If A Mask Is Burdensome, Stay Home.
Graphic by James Gocke
On Monday, Sept. 28, Dr. Paul Mueller decided to teach his in-person classes without a mask, violating COVID-19 guidelines. On Oct. 8, Dr. Mueller and Professor Glader wrote response op-eds on the matter. On Oct. 12, Dr. Mueller wrote another response. This is the fourth article in this “Mask Discussion Series.” Paul Glader is a professor at King’s, chair of the JCS Program and co-adviser to the Empire State Tribune. The opinions reflected in this OpEd are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of staff, faculty and students of The King's College.
Are some among us overanalyzing the moral relevance and philosophical weight of masks? Yes. I think so. For that reason, I’d like to wrap up my part of the discussion with a few larger points.
My colleague, Paul Mueller, is a good man as far as I know. I’ve enjoyed his company and working on projects and teams together at the college. While we agree on some issues, we obviously disagree on others. My criticism (including using words like “selfish” in my earlier OpEd) was directed to his specific policy view or behavior on this topic of Coronavirus prevention at King’s, not his overall character, which I find honorable.
Simple Solution to A Broken Pledge
Mueller acknowledges he breached a pledge we signed as a community. He also acknowledges that, while he doesn’t want to abide by the pledge going forward, he apologized to his class for “not giving them advance notice or explanation” that he was going to eschew the mask.
We wait for a solution from the school to this odd challenge to its Coronavirus policy. It seems clear to me the simplest solution is for Mueller to teach online for the rest of the semester (and the rest of the pandemic) rather than on campus.
Why is that the best solution?
Since March, our lives, families and college – like the broader nation and world - turned upside down. I have a dozen family and friends who have caught the virus around the world and a handful of friends who have lost family members to the virus.
Most colleges and universities are combatting student party culture and a disregard for public health, which has caused massive infection spikes at many campuses nationwide. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was forced to close in-person classes for the fall semester after 130 students tested positive in the first week of the semester. These large state schools are losing money when they close and losing money when their Division 1 football games can’t be played or televised.
Instead of students’ gone wild at King’s, we are dealing with a professor gone Covid-rogue.
An Economic Risk to King’s
King’s is not a big state school. It’s also not a wealthy Ivy League school such as Harvard, Yale or Princeton that can afford to go entirely remote and eat the cost of leaving its dorms empty for the semester. TKC needed to open in person this fall for the sake of financial health. If the school cannot charge students for housing, clearly the budget hole at King’s could turn into Swiss Cheese.
To avoid going entirely remote, TKC students and staff must have confidence in the school’s public health plan. If either loses confidence, it’s hard to offer an in-person experience and yield the same revenues that come with such an experience.
To gain confidence in the school’s re-opening plan, the faculty had many Zoom calls and emails over the summer. At least one colleague raised concerns about being on campus because of respiratory health issues and wanted to make sure adequate air filtration is present in classrooms. We gave such input and, together, put our trust in President Tim Gibson and his team for a layered prevention plan.
Consequences from Broken Trust
I don’t love filling out forms or wearing a mask any more than Mueller does. Yet, it’s not a hardship or a moral dilemma to wear a mask. It’s a simple, common-sense, effective method to reduce infection rates. And it’s a temporary measure, not a permanent one!
Meanwhile, I have a family member who suffers from allergic asthma. And my wife and I spent the bulk of 2020 helping her parents survive a series of hospitalizations. We eventually moved them in with us so they can be in a safe environment. My father-in-law, a retired cardiologist, asks me if people at King’s wear masks. I assure him that we do. Our community pledge and Coronavirus plan aren’t just about keeping the school’s business model safe, our community safe, or ourselves safe; it’s also about keeping our loved ones at home safe. To me, that’s part of our Christian and community duty.
A breakdown in trust and compliance with the school’s coronavirus policy is a threat to our collective public health, community health and financial health.
Should I also request to teach entirely online? Should all faculty do so? If that happens, will students remain in NYC in person? Or, conversely, if we all continue a public tut-tutting about our Coronavirus “conscience” and decide Christ wants us to see each other’s dimples, do we want to gamble with the results?
I doubt Mueller and I will ever fully agree on health measures in a pandemic. And I’m not going to give his arguments on the topic a detailed response here because I’m puzzled why he wants to persuade his students or colleagues on these points? He can follow his own conscience and viewpoints and keep isolated from the rest of campus. Meanwhile, I trust the CDC, the Mayo Clinic, epidemiologists and other public health officials on the topic (my wife for example has a master’s in public health from Columbia) more than Mueller or Trump (anybody want to pop some Hydro or inject some bleach?). And I trust the school and the measures it has in place.
Importance of Open Dialogue
It’s unfortunate the simple act of not wearing a mask in class one day blew up as it did on social media but I understand why it did: Students care! I do believe The Empire State Tribune (led by Meg Capone) provided a vital function by reporting on the story and allowing for the exchange of opinions by faculty members. That’s much better than letting people spread gossip and rumors.
Many of the resulting social threads are thought-provoking regarding cancel culture, Matthew 15:18, and where conscience, questions and confrontation apply. My view has never been that we should automatically fire or cancel people for infractions or unpopular views. Rather, we should have a culture where people can exercise conscience, raise questions and find solutions. It seems all three of those things are happening in this instance.
I got involved with this discussion because some people started questioning press freedom and open discourse as it relates to this incident (perhaps a reflection on our broader society right now). And, well, that relates to the program I chair, the student publication that I co-advise and the zone where I’ve spent my career. I’m disheartened when I see gross ignorance about media on display from any citizens, but particularly from King’s students (e.g. someone thinking Twitter itself is a news outlet). I’d be happy to see more media literacy training added to TKC’s curriculum. And I’m happy to set up an annual conversation with students who want to ask questions about media with myself (and Lisi, Salyers, Wilkinson and Carle if they are available) if that’s of interest.
If anyone didn’t understand the examples I gave regarding the Catholic church, Trump, Hillsdale etc. in my first OpEd and how they connect to this discussion, I’m happy to explain those references more slowly to them. I believe they are pertinent.
The EST is planning to host a Zoom event to further the civil discussion on these topics. Mueller and I are both on board with that. We can and should seek resolution as a community. This entire episode could foster a more purposeful and thorough mutual respect – between majors, between houses, between staff -- within our campus.
Meanwhile, this particular mask incident is not philosophically weighty as Martin Luther’s resistance at the Diet of Worms in 1521, where he refused to recant his beliefs and, according to some, said “Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me.”
No need to stand in our classroom. Let a Covid-skeptic professor (or others with health problems or conscience issues) teach from home sans mask. The rest of us are fine wearing ours.