After two years of masking up, not all at Binghamton University are ready to unmask.

The announcement lifting the mask mandate had come four days after the end of spring break, as BU’s 14-day positivity rate remained at a low of 0.76 percent. As of April 3, the University’s rolling 14-day positivity rate has lowered to 0.67 percent, below the New York state average of 2.2 percent.

Students and faculty alike have expressed different emotions about the lifting of the mask mandate, with many professors still requiring students to wear masks in class.

Ann Merriwether, an instructor of psychology, is still requiring students in her classes, particularly in larger ones, to wear masks out of consideration for members of vulnerable populations.

“Two of my classes have over 300 students in them and we are together in the same room for 85 minutes,” Merriwether wrote in an email. “A couple students came to me, one has a sick member of their immediate family, and the other has a child under 5 and they were upset that they might bring [COVID-19] home to their vulnerable family members.”

Merriwether expressed discontent with the lifting of the mask mandate late in the semester, with the potential rise of a new, more contagious, COVID-19 variant — BA.2 — on the horizon.

“It felt to me like the University was not considering the vulnerable members of our community,” Merriwether wrote. “I wish they had surveyed all the faculty, staff and students to see how many of us wanted the mask mandates to stay in place. I have found students to be a bit more anxious this semester and I’m worried that removing the mask mandate will increase the anxiety for students who themselves are vulnerable or who have vulnerable family members.”

While the University is no longer penalizing students for not wearing masks in class, Merriwether said she has largely seen compliance with mask-wearing, with only a handful of students in each of her lectures opting not to wear a mask.

Others, such as Kenneth Christianson, a lecturer of economics, were eager to see masks come off.

“I am no longer requiring students to wear masks in the class, but it is fine if they want to continue,” Christianson wrote in an email. “After two years I am happy to see all of the beautiful faces again. I was practically ecstatic when they removed the mask mandate, I was sick of teaching with a mask to a crowd of masked students. There is much better feedback without masks.”

In many cases, masking has become a personal decision based on the health circumstances of students and faculty, as well as the concerns held by those around them.

Allison Cisco, a senior majoring in biology, said she has made the decision to stop wearing a mask in public.

“There are still definitely situations in which I would wear my mask, but generally I’ll likely go unmasked from here on out,” Cisco wrote. “I have autism spectrum disorder, and masks can be a sensory nightmare for me, especially if I’m wearing one for an extended period of time. So, it is nice to be able to go unmasked or at least pull my mask down in a public space (even for a short time period) and breathe normally if I become overwhelmed.”

Other students have decided to continue wearing their masks in public as they had when the mask mandate was still in place. One such student is Rusudan Kvirikashvili, a freshman majoring in biochemistry.

“I still wear my mask in class and in public transportation or any other building in general,” Kvirikashvili wrote. “I am not as concerned with wearing it outside or with wearing it in study lounges when it’s only me and my friends.”

The lifting of the mask mandate has become a cause of concern for some students who are immunocompromised. Shamalena Sookoo, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, worried the school acted too quickly when lifting the mask mandate, and feels that the University should make accommodations for students who are uncomfortable being around those who are unmasked.

“I think if the school wants to lift the mask mandate, they must understand that there is a decent amount of people who are immunocompromised or live with someone that is,” Sookoo wrote in an email. “Having mandatory in-person classes makes it unfair for those who don’t want to be around people without masks on. Wearing a mask protects others from what you may have that could spread, unfortunately not the other way around. If the mandate is being lifted, the option of having recorded/Zoom lectures should still be an option until [COVID-19] is completely controlled.”

While the mask mandate has been lifted in most indoor spaces, students are still required to wear masks at the University Counseling Center, Decker Student Health Services Center, the Surveillance Testing Center and on Broome County Transit and Off Campus College Transport (OCCT) buses.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) had extended the mask mandate on public transit until April 18, at which time the need for the mandate will be reconsidered.

Jake Abrams, ‘20, the public relations coordinator of OCCT, reminded students to comply with the mandate while riding on OCCT buses.

“While there has not been a noticeable increase in mask noncompliance since the removal of the campus mask mandate, there have been rare instances of passengers being unaware of the continued public transit mask mandate,” Abrams wrote in an email. “Overwhelmingly, these passengers have immediately complied upon realizing that masks are still mandatory to board OCCT buses.”

In a March 24 B-Line News Addition, the University urged students to be considerate of the wishes of those around them when deciding when and where to wear a mask.

“Faculty in classrooms or staff in other areas may still ask students to wear masks during class or while in certain areas of campus as a courtesy,” the B-Line read. “Students who choose not to wear a mask in these instances will not be penalized; however, we hope that they will comply with these requests as a way to show respect and compassion for individuals who may have underlying health issues or have vulnerable family members. It is a minor inconvenience that promotes the sense of community that has always characterized our University.”