The Pennsylvania State University professor, Zack Furness, declared that students protesting the university’s mask mandate should be suspended for the semester.
Following an article from The Daily Collegian, Penn State’s independently published student newspaper, Associate Professor of Communications Zack Furness tweeted that unmasked students are putting him and his colleagues at risk.
The university professor went on to say that unmasked students “should be kicked out of school this semester.” (READ MORE: Penn State Prof Placed On Leave, Criminally Charged With Attacking Anti-Vaccine Mandate Student)
These idiots are putting my colleagues and students at risk and should be kicked out of school this semester.
— Zack Furness (@punkademic) September 1, 2021
On Tuesday, students protested Penn State’s mask mandate policy that was held in response to the faculty and student rally for a vaccine mandate. A Penn State student had been brutalized by members of the protest, covered by National File. The student left the protest with a bloody nose and checked into a hospital with a potential concussion. Ultimately, the student was released from the hospital without any major injuries beyond some bruising and a bloody nose.
Regardless of vaccination status, all Penn State students, faculty, staff and visitors are required to wear masks indoors on all university campuses. All indoor campuses activities have continued as usual with indoor masking. (READ MORE: College Student Protesting Vaccine Mandate Attacked On Penn State Campus By Pro-Vax Demonstrators)
“Penn State is taking this proactive measure to protect the health and safety of our campuses and help mitigate the spread of this virus within our community,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron. “As we continue to see daily increases in COVID-19 cases, particularly the Delta variant, our current outlook warrants this protective step. I continue to look forward to a return to robust, in-person experiences, and hope this is a reassuring adjustment for students, faculty and staff. To have a successful semester, it’s going to take all of us doing our parts to support the well-being of our entire community.”