Oberlin College Will Require Students To Be Masked Indoors and Outdoors, Unless Eating Alone

Not to be outdone by Brown, Columbia, and the University of Southern California, Oberlin College is prepared to implement the most ridiculous COVID-19 mitigation policy of all: a near-universal masking requirement in all indoor and outdoor spaces.

The policy will go into effect on September 27 and last until October 18.

“Masks are required indoors and outdoors,” the college noted in an announcement. “The only time you may take off your mask is when you are in your room alone or with your roommate. Masks may be removed while eating outdoors or alone in your room with your roommate.”

That’s it: No other exceptions. Students should eat outside, or alone in their rooms, and only under those two circumstances should they even think about de-masking.

You might expect Oberlin College to be reeling from a pretty serious outbreak if it’s resorting to such heavy-handed measures. In reality, the college has reported just one positive case. The campus experienced 21 positive cases during the Spring 2021 semester, 13 during the winter semester, and 28 last fall, before the vaccines were available. The campus’s vaccination rate is currently 88 percent, meaning it’s very unlikely that Oberlin is about to be crippled by a wave of severe disease and death. Yet it’s moving ahead with a masking policy vastly more restrictive than what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend. – READ MORE