NCC has announced its new mask policy, which takes effect March 1. The new policy dictates that students must still wear masks while in instructional settings, like classrooms. This means students now have the option to wear them in non-instructional settings, like student common spaces.
Students will continue to wear masks while using healthcare or athletic rooms. This includes the Dyson Wellness Center and training rooms. Certain on-campus events may require them when stated. The new policy does not change the school’s vaccine, booster or testing policies and will still require students to wear masks at COVID testing sites.
“I think it’s probably the best choice because people tend to sit apart and distant in the community areas but in classrooms they tend to be a lot closer,” said Dominik Durnas ’22.
Though it may not require them all the time now, NCC will remain a mask-friendly campus and welcomes students to continue wearing them when not required if they so choose. Student’s health or vaccine status will not be judged by their choice of using masks.
The new NCC mask policy is a result of the student survey about the mask policy and the State of Illinois’s decision to end the mask mandate. The survey reported that only 15.1% of participants voted for the new policy’s guidelines. However, the school is still monitoring spikes in cases. The campus will update the policies as needed in order to keep NCC’s student body safe and healthy through the pandemic.
