MU removes mask mandate for an indoor setting

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Wearing a mask indoors on the Mizzou campus will no longer be required but will now be optional. The announcement came after they said they see an increasing trend in vaccinations.

"We now see our local hospitals are keeping up with the needs of COVID-19 and other patients. More people in our community have been vaccinated in recent weeks and thousands have voluntarily uploaded vaccination documents," the MU website reported. 

According to the Show Me Renewal, MU website that reports its Coronavirus cases, there are 31 active student cases at this time. Mizzou will now follow the safety measure set by the CDC and Boone County Public Health Advisory.

Some professors at the University of Missouri feel the mask change could cause problems since more students will travel for the holidays. Some also believe that mandatory coronavirus vaccines could be a better option since wearing a mask indoors is no longer required.

Dr. James Schiffbeauer is an associate professor in the geological science department at MU. He said he teaches a group of more than one hundred students at a time. " I'm teaching one of our introductory courses, geology 1100 introduction to the earth and we have 350 students in that class," Schiffbeauer said.

The class is held in Keller Auditorium on Mizzou campus. The seats are close and the space is tight and Schiffbeauer says he has a hard time catching everyone who is not wearing a mask.

He says there are times where students have brought the problem to his attention."Other students will tell me after class, hey there was a group that wasn't wearing their mask or whatever and again I missed it, it's hard to police it," said Schiffbeauer.

Wade Leibach, Schiffbeauer's teaching assistant, works closely with students when teaching his labs. He says the respect is mutual between him and his students but he no longer has the power.

"I'm hopeful that they're doing the right thing. I don't know how that will impact my students but I know that will take a lot of the power away from me as a teaching assistant to protect myself and my other students.