Local Christian college will not require masks for in-person classes this fall

New Saint Andrews (NSA), Moscow’s private Christian college, has posted a series of recruitment advertisements to its social media accounts which emphasize its plan for continued in-person attendance this fall. 

Both University of Idaho and NSA will have varying degrees of in-person attendance for the coming semester, but the schools disagree on the topic of face coverings. UI has announced face coverings will be mandatory while NSA has announced its campus will be “free of masks.”

“For those who want a real education,” a June 20 NSA Facebook post read. “Free of masks, plastic wrap, zoom classes, government money, and ‘safe’ spaces.”

Other posts to the Facebook page address abortion and Black Lives Matter, encouraging students to attend the school to learn how to “think clearly in unthinking times,” as one July 2 post stated. 

“Come to New Saint Andrews College. Learn critique and appreciate the past like adults,” a June 23 post states. “No riots. No masks. In person. This fall.”

While some universities have announced online-only fall terms, including Washington State University in Pullman, UI aims to provide 75% in-person classes with the use of the HyFlex model. HyFlex is a mixture of online and in-person classes with the goal of offering students campus engagement while mitigating the risk of spreading COVID-19.  

In an email to University of Idaho faculty, Interim Provost and Executive Vice President Torrey Lawrence outlined other measures UI will take to help limit the spread of COVID-19 when students return. Classroom occupancy will be capped at 50% capacity and all visitors to campus, including students, staff and faculty, will be required to wear face coverings in campus buildings, according to the email.  

UI Communication Director Jodi Walker said all students, staff and faculty will be supplied with a reusable cloth face mask and faculty can request a plastic face shield for lecturing. 

“We will have requirements like wearing a mask or face covering,” Lawrence said. “Those are definitely going to be in place and I don’t know for how long, but it’ll depend on what happens with a vaccine and continuing to follow guidance with public health.” 

Founded in 1994 by members of Christ Church, NSA lies on Main Street’s Friendship Square, not far from UI’s campus. 

An alumni and board member at NSA, Toby Sumpter, said he supports NSA’s recent anti-mask ad campaign.  

“Based on the reading and research I’ve done, I don’t think masks are generally helpful for healthy young people,” Sumpter said. “I never wore masks when the flu was going around so I don’t see the need to wear one now.”

In addition, NSA’s Board of Trustees doesn’t make day-to-day decisions regarding students’ health and safety, Sumpter said.  

Moscow City Council unanimously voted July 6 to extend its public health emergency order requiring face masks until Aug. 4. The order stated face coverings must be worn in public when a physical distance of six feet can’t be maintained from non-household members. The order does not apply to those younger than five years old, to incarcerated individuals or to people with physical or mental health conditions and disabilities which would prevent wearing a face covering. 

While several community members opposed the mask order at a recent council meeting, Mayor Bill Lambert defended the requirement, saying the best way to help local businesses is to boost public confidence and safety. 

“We don’t take this lightly. If we have a panic with COVID-19 and these universities close back up and do virtual training and those 30,000 kids leave – think about what that’s going to do to the business community,” Lambert said. “I will do whatever I can to prevent that from happening, because it’s too important to our local economy and the folks who live here.”

Overall UI student enrollment for fall 2019 counted 11,926 students, according to a UI news release. NSA’s undergraduate enrollment for spring 2018 counted 144 students, according to niche.com. More recent information could not be located on NSA’s website. 

Idaho recently surpassed 18,000 total COVID-19 cases, with cases tending to increase between 300-500 cases per day, according to reporting from the Argonaut.

Should Moscow’s mask mandate get extended past Aug. 4 and into the fall semester, it is unclear whether NSA will adapt its live instruction in accordance with CDC guidelines.

According to the CDC’s guidelines for institutions of higher education, use of cloth face coverings among students, faculty and staff should be recommended and reinforced.  

“Face coverings should be worn as feasible and are most essential in times when physical distancing is difficult,” the CDC stated. “Cloth face coverings are meant to protect other people in case the wearer is unknowingly infected but does not have symptoms. Cloth face coverings are not surgical masks, respirators, or other medical personal protective equipment.”

NSA’s reception desk directed all inquiries regarding the implementation of face coverings to President Ben Merkle, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Angela Palermo can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @apalermooo