Most university students around the state have been directed to wear face coverings in classrooms and indoor shared spaces after new mask mandates were issued by schools Wednesday.
The measures to try to reduce the spread of the coronavirus were announced days after a Friday order from a Pulaski County circuit judge that temporarily blocks the state's anti-masking law. The mask requirements apply not only to students, but also university employees, with most of the announcements also explicitly stating that guests are to comply with the policy.
Colleges also continue to encourage vaccinations as coronavirus hospitalizations have reached record highs this week, with the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville set to begin on Sept. 1 weekly prize drawings as a way to encourage students to get vaccinated.
Fall semester classes at some large universities begin next week, with dorm move-ins already taking place. Colleges in the state continue to plan for a full return to in-person classes.
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Campuses in the University of Arkansas System were directed to implement face-covering policies after a trustees vote Wednesday morning.
"This effectively goes back to using CDC guidelines," system President Donald Bobbitt told trustees, referring to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The resolution directed campuses to implement face covering policies "regardless of vaccination status" for indoor public settings when physical distancing cannot be assured "in accordance with CDC guidance regarding the COVID-19 Delta variant."
The policies are to apply to students, employees and guests.
The 10-member trustee board unanimously approved a resolution that doesn't mention Act 1002, a law passed in April prohibiting state-supported universities, public schools, state agencies -- as well as any state or local official -- from requiring face coverings. The temporary injunction blocking the law is in place pending the outcome of a court challenge.
Bobbitt said he thought that if the law withstands the legal challenge, the resolution approved Wednesday becomes "null and void."
But JoAnn Maxey, the top attorney for the UA System, quickly added that "we'd have to examine that."
"I think the way that it's written, it gives us the flexibility to do whatever needs to be done" depending on how the court proceeds, Maxey said.
The language that received board approval refers to a face covering resolution passed by trustees back in May of last year.
The Fayetteville campus later on Wednesday announced that face coverings would be required indoors, effective immediately, whenever 6 feet of physical distancing cannot be maintained, though the announcement to campus asked that some consideration be given until word of the policy can reach everyone at UA.
UA earlier had announced prizes to be given away in drawings aimed at incentivizing vaccination.
Prizes include 45 scholarships valued at $500 each and 250 parking permit credits valued at $100 each. Other prizes include concert voucher packages for the Walmart AMP venue in Rogers and a backpacking trip to the Grand Canyon.
Students must enter to win and show proof of vaccination to claim prizes, with "at least" 15 prizes to be awarded weekly through the fall semester, according to UA. Students may enter regardless of when they were vaccinated.
Some other large public universities, including Louisiana State University, have already begun holding weekly prize drawings for vaccinated students.
Among other universities in Arkansas, Arkansas Tech University on Wednesday announced that face coverings will be mandatory inside buildings effective today.
"The decision to implement mandatory face coverings at this time is responsive to the recent ruling by Judge Tim Fox regarding Act 1002 of 2021, the latest guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the record number of COVID-related hospitalizations in our state," ATU President Robin E. Bowen said in a statement.
The new mandate for Arkansas Tech, which has its main campus in Russellville, requires that masks be worn "when indoors in a congregational setting," including classrooms. It applies whether a person is vaccinated or not.
Southern Arkansas University on Wednesday announced a "temporary" policy requiring masks within indoor spaces.
"As the Covid-19 variant increases and our hospitals are stretched for resources, we feel it only prudent to do everything we can to keep one another safe," Trey Berry, SAU System president, said in a statement.
The new requirements Wednesday were announced a day after the University of Central Arkansas announced that face coverings would be required in classrooms, common areas and shared spaces of buildings.
The Arkansas State University System board of trustees is set to meet today to consider allowing campus chancellors to impose face covering requirements.
