The war on choice
Where is the College’s leadership in moving on from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Last year, the College earned national recognition for its handling of COVID-19. In a USA Today article from Oct. 2020, the College is lauded for its swift response to the coronavirus. From responsible masking to frequent testing, the College gave its all to tackle COVID-19 from the outset and succeeded in preserving a much more “normal” educational experience than most colleges.
The country is now at a point when highly effective COVID-19 vaccines have been widely available for months. Everyone at the College, from students to faculty and staff, is vaccinated, save a small minority for medical or other exemptions.
As a community, the overarching goal seems to be to move past the coronavirus and restore the sense of normalcy that society has been lacking for nearly two years. So why does the College still enforce a mask mandate?
The College, one of the finest liberal arts institutions in the nation, should be, in theory, steeped in Western intellectual traditions. That being said, one would presume a hesitancy on behalf of the College to use coercive force against its student body and staff. Nevertheless, “the College’s indoor mask requirement will be in place until further notice,” per the College’s Health, Safety, and Resources webpage.
Liberty, a core value of American culture and general Western tradition, is regrettably absent in the classrooms where students discuss John Locke. Liberty has been denied to the students in the library researching the philosophical foundations of the Bill of Rights.
The College makes no qualms about students’ decision-making abilities when they charge them $75,000+ annually to attend, often resulting in years, if not decades, of student loan debt. But that same (vaccinated) student requires authoritarian intervention regarding a precaution for a virus for which 96.5% of deaths are above the age of 45, and 92% of deaths are among the unvaccinated population, according to the CDC.
This not to say that community members should not wear masks. Rather, that decision should be one of personal discretion. Students and faculty are all at an age when they can weigh their own risk-to-reward balance. There is nothing wrong with individuals deciding to take extra precautions for their health and safety.
Nor is there any question regarding whether the College can have a mask mandate. The College certainly has the authority to, but the community should question the rationale regardless; why should the College decide for others what is best for them?
In the Colby Plan, the College outlines ten educational precepts, multiple of which are directly incompatible with the demonstrated acceptability of placing arbitrary restrictions upon peoples’ everyday lives. Namely,
“To develop one’s capability for critical thinking,”
“To become knowledgeable about American culture,”
“To learn ... how each individual can confront intolerance,”
“To understand and reflect searchingly upon one’s own values and the values of others,”
“To examine the interconnections between developments in science and technology and the quality of human life,” and
“To explore ... one’s responsibility to contribute to the world.”
For the sake of its reputation as an institution that demonstrates respect for the lives of its members, the College needs to take much greater precaution before hypocritically restraining others’ free will. To obstruct the ability to choose is to deny individuals the foundation of being, and that is the decision that the College has made.
~ Johnathon McCartney `25
