Wear a Mask

OPINION

The University has mandated that people wear masks while in campus buildings, it’s up to us to follow through.

JACK WEST / EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Don’t be stupid; wear a mask

By EDITORIAL BOARD Fall 2020

It is already abundantly clear that this semester at Auburn will not be like any other before or after it.

The packed lecture halls and crowded concourses that so many students recognize will likely be a lot emptier this fall. The roar of a packed Jordan-Hare won’t echo off the surrounding buildings on Saturdays, and we may not get the chance to roll Toomer’s Corner this year.

Even the small, daily interactions in classrooms, the library or the Rec that make this campus feel like a home are going to have to be socially distanced.

But it’s important to remember why this year is going to be so different.

The University has spent the summer developing and implementing a number of strategies and regulations that are designed to prevent COVID-19 from spreading amongst students, faculty and staff.

As we have seen through the summer, this virus has the ability to sweep through buildings and communities with incredible speed. Even worse, it has the ability to leave thousands of bodies — our loved ones and neighbors — in its wake.

The system the University has worked out is certainly not perfect, but we as students still need to do our best to follow the guidelines they have set. It is up to us to protect our own health and the health of people around us.

Of the guidelines set by the University, the easiest, most effective and most obvious step that nearly every student can take is to wear a mask.

Yes, it’s also important to wash your hands and stand six feet apart, but wearing a mask is both easier and more effective than both of those.

It may not be comfortable.

In August, Auburn’s average high temperature is nearly 90 degrees, and in September is usually only drops to a balmy 85.

The last thing anybody wants to do when walking from Parker to Haley in 90-degree weather is put a piece of cloth over their face.

However, the alternative is for another batch of seniors to spend their last year at Auburn taking classes through a computer. The alternative is for a group of incoming freshmen to have their first experiences at Auburn be virtual instead of personal. The alternative is for all of us to try and take notes, quizzes and exams online … again.

Wearing a mask is not a political statement, and it’s not virtue signaling. It’s not about how comfortable you are or how cool you think you look.

It’s about protecting the people around you from a virus that you may or may not have. It’s about having enough respect for your community to value their lives over your own minor discomfort. It’s about being a decent human being who cares about something greater than themselves.

When you’re walking across campus this year, masked and socially distanced, it might be helpful to remember the sacrifices that Auburn students made in the past.

In 1917, when the United States officially entered the First World War, hundreds of Auburn students left The Plains to fight the Central Powers in the trenches.

In 1941, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, more Auburn students volunteered or were drafted to fight in Europe and the Pacific.

In the 1950s a number of Black students faced hatred and threats of violence when they integrated Auburn for the first time.

This is nothing like that.

We aren’t being asked to risk our lives to fight for something we believe in. We aren’t being asked to climb over trenches, storm any beaches or be beaten for daring to believe we deserve equal rights. We aren’t evening being asked to sacrifice our time or money.

All that we are being asked to do is wear a mask whenever we’re in public.

At Auburn, we pride ourselves on being a Family. This year will be a good test of that because members of a family don’t just care for each other when it’s convenient. Members of a family protect each other when it’s difficult.

It’s easy to say War Eagle after the Iron Bowl, but a true member of the Auburn Family will say it from behind a mask too.

This semester is going to be weird, and it’s going to be difficult, but it will also be a possibility for our Family to work together.

So, now that classes have started and we can see the friends that we’ve been missing since March, it’s imperative that we all do what we can to keep each other healthy.

That starts with wearing a mask.

Don’t be selfish, don’t be arrogant, don’t be stupid. Wear a mask.