Editorial | Masked up, but silent no longer

Illustration by KAITA PANNOR, Illustrator

It always seems to start with the nose.

Peeking out from above an ill-fitting mask, the protrusion of this unsightly facial feature is an unfortunate recurrence for students, yet rarely is it regarded as bearing harmful intent.

Then the mask starts to slip further, gradually exposing the full face.

What began as the occasional slip-up transforms into habit, and a classroom of passive observers remains silent.

Faculty such as Chapman business professor Patrick Flaherty point to this silence as justification for non-compliance with the institution’s COVID-19 protocol. If the students haven’t said anything, they must be okay with it, right?

Not quite.

Under Flaherty’s logic, students are responsible for vocalizing their concerns should they take issue with their learning environment. We can concede to the significance of confrontation when it comes to students effectively communicating with their professors; our faculty weren’t hired to read minds.

But we’re not asking them to. Just read the room.

Since when did silence become equivalent to affirmative consent? Complaints submitted to The Panther about faculty neglecting Chapman’s masking protocol reiterated a common theme: silence was a byproduct of fear.

Where there is lenience, there is exploitation. Professors who cast their masks aside in the classroom further a power dynamic that is preexisting by virtue of faculty being in a position of authority over students. 

Not to mention that faculty asking students — either explicitly or implicitly — to choose between their beliefs and the institution’s is a glaring red flag. Students may not have the confidence to call out these individuals in the moment for fear of retribution in the form of differential treatment or suffering grades.

Chapman campus serves as the student population’s home away from home, and students from around the globe enroll at the university with an expectation of a safe and fulfilling learning environment. The classroom is at the heart of that home; so failing to meet the bare minimum of health and safety protocol in this space compromises students’ ability to learn.

It’s important to note our use of the words “bare minimum.” The CU Safely Back guidelines clearly state that all students, faculty and staff are required to wear face coverings indoors; the only exception being when an individual is alone in a private room or office with the door closed or actively eating and drinking.

But what these guidelines don’t state is that — at this point — they might as well be optional.

Besides Flaherty, The Panther published reports of similar instances of disregard for COVID-19 protocol from business professor Mark Skousen and political science professor Fred Smoller. But these three individuals represent a fraction of the total offenders, as our staff began reflecting on our own classroom horror stories.

We, too, have come face-to-face with the uncomfortable predicament of a professor who opts to defy the regulations in place. The act is usually accompanied by a hollow excuse. “It’s too hot with this on,” or “It’s fogging up my glasses” are just a couple we’ve heard. 

But it’s hard to take such claims seriously after the world has acclimated to wearing masks on a daily basis for the last two years. So why, really, are some professors choosing to disregard Chapman’s mandated protocols?

We narrowed it down to a couple potential reasons: either professors are really that ignorant to the consequences of their actions or COVID-19 fatigue is finally getting to them.

We hate to be the ones to tell you this, but the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing, and people are still dying. Although you may not be directly affected, your negligence could spread the virus to those who are most vulnerable — maybe that classmate who has respiratory problems, that unvaccinated employee or that stranger that lives with their elderly grandparent.

Not to mention, anti-mask rhetoric is the last thing Chapman needs to add to its long list of news headlines. Surely Eastman hasn’t been forgotten already.

When professors choose to discard their face coverings, it’s a slap in the face to those who have suffered through the restrictions of the past two years — some of whom have even lost friends and family to COVID-19. 

So if you want the students to speak up, here it is: just wear the mask.