’s results may not: 54.9% of students, faculty and staff agreed they would prefer to wear a mask indoors as a matter of personal preference, while 45.1% disagreed.

Struppa’s email emphasized that no area on campus can enforce policies that supersede these new guidelines.

“While no area of campus should create restrictions that are stricter than our university policy (unless academic program-specific requirements, such as health-care protocols), I strongly encourage flexibility and courtesy if a colleague, student, or faculty member have a preference for mask usage in their presence,” Struppa wrote.

This is a developing story. Follow The Panther on social media and at www.thepanthernewspaper.org for updates.