{"id":132540,"date":"2021-11-10T12:14:17","date_gmt":"2021-11-10T11:14:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=132540"},"modified":"2026-01-19T15:07:47","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:07:47","slug":"students-are-getting-accustomed-to-wearing-face-masks-again-and-understand-why-they-should","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/11\/10\/students-are-getting-accustomed-to-wearing-face-masks-again-and-understand-why-they-should\/","title":{"rendered":"Students are getting accustomed to wearing face masks again, and understand why they should"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some students are having to get used to wearing face masks on campus again. Every once in a while, a maskless student will enter a building. However, most students understand why they are being asked to cover their mouths and noses, and the majority feel that the regulations are clear.<\/p>\n

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Petya Germanova <\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeer van Tetterode<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

On Monday morning, an EUR employee had to lecture seventy persons at the entrance to the Tinbergen Building in three hours. He gestures to a student that he must stop: \u201cPeople aren\u2019t quite used to it yet.\u201d A blonde student who is wearing a cap but no face mask nearly trips when she enters De Etude restaurant. \u201cSorry, I was in a hurry,\u201d she says by way of explanation.<\/p>\n

Since Saturday, face masks have been mandatory on campus Woudestein, as they are in all higher education institutions. When you are moving from one part of a building to another, you must wear a face mask, as stipulated in an e-mail sent to all students and staff. There are stickers next to the entrance of every building on campus showing a male figure wearing a face mask.<\/p>\n

Those who don\u2019t wear a face mask risk a \u20ac95 fine, but it remains to be seen whether that fine will actually be imposed on campus, as Erasmus University does not have the authority to impose fines. However, the university does have the authority to suspend students. According to an employee who tells maskless people to put on a mask, no one has been suspended yet.<\/p>\n

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Benjamin Bosch <\/span><\/p>

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Nothing new<\/h2>

Most students on campus appear to be in favour of the mask mandate. Twenty-eight-year-old psychology student Celia, who does not want us to print her surname, thinks it\u2019s understandable that face masks must be worn on campus. \u201cI\u2019m an intern at a general practice centre where I see people with symptoms every day. Whenever I see them, I find myself thinking, if we can bring down infection rates by wearing face masks, that\u2019s the least we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the same corridor in the Tinbergen Building we find a young blond man who is quickly putting on a mask. Economics student Benjamin Bosch, 24, nods. \u201cI\u2019ve read that it really does reduce infection rates. I think it works. And by now we\u2019re all used to it anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

Psychology student Barend van Brakel, 24, agrees and adds: \u201cIt\u2019s also to some extent about raising awareness. If we\u2019re all wearing masks again, it\u2019s clear to all of us that the pandemic is far from over and that we have to keep doing our best to stop spreading the virus.\u201d<\/p>\n

Only normal <\/h2>

For International Management student Kana Nahiko, 23, wearing a face mask everywhere is \u2018nothing new\u2019. \u201cI was a little surprised that we only have to wear it indoors and on public transport here. In Japan, where I\u2019m from, we\u2019ve had to wear face masks wherever we go for quite some time now.\u201d Her fellow student Alessio Parmentelle, 22, nods in agreement: \u201cI don\u2019t necessarily like it, but it\u2019s the least we can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marketing student Petya Germanova, 22, can relate to that. \u201cI\u2019m from Bulgaria, where it\u2019s completely normal not to go anywhere without a face mask. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s weird at all that we\u2019re now having to wear masks at uni.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Alessio Parmentelle en Kana Nahiko<\/span><\/p>

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Verwarring<\/h2>

Although students generally support the mask mandate, some of them are a little confused by the sudden need for masks indoors.<\/p>\n

Some aren\u2019t quite used to the new rule yet. Economics student Affan, 21, who does not want to be identified by his surname, enters the Theil Building without a face mask. \u201cThe rules aren\u2019t entirely clear to me. I\u2019ve seen a few people without face masks here, so that makes me think it\u2019s OK to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Business Administration student Alejandro Aranje, 19, isn\u2019t quite accustomed to it yet either. He walks past the coffee bar in the same building. He\u2019d like to wear a face mask, but says it\u2019s harder than it looks. \u201cI keep forgetting to put it on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not the problem<\/h2>

International Business Administration student Jules Pattojlio, 18, agrees that the virus must be fought, but has his reservations about the face mask policy. \u201cWe must take our responsibility, but the real problem isn\u2019t people not wearing face masks. The problem is there still being so many large-scale events and people not getting tested.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others object to wearing face masks for other reasons. If it were up to econometrics student Sebastian Humaloe, 19, he\u2019d take off his pink face mask at the earliest opportunity. \u201cIt\u2019s tight. It\u2019s really annoying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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