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Are you ready to start living with the virus? What does that mean for you? After compiling responses, we’ll share the pulse of the community in a story.
Great question! I submitted my thoughts about this and look forward to reading what others in the community think.
My only fear at this point is that after hearing the wolf cries for so long, if there comes a genuine health emergency, the warnings may be ignored. Science and the experts need to regain their credibility — and that will be hard to do.
I would happily complete a survey if I thought it was a way to anonymously provide feedback to the University about how imperative it is to keep their mask mandate, despite the direction the rest of the world is moving. I am not comfortable submitting my name, email, department and title to be published in BU Today with my comments.
At the end of my response, I asked to remain anonymous. I hope they take that into consideration.
Faculty/staff really need an anonymous forum through which we can provide feedback. The fear of retaliation or having your words taken out of context when speaking about your employer is serious.
Let’s stop being soft and think for ourselves if these Covid “protocols” make any sense.
These mandates have to stop, we deserve our freedom back. Professors can take off their mask but students have to suffocate in class? Rules for thee but not for me. My professor (without a mask) literally called it endemic today and we still can’t remove our masks?? This is insanity. I know I’m not the only student that feels this way.
I am not a student, but you are not alone and you are not the only one to feel this way. Let’s hope that the administration hears our voices and allows people to make their own choices.
There’s a certain lack of self-awareness at work in this survey. How do you ask people to comment NOT anonymously when a dissenting, unapproved opinion for the last 2 years can cost your job, even if that opinion is legitimate and at least partially backed by science data?!
To ask people to submit a survey about moving on from Covid, back to normality when one of the defining features of this pandemic has been a resounding vilification and suppression of opinions at variance with the official big-Pharma, CDC, FDA, sponsored dogma.
Sam you seem afraid of reprisal from the university. Reading between the lines, I sense in your post a lack of academic freedom at BU. Students, staff and faculty are afraid to voice their opinions. Words and phrases like “approved opinions,” “resounding vilification,” and “suppression of opinions” are especially chilling. I’ve been out of BU for several years now. Is this what the university has become? As an alum I’m not so sure I want to support a university that is suppressing opinions and limiting free speech. Every school needs a variety of opinions to flourish academically — even unpopular opinions. The school should never be approving or disapproving opinions.
I wonder what happened to my previous reply to this post? It seems to be gone. I expressed concern about the lack of academic freedom at BU reflected in the above post — phrases like “unapproved opinion” are chilling. Are students, faculty, and staff afraid of retribution for sharing their opinions? What’s going on at BU? A university should be cultivating an environment where all opinions and insights are valued, not suppressed.
No, I’m not ready to start ‘living with the virus.’ It is premature to act as though the virus is largely on its way out and to behave as though the lives and well-being of people who are susceptible no longer matter. Early in the pandemic we focused on “protecting the vulnerable;” that sentiment seems to be lost. Omicron IS causing severe illness, long-term disability and death, in spite of vaccination. Every article in left-leaning publications about this subject says the same–do not let our guard down now, in the home stretch. We need to hang on a little longer before relaxing the controls that have helped protect others and kept the “BU Bubble” a safe place for our community.
I would like the university to take its time very gradually “exposing” us to life pre-Covid. We need to think of others, the more vulnerable, in our communities everywhere. I heard US Senator Ed Markey speak about where we are heading on a news program today. He said that anyone with a compromised immune system and/or over 60 still needs to mask indoors. He mentioned that the CDC and local/state governments are moving too quickly and taking a big chance.
I stand in solidarity with my students. If they must or want to wear masks to feel safe at this particular time during Covid, I choose to wear one with them. I use my voice, face, eyes, and whole body when I’m teaching. They say that they can see my smile behind the mask.
We can never “go back ” in time. “Normal” keeps changing. I have learned so much from teaching with everyone wearing masks. I look at peoples’ eyes and body language. In fact, when I look at my students, I don’t “see” their masks but their courage and determination coming to classes. I work with older adults from nearby communities in an adult education program.
Let’s take our time to make a decision that helps, rather than potentially harms those in our BU community that has been nurturing us for all these months.Let’s make this decision based on health and not money. It’s best to proceed with caution and not accelerate through a yellow lights.
Those people who feel they are suffering because they have to wear a mask to classes may want to check out what’s happening in the Ukraine! Is wearing a mask so bad?
What kind of horribly leading prompt is this? Are you ready to potentially take on long-term health risks that are completely avoidable so that a few antediluvian industries can stay propped up beyond any reasonable contribution to society?
NO. The pattern is clear- our health officials consistently jump the gun, cave to Corporate influence, and are proving themselves generally unworthy of trust.
Where the school Admin chooses to fall on this subject is up to yall, but I have the feeling it’ll be some watered down authoritarian knee-jerk, masquerading as policy.
Interesting to see the various comments. I feel this question is insensitive to individuals who have already been living with the virus every day in the form of children under 5. For my part, I dont take my mask off to teach my class and I will be masking and social distancing for a long time to come because of my children. I wish I could change others hearts and minds that this is worth continuing, but I can only chose my own actions. I would also point out there are other cultures where masking during cold and flu season is common, and to me that makes practical sense given airborne transmissability.
When you mentioned children under 5, is it because the vaccines for them are not yet available? As a mother of young children, I just wanted to tell every parent to look at the data carefully before giving them the shot to your kids. There’s so much that they are hiding from us.
This is official data from FDA dated November 2021 regarding Pfizer vaccine trial
https://www.fda.gov/media/151733/download
Page 23:
“From Dose 1 through the March 13, 2021 data cutoff date, there were a total of 38 deaths, 21 in the COMIRNATY group and 17 in the placebo group. None of the deaths were considered related to vaccination.”
So what it says is that within 6 months of vaccination, there are more deaths in the vaccinated group than in the placebo group. How do we know for sure that these deaths are not related to the vaccines? Let’s ask a healthy person whose immune systems was weakened or a person who suffers from heart disease after vaccination. By the way, according to their definition, a person who dies within 14 days of vaccination is counted as unvaccinated.
I also just learned recently that among just 2, 260 kids ages 12-15 in the Pfizer trial, one girl named Maddie de Garay was permanently paralyzed. Yet, the company said there were no adverse events!
This is the hearing hosted by Senator Ron Johnson for families with adverse vaccine reactions. Maddie’s case is around minute 35.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mxqC9SiRh8
I’m not saying that the virus is not dangerous. I also believe it helped many high risk people. I just hope that all data have to be presented in a honest and transparent manner for anyone who wants to or is required to have these vaccines.
By the way, there are a ton of safe, effective treatments for Covid. The key is to treat it early and aggressively. Don’t listen to those who tell us to do nothing until it is too late and that vaccine is the only solution.
I don’t think anyone had said there are no treatments. I think, in fact, that has been part of the plan the whole time. With vaccines, treatments, and built up immunity we can move to endemic.
And give me a break. I have 2 kids. They are the least vulnerable population. You want to mask up, do so.. But the fear mongering in this post is gross.
Yes, I was referring to vaccination of children. There is no FDA approved vaccine for children under 5 at this time. I will weigh this matter for myself once a vaccine is actually approved. I would only say that I find it a modern luxury to consider vaccines in this light. Siblings of my great grandparents died of polio and measles. The choice to not vaccinate is enabled in our time because everyone is made safer by the herd immunity provided by the high percentage of parents and others that DO choose to vaccinate their children and themselves. Regardless – this digresses from the main point I was trying to make: that in an unvaccinated population like young children continued masking and social distancing are the only options currently available to protect this vulnerable group and we should not take that responsibility lightly as a society.
The masks (aka diapers) have got to go. BU is treating us like a bunch of toddlers who are potty training. At this point, the diapers are merely a security “just in case” measure for the fearful. It’s time to pull them off and graduate to big boy and big girl pants. For those still living in fear who still need a diaper, go forth and wear one. Let the rest of us grow up and go diaperless.
When the pandemic first hit, the world shut down in fear of the unknown. We quickly had to juggle the transition to online classes, work, and get comfortable with a virtual social life. What began as a “long spring break”, led to two years of a “new normal”. Thanks to science, research, and experts, we have developed vaccines, new protocols, and a better understanding of this novel virus.
Since the onset of the pandemic, suicide rates for certain individuals have skyrocketed, feelings of depression and isolation especially amongst younger individuals increased, and feelings of anxiety have heightened. While we had to shut down in the beginning due to our lack of knowledge regarding the virus, we are now in a much better place. We have the vaccine, we have adjusted to new ways of living, and it is time we start the transition back to “the old normal”. While I am not saying we should immediately go around maskless amongst thousands of people, I do believe that it is time to transition back to fully in-person activities. I also believe we should have the option to wear a mask in many instances. BU’s new protocol of not requiring masks in study rooms, dining halls, residence halls, etc., is one step closer to returning to the “old normal”. I am very happy with their decision to require masks in person and on public transportation because these areas tend to be population-dense, so it makes sense to slowly transition to going fully mask-less.
While I, like others, am anxious about this transition back to normal, I am excited. I am excited to see the bottom half of my peers’ faces. I am excited to be able to sip my coffee in Mugar without maneuvering my mask every minute. Most of all, I am excited to feel free in a way.
While the virus isn’t going away, we have the tools, knowledge, and resources now to allow us to move closer and closer back to normal life.
This was not truly a ‘survey.’ The author selected out some responses from both perspectives and posted them here. A true survey would have presented data summarizing the total responses to their question. Instead, they have presented positive and negative responses, with equal numbers from each side. I would have loved to know how many were actually “for” versus “against” living with Covid; this alleged survey does not answer that question.
In the meantime, here is a petition asking that BU continue to maintain covid protocols in the face of increasing Covid cases: https://chng.it/PY8F25QdSP
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