Ashland University lifted their mandatory mask mandate and has moved to a mask optional policy on Feb. 14.

The decision comes just weeks after students and faculty returned to campus for the spring semester.

President of Ashland University, Carlos Campo, says that there were two deciding factors in lifting the mask mandate across campus. The first being that the National Guard was previously in hospitals helping employees deal with COVID -19 patients and the second being the overall infection rates of students.

“We had National Guard at the local hospital in no capacity and I think that was the primary driver [of the decision],” Campo said. “Our overall infection rates are still very low.”

Even with the mask mandate being lifted, just under half of all students remain unvaccinated with the overall vaccination numbers hovering around 50%.

Barring any other flare-ups of COVID-19 and its variants, the mask optional policy will remain in place, but students and faculty should use common sense if they start to feel sick.

“We will be seeing a lot of individual people continue to wear a mask,” Campo said. “I think as people maybe get a cold, instead of assuming it’s something else they put a mask on.”

With the mask optional policy becoming official last week, the overall feedback from the students and faculty has been positive.

Sheila Pryor, covid response coordinator at Ashland University, says that the campus community was ready for the mandate to be lifted.

“There are a lot of students and staff that are ready for the masks to go away,” Pryor said. “Simply because they feel they have maintained their health, followed the precautions, gotten vaccinated and felt ready for this to happen.”

LaMar Sharpe, a resident assistant on campus, remains neutral on the topic of the mask mandate being lifted as it should be up to the individual to remain healthy.

“I’d say personally, I am very in the middle and let the stats speak for themselves,” Sharpe said. “I feel like trying it out, watching the numbers, because if it gets worse then bring [the masks] back; if it stays the same then I will probably stop wearing mine.”

In addition, the campus community is starting to see one another without a mask for the first time in almost two years.

“Every meeting that I have been in, there’s been a comment about it,” Pryor said. “Especially for me, being the newest here, all I have ever seen is the people in masks. It’s nice to see people smile again.”

But as masks go away, viruses and other illnesses still remain, and it is important to listen to your body.

“I still think that at the end of the day, mask or no mask, general hygiene, being safe, knowing when to listen to your body is the answer,” Pryor said. “It’s definitely being mindful of your own health and remembering that your health affects everyone around you.”