The intense pressure from faculty and students seems to have worked; face masks will now be required on Georgia’s public campuses starting next week.
There were numerous petitions underway from students and faculty groups. A United Campus Workers of Georgia petition on Change.org demanding the system require masks collected nearly 9,000 signatures.
A letter signed by more than 800 Georgia Tech faculty outlined several demands to make campuses safer.
Among them: “Make face masks required everywhere on campus, provide large-scale Covid-19 testing, and ensure timely contact tracing of new infections.”
In an updated statement today, the University System of Georgia said:
Effective July 15, 2020, University System of Georgia (USG) institutions will require all faculty, staff, students, and visitors to wear an appropriate face covering while inside campus facilities/buildings where six feet social distancing may not always be possible. Face covering use will be in addition to and is not a substitute for social distancing.
Face coverings are not required in one's own dorm room or suite, when alone in an enclosed office or study room, or in campus outdoor settings where social distancing requirements are met.
Anyone not using a face covering when required will be asked to wear one or must leave the area. Repeated refusal to comply with the requirement may result in discipline through the applicable conduct code for faculty, staff or students.
Reasonable accommodations may be made for those who are unable to wear a face covering for documented health reasons.
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