Clemson orders mask usage after court ruling

Clemson University on Tuesday issued a new mask mandate after the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the policy would be legal under state law.

Clemson is the latest public university located in a Republican-led state to mandate masks for students and staff, according to The New York Times.

Other universities, including the University of South Carolina, Arkansas University and state schools in Arizona, have also implemented mask mandates on their campuses, the Times noted.

Faculty at Clemson University had increased pressure on the institution to mandate mask-wearing as coronavirus case numbers in South Carolina climb as a result of the highly contagious delta variant. Some professors reportedly went so far as to plan a protest for Wednesday to gain the attention of the university if the mask mandate was not imposed.

Clemson, which serves nearly 20,000 undergraduates, faced scrutiny last week after it held a convocation for hundreds of freshmen, most of whom were not wearing masks.

The South Carolina Supreme Court’s ruling overturns guidance from South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson that said state law prohibited mask mandates at public universities. The court’s decision will apply to all public universities in the state, according to the Times.

Clemson spokesperson Joe Galbraith said in a statement on Tuesday that as a result of the court’s decision, the university will try out a three-week period of requiring masks in all of its buildings including classrooms, instructional facilities, offices, labs and residential and dining halls. The only exception will be when people are eating or are in private spaces.

“This three-week period coincides with the greatest risk predicted by our public health team’s modeling of the disease,” Galbraith said, according to the Times.