More than 75 individuals had been asked to leave Penn State Campus Recreation facilities as of Friday, when the department announced it would close its doors if compliance with the university's indoor masking policy doesn't improve.
As reported by the student blog site Onward State, signage and announcements were created to remind facility users of the mask policy, and staff has been going around enforcing it. Campus Rec said it will do “everything that can reasonably be done” to enforce mask-wearing, leaving potential closures as a last resort.
Penn State officials said that while mask-wearing has generally been good across campus, compliance at recreation facilities such as the IM Building, White Building and Hepper Fitness Center, has been below par.
“The exception has been found in our Campus Recreation facilities,” vice president for student affairs Damon Sims said. “We understand the challenge masking poses for those using these facilities, but the health of both participants and staff members demands that we enforce the mask expectation as clearly and reasonably as we can, and those using these facilities must do their part.”
Penn State Student Affairs said it will reach out to the Student Leaders Roundtable, Faculty Senate and the Staff Council about a potential closure of facilities, Onward State's Ryan Parsons writes. Those who fail to comply with the masking requirement could also have facility access revoked or be referred for student conduct proceedings.
