Temple, Penn, and other Philly-area universities relax masking but stick with vaccine requirements for fall semester

Next Friday, thousands of Temple University students will participate in the time-honored tradition of convocation, and for the first time since before the pandemic, they will be inside the Liacouras Center.

And they’ll be able to see one another’s faces. No masks required.

Two and a half years after the coronavirus began to grip the world, Temple has dropped its mask mandate for the fall semester, with the exception of clinical and health-care spaces.

“I think that’s kind of reflective of the fact that the pandemic is starting to come to an end,” said Gianni Quattrocchi, president of student government. “Most people are vaccinated and self-quarantining if they do test positive.”

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Temple is far from alone. Many area colleges are rolling back restrictions, including having less isolation and quarantine space and less required testing of those who are not vaccinated. Pennsylvania State University said it also will discontinue regularly updating case counts on its coronavirus dashboard. Temple is considering doing the same.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week also eased guidelines on the virus, including recommendations on quarantines and social distancing.

“What is different from the beginning of the pandemic is that we have the tools and knowledge to be as safe as possible,” Penn State president Neeli Bendapudi said in a statement.

Mark Denys, Temple’s senior director of health services, noted that 97% of the campus will be vaccinated, and at-home testing for the virus is readily available, as are high-quality masks for those who want the protection.

“We are just at a different point in the pandemic than we have been,” he said in an interview Friday.

» READ MORE: Universities’ vaccine mandates helped stop virus deaths in their local counties, study says

One thing that hasn’t changed is vaccine requirements. Those schools that initially required students and staff to be vaccinated are keeping that mandate in place, though not all are requiring boosters.

Some colleges not requiring masks are still recommending that those on campus continue to carry one and be ready to don it if there is a request.

“Any student, staff, or faculty member may request those around them to wear a mask when in classrooms, meeting in private offices or other shared spaces,” St. Joseph’s University said on its website.

Those asked must comply, a university spokesperson said.

Villanova said that faculty can require students to wear masks in classes, laboratories, or offices, and that students must comply.

“Students and staff may ask the same of one another when meeting or getting together,” the university said in a campus announcement this week.

The University of Pennsylvania, which also has rolled back its required testing, said professors can opt to require students to wear masks and should note it on their course syllabus.

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Not everyone is happy with fewer restrictions. Ellie McKeown, a rising junior at Penn, told the Daily Pennsylvanian, the student newspaper, that she is someone who is highly immunocompromised and physically disabled.

“My heart just sank,” she told the newspaper after hearing Penn’s decision. “[Wearing masks] was kind of the last precaution I had for safety in the classroom. The attitude about whether or not disabled lives are worth living has changed, as the abled majority have decided that no, they aren’t.”

Temple’s faculty union criticized the move to loosen the indoor mask mandate there in a statement and said the school should at least do what St. Joseph’s, Villanova, and Penn have done.

“This decision was made without meaningful consultation with our faculty or staff,” said Jeffrey Doshna, president of the Temple Association of University Professionals. “Given the ongoing threats to the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff, and North Philadelphia neighbors, we demand that the university follow science — and common sense — as classes resume on Aug. 22.”

Doshna said that Philadelphia remains in the CDC’s high red category, which calls for indoor masking. The city is no longer requiring masking in indoor spaces but is strongly recommending it.

Denys said the university didn’t want to send inconsistent messages by allowing faculty to require masks.

“We really didn’t want that type of confusion,” he said. “We felt that wearing a high-quality, well-fitted mask can protect those people who are really worried.”

Temple also will no longer require mandatory testing of those who are exempted from vaccination. And it will reduce its isolation space for those who test positive. Denys said the university had an entire residence hall devoted to quarantine and isolation last year and never had more than 20 students in it at one time. Most students went home to isolate, he said.

Quattrocchi said he’s comfortable with the decisions the university has made and if cases spike, the mask mandate can be reinstated. In the meantime, it’s up to students and staff to choose to wear masks when the situation requires it, such as in a very crowded room or when someone is potentially sick, he said.

“There is an imperative and obligation on the students to make sure they are using situational awareness and continuing mask-wearing where it is necessary,” he said.