Reports began circulating Friday morning regarding students and faculty in the Tanner building sighted without masks on, despite the on-campus mask policy in effect since Fall 2020.
Further investigation revealed that these sightings relate to a new tradition that members of the Marriott School of Business have recently instituted, coined “Casual ‘No Mask’ Friday”.
In addition to a more relaxed dress code, Casual No Mask Friday invites students in the Marriott School of Business to relax their practice of COVID precautions, but only on Fridays. Despite pushback, many in the school believe this idea to be a stroke of genius.
“Considering COVID-19 has been a very taxing experience for the Marriott students and faculty, we needed a way to offset those taxes,” reports Paul VanHouten, Dean of the Marriott School of Business. “Casual No Mask Friday has been our saving grace. If you look at the stats, one day a week isn’t even that bad. It’s a completely low risk, high reward investment.” Citations for these statistics were unclear.
Another Marriott School official commented that Casual No Mask Friday has cultivated “the most synergy between departments that we’ve experienced in years. Nothing brings a team together like a pair of jeans and a smile.”
Naturally, Utah County Public Health department officials are alarmed by the business school’s behavior. With new case numbers at nearly 2,000 a week and climbing, Vice Chair Kelly Adams calls Casual No Mask Friday “an egregious step in the wrong direction.”
“There’s nothing casual about a public health crisis. This is only adding insult to injury,” Adams remarked.
Despite the critics, business student attitudes toward this new practice remain overwhelmingly positive.
“Masks aren’t really on brand anyway,” reports Rylan Evans, a senior in the entrepreneurship program. “Casual No Mask Friday has easily become my favorite day of the week.”
No statement has been issued by Brigham Young University to reprimand the School of Business as of yet, but it seems fair to expect something soon. For now, things are business as usual.