The College Campuses That Still Force Students To Wear Masks

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Washington, D.C., remained one of the most aggressively pro-masking municipalities in the country, and brought back the indoor mask mandate twice, for the delta and omicron waves. Mayor Muriel Bowser finally rescinded the mandate—hopefully for good—beginning on March 1, though masks remain compulsory for many school kids, commuters, and library visitors.

Across the country, government-mandated masking is mostly over, with air travel being a notable exception. But that doesn't mean mask mandates are dead and gone. Indeed, many college campuses still have mask mandates in place, even though their student populations are almost entirely vaccinated and at low risk of negative COVID-19 health outcomes.

George Washington University (GWU), for instance—located in Washington, D.C.—still has a universal indoor mask mandate in place and has no plans as of yet to get rid of it. This, despite the fact that the university requires students to be vaccinated and boosted, and tests them every other week.

Jack Elbaum, a sophomore at GWU, attempted to press the university administration for more details about why the mask mandate wasn't going away. He did not receive a satisfying response.