The Students of JBU strongly urge the administration to reverse its decision to implement a mask MANDATE for the 2021 fall semester.

JBU students are educated and informed and capable of making responsible decisions that protect their own health and the health and safety of the community around them.

While we recognize the intentions of the JBU administration are to protect the health and safety of the student body, this mandate is not necessary and is arbitrary by nature. For example:

1. What about small classes of 11 people?

2. Student athletes practicing together?

3. Gatherings of 11 people in the cafeteria, where a 12th joins?

4. Gatherings in the dorm?

While social consensus supports the wearing of masks to mitigate the fear of COVID, there is no scientific proof that mask mandates are effective in actually mitigating the spread of COVID.

So we petition the administration to revise its mask policy to be a recommendation, not an arbitrary mandate.

As a student signing this petition, I commit to exercise personal responsibility, sound judgement, science, and concern for my fellow students and faculty to apply safe practices to mitigate the spread of COVID.