While the Norwalk community is slowly going back to normal with lifting mask mandates indoors, Cerritos College is still requiring students to wear masks on campus.

Why are students allowed to go to different places without wearing a mask while they still have to wear a mask on campus?

How come elementary, middle and high school students have the option to wear their masks, but Cerritos College students are still required to wear one?

Cerritos College intends to prevent COVID-19 cases from increasing on campus, however, students should still have the option to wear their masks.

Even LA County is planning to lift the mask mandates on April 4, which is more on the Democrat or left-leaning county.

Students can wear their masks as a personal interest if that makes them feel safer while other students should be allowed to not have to wear a mask in class.

In most classes, social distancing is already being practiced and most people who are at school have taken both the vaccine and the booster shot.

Ourworldindata.org’s website points out that 65% of people in the United States are vaccinated whereas 11% are partly vaccinated.

There is overwhelming support for lifting mask mandates, and what feels like mask fatigue, which resulted in Democrat-led governors lifting the mask mandate.

The reality is California is going as far as to shift into, what Gavin Newsom calls an endemic approach.

One interesting alternative is to remove the mask mandate and continue to recommend check-in online before entering campus and uploading their vaccine, booster shot or negative COVID-19 test for all students.

This alternative can be practiced during the summer so that students can experience this idea. If they don’t mind this alternative, it can continue until fall 2022.

While this may be a frustrating alternative to just removing the mandate altogether, more likely than not, this will get support from both faculty and students unanimously.

This alternative still promotes testing and getting the vaccine while giving students the option to wear or not wear their masks.

A Wall Street Journal Opinion piece quoted Sarah Montalbano, who is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in computer science, where she refers to masks.

“The demand for masking is low, and it will remain low,” Montalbano says, “
The need for masks has faded as well. The transition to personal responsibility in COVID-19 policy is long overdue.”

President of Cerritos College Jose Fierro stated during his Instagram live that even if the mask mandate is lifted, Cerritos College will continue to keep the mandate until the next semester.

Surprisingly, this is a good idea since we have only a couple of weeks until the spring semester ends so hopefully, the dreaded mask mandates end in Cerritos College.

Hopefully by the fall semester of 2022, students won’t have to be required to wear a face mask and to attend class based on their comfort.

It’s time to remove the mandate and allow us, faculty and students, more freedom to continue with a semblance of normalcy in our lives.