Highline students are feeling comfortable on campus, but still recognize the lack of normalcy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been ongoing for almost three years now, and Highline has continued its efforts through it all. As Highline transitioned back to on-campus education, changes to how that looked had to be made.
Masks and vaccinations had become mandatory, and everyone was doing their part to prevent the spread of the virus.
Now, newer guidelines from the Center of Disease Control have lessened restrictions as self-quarantine has been reduced to five days. Washington state has also lifted the Mask Mandate as of March.
Throughout all of these changes, Highline has continued to follow these guidelines. As Highline begins to return to something resembling normal, some students appreciate being on campus with these newer regulations.
“I feel comfortable with how it is right now. COVID is still a thing, but allowing students/people to decide for themselves to wear a mask or not is nice,” said Running Start student Dennis Nguyen.
“The campus is very spacious, so it is not often that I am in close proximation with strangers even when I am in my class or just outside on campus, it’s not as big and crowded as it used to be, so I am not as worried as I used to be,” said Aesha Aden.
“I like having the option of not wearing a mask because it was very different compared to life before,” said an anonymous student.
“I am pretty comfortable because I had covid a couple years ago and I haven’t gotten it ever since, so on campus and outside of campus I am okay with not wearing a mask,” said first year student Emmanuel Brannon.
Wearing a face mask is currently optional on campus, but it is encouraged in crowded indoor spaces, including classrooms.
Still, students are struggling to get back into the groove of what normal is, and some think we’re not quite all the way there.
“I wish we could all have those years back, especially being a younger person. I feel like I missed out on certain things. I still feel the lag of the pandemic, I feel behind and stressed a lot of the time,” said Brannon.
“I wouldn’t say that life feels normal, a lot has changed since the pandemic. I feel like we are all still getting back into how to get on with our social lives. I sometimes still feel awkward talking to random people on campus, it definitely is taking a lot of time to get used to,” said Nguyen.
“Life doesn’t feel normal, I am still super aware of staying clean and washing my hands all the time and not touching things that can potentially be extremely dirty and I feel like a lot of students feel that way,” said Aden.
Some students think adding signs to wear face masks around campus would help them and the community feel safer.
“To have signs on campus that say masks are encouraged would be nice, personally, I still wear my mask unless I am in a very open space. I think it is important to encourage the masks in places where there are a lot of people,” said Nguyen.
“To have signs up as a reminder to wear a mask in crowded areas and such would be nice,” said Aden.
Some individuals may choose to continue wearing a face mask or may need to wear a face mask because they or a member of their household is at high risk for severe COVID-19 disease.
While face masks are no longer required in buildings on the campus, there may be situations when the use of well-fitting masks may be temporarily required for individuals by the Washington Department of Health and/or King County Public Health.
The college supports students, employees, visitors, volunteers, and vendors who choose to wear a face mask and those who do not. It is up to the individual to decide. Some individuals will decide only to wear a face mask in crowded areas.
The Highline campus is a vaccine required campus, it is necessary for all students and staff for everyone’s safety.
In partnership with the University of Washington Medical Center, COVID-19 testing is available on campus in the S1 Parking Lot from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. All clinics are free, and no appointments are needed.