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INDEX
Vol. CXXX, No. 75
©2022 The Michigan Daily
N E W S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
STATEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . 4
M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
O PIN IO N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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UMich updates mask policy: masks
optional in U-M buses, classrooms
University scales back mask mandate as COVID-19 cases decline on
campus, rise in Washtenaw county
RILEY HODDER,
ELI FRIEDMAN,
& ANNA FIFELSKI
Summer Managing News Editors &
Summer News Editor
DOMINICK SOKOTOFF/Daily
Effective
Monday,
May
2,
the University of Michigan will
no longer mandate the use of
masks in classrooms or on U-M
transportation
—
including
all
campus Blue Buses and buses
contracted by the University —
according to an email sent to the
U-M community by Robert Ernst,
Associate Vice President of Student
Life, and Preeti Malani, U-M Chief
Health Officer, on Wednesday.
“The
changes
to
the
face
covering policy are consistent with
the COVID-19 community level
guidance from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention,
which provides a measure of the
impact of COVID-19 illness on
health and health-care systems in
addition to current case activity to
help inform decision making for
mitigation measures at the local
level,” the email reads.
Mask usage in classrooms will
still be required until the end of the
winter 2022 term for the two schools,
the Law School and the Medical
School, whose winter term classes
and exams do not finish until early
May. Masks continue to be required
for all patients, faculty and visitors
at Michigan Medicine, as well as in
COVID-19 testing sites.
The updated policy comes over
a month after the University lifted
its mask mandate for most indoor
spaces.
The campus community is still
expected to remain up to date
on
COVID-19
vaccinations
—
completion of a primary series and
a booster — according to University
policy.
Members
of
the
campus
community with an exemption
from the vaccination policy are
still expected to get weekly testing,
which remains available through
the University Community Sampling
and Tracking Program (CSTP).
Weekly
COVID-19
cases
in
Washtenaw
County
have
consistently risen since early March.
The case rate reached the year’s
lowest point the week of March
5, when only 219 confirmed cases
were recorded. Cases have been
steadily increasing since then, with
949 cases confirmed in the last full
week. However, the number of new
COVID-19 cases on campus has
decreased over the past two weeks
but remains at a rate hundreds of
cases higher than this year’s low rate
of 29 additional cases in the week
ending in March 5.
Other college campuses have
reinstated
mask
mandates
this
month after a rise in COVID-19
cases. Colleges such as Columbia
University, Johns Hopkins University
and Georgetown University have
made masks required in classrooms
and in certain indoor spaces.
“Masks
remain
an
effective
measure for enhanced personal
protection against the spread of
COVID-19, especially for individuals
who have a compromised immune
status, who are not up-to-date on
their COVID-19 vaccinations, or who
have an increased risk of contracting
COVID-19,” the email reads.
Managing News Editors Riley
Hodder and Eli Friedman and Daily
News Editor Anna Fifelski can be
contacted at rehodder@umich.edu,
elisf@umich.edu
and
afifelsk@
umich.edu.
Read more at michigandaily.com
RONI KANE
& GEORGE WEYKAMP
Daily News Editors
‘Best Buddies’ walk together
at the Detroit Zoo, raise
$41,000 for IDDs in Michigan
In 2019, Jordan Tolmie from
Rochester,
Mich.,
and
Kelley
Mutschler from Warren, Mich.,
became “Best Buddies.” The pair
had both signed up to participate
in
the
one-to-one
friendship
matching
program
coordinated
by the Michigan state chapter of
Best Buddies — an international
nonprofit organization that supports
individuals with Intellectual and
Developmental Disabilities (IDD).
Tolmie, who is on the autism
spectrum, said before Best Buddies
her intellectual disability made it
hard for her to form meaningful
relationships. However, after being
matched with Mutschler, Tolmie said
her life changed.
“I’ve had a hard time making
friends,
finding
employment,”
Tolmie said. “I wish I had all of this
earlier — in my high school days.”
Three years after being matched,
Tolmie and Mutschler are still “Best
Buddies.” With the warm April sun
University of Michigan chapter raises the most
money to fund program helping those with
Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
foster connections, find careers
Courtesy of Roni Kane
shining down on the Detroit Zoo in
Royal Oak, Mich., on Saturday, the
two walked side by side wearing
their purple Best Buddies shirts.
They were joined by over 300
other Michiganders for the state’s
annual Best Buddies Friendship
Walk. Friendship Walks take place
across the country in various cities
throughout the year and are an
annual fundraising event for Best
Buddies.
Saturday’s walk raised $41,439
for the Michigan chapter of Best
Buddies, which will help expand
their programming across the state
for the coming year. The University of
Michigan chapter won the prize for
fundraising the most money — a total
of $9,183.
LSA
senior
Lydia
Goff,
the
co-president of the U-M chapter
of Best Buddies, worked with LSA
senior Jake Weissman, the chapter’s
executive director, to plan this year’s
Friendship Walk at the zoo. Both Goff
and Weissman have been involved
with Best Buddies since high school.