CCU Board of Trustees vote in favor of ending mask mandate at end of fall semester

CONWAY, S.C. (WMBF) – Coastal Carolina University students will not have to wear masks in the classroom during the spring semester.

The CCU Board of Trustees held a special meeting on Monday afternoon to discuss the university’s mask mandate.

During the meeting, CCU President Michael Benson proposed that the university keep the mask mandate in place for the remainder of the fall semester since many students will be leaving campus for the Thanksgiving break and could possibly contract COVID-19 while visiting loved ones.

Jim Solazzo, the vice president for success, agreed with Benson, stating that for a lot of students, going home for Thanksgiving and coming back for a week of classes and finals is challenging, but doing that while being sick makes that more of a challenge.

The Board of Trustees went into an executive session to discuss the matter for about an hour.

Once they came out of the executive session, they voted unanimously to end the mask mandate on Dec. 13, which is the end of the fall semester.

Since the start of the school year, all students and staff, no matter their vaccination status, have had to wear masks while indoors on campus.

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