UGA's no-mask policy is insane

The world’s gone mad. Covid deaths are approaching a thousand a day. Georgia’s a hot spot and its hospitals are full. Children are in ICUs. Overworked doctors are pleading for Governor Kemp for sanity and real leadership. The University System of Georgia is indifferent to the science taught in its universities, which are now breeding grounds for Covid. In public schools, students are put at risk by maddening and mistaken policies that allow well-meaning, uninformed parents to make dangerous decisions about their children’s and other children’s lives.

SEC universities in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky mandate masks. Not in Georgia!

Virtually all UGA students sit unmasked in classes; blissfully, needlessly, and tragically vulnerable. This is insanity. The Governor’s response? Just an extra day for state employees to perhaps get vaccinated and funds for a temp agency to try to outbid Texas for out-of-state medical personnel to rescue our hospitals. University faculty trust facts, but still bravely show up to teach unmasked students who are supposed to be the cream of the crop and the leaders of tomorrow. Our Governor and the USG stubbornly refuse to mandate masks indoors. Apparently, this is the cost of re-election. Maybe it’s time for all concerned faculty to protest and stage a “sickout” for a day or two to get the message across?

Wearing masks protects others and ourselves; this is not a personal freedom issue. It’s a life and death issue grounded in solid science. If you believe otherwise, you are risking your life for an untruth.

So please, wear a mask and get the vaccine. It will likely save your life and the life of someone you love.

Regina A. Smith

Athens