A petition recently started by an Ohio University student opposing the university’s universal masking requirement is causing mixed feelings among members of the OU community.
The petition, published by Tyce Patt, is titled “Ohio University: Allow Students The Right To Choose What's Best For Their Health” and argues students should be allowed to decide whether they follow COVID-19 guidelines, such as masking, social distancing and mandatory testing.
“College-Aged students should be respected and trusted to make their own health decisions,” Patt wrote in the petition’s description.
The petition ultimately asks for OU to allow students to choose whether they get a COVID-19 vaccine, wear a mask and get tested as well as whether they report their vaccination status. In addition, it asks for assurance the university will not cancel in-person classes and will allow students the option to attend class online.
The description argues universal masking has greater drawbacks than benefits for students in the community, including inhibited social learning, distorted verbal speech and visual cues and inadvertent dehydration.
Another complaint of the petition is that the university has backtracked on its announcement of more freedoms to vaccinated students, citing a July post on the university’s COVID Operations Instagram page. The post states vaccinated students will not have to wear masks, physically distance outside of classrooms, participate in asymptomatic testing or quarantine when exposed to an individual who’s infected with COVID-19.
Ohio University College Republicans, or OUCRs, expressed similar concerns in an Aug. 24 release about the disincentivization of vaccines now that all individuals are required to wear masks.
“The vaccine was supposed to ‘end’ the pandemic. While masked, cases still rose and, since the vaccine has come out, cases have still gone up. Reinstating the mask mandates minimizes the original incentives of the vaccine,” OUCRs said in the release.
University spokesperson Carly Leatherwood explained the university’s decision to implement more health protocols for both vaccinated and unvaccinated students and faculty.
“We are implementing a necessary, layered approach to public health measures that are informed by our experiences last year during the peak of the pandemic,” Leatherwood said in an email. “These safety protocols align with local, state, and national guidance and are consistent with measures at every other public university in the state of Ohio. We all want to return to some semblance of normalcy, and the measures we have implemented for the fall will help us achieve that goal.”
In addition to frustration about increased health measures, the petition asserts that requiring unvaccinated individuals to test weekly is discriminatory, and that incentives, such as the prize drawing for vaccinated students, coerce students into getting vaccinated.
Responses from community members have criticized the petition’s stance on coronavirus protocols as well as its language. The description argues that requiring students to wear masks eliminates their voluntary consent, claiming violation of the Nuremberg Code of Ethics, which was created in response to Holocaust medical atrocities.
OU Student Senate leadership discussed the petition and its language usage at its Aug. 25 meeting and released a public statement days later.
“We have seen students using unacceptable rhetoric to escalate the already difficult situation the world is facing in the midst of a continuing pandemic,” Senate said in the statement. “Restrictions put in place for student health and safety are in no way comparable to the religious persecution and unspeakable treatment faced by those of the Jewish faith during the holocaust.”
The release emphasized Senate’s willingness to address concerns and hear multiple perspectives but encouraged students to express their thoughts respectfully.
Some individuals who signed the petition commented frustration with continuing restrictions as their reason for signing.
“I’m done feeling as if we don’t have any control on how we want to live our college experience,” one comment read. “As someone who wasn’t allowed to come to campus last fall, myself and many freshmen were ripped away so many opportunities. I personally believe we should have the right to choose whether or not we want to be on campus, wear masks and attend either online or in person classes.”
As of publication, the petition has received 372 signatures. Patt did not respond to a request for comment.
