I’ve been a full-time professor at University of Delaware since 1998 and I’ve seen a thing or two. We have now reached a crisis point for students and it is necessary to speak out. Following Gov. Carney’s panicky mask mandate, UD has directed everyone to wear N95 or surgical masks indoors. This includes students and also professors even while they are teaching. In my opinion, this policy is misguided and, worse, it will drastically erode an already deteriorating situation for UD students. They can step across Main Street into a crowded and maskless bar, but when they go back on campus supposedly to learn, they still have to cover up and isolate.
During the pandemic, UD has pursued a somewhat middle path vis-à-vis other universities. It has not been as draconian as some. But our campus has seen its share of COVID-19 safety theatrics, including pointless measures such as the hand sanitizing stations still dotting the hallways. More significantly, there has also been a trigger-happiness to lock down and put everything online. Currently, things are mostly face-to-face again, but it is hit or miss. Students often get the worst of both worlds. On a whim, faculty are allowed to move classes online on the vague subjective basis of merely feeling unsafe and I know of specific instances where some have canceled classes solely to minimize their interactions with students. As a result, students sometimes do not know from day to day where or what their classes will be.