https://dailycollegian.com/2022/02/umass-needs-to-reevaluate-their-mask-mandate/

This story was written by Luke Halpern and is an opinion piece regarding the current mask regulations at UMass. Halpern takes the stance that UMass should lift their current indoors mask mandate. He argues that due to the fact that the new variant tends to be less dangerous, especially for vaccinated individuals, and the majority of the UMass population is vaccinated, the mask mandate is no longer necessary. Halpern highlights that even though there have still been a significant number of positive COVID cases on campus, the number of cases is no longer an appropriate way to measure severity due to these other factors. While Halpern is firm in his stance that the mask mandate is not necessary at the moment, he still point out that removing it would not have to be a permanent action. He agrees that in the case of a new and possibly more deadly variant, it would make sense to reinstate the mandate. He concludes the piece by saying that there should still be certain areas or groups where the mandate should remain in place, but overall believes that it is a good idea to remove it in most places around campus.