Hey happy 2021. Been quite a year packed into these six weeks so far. I hope you are doing well. Before we get into it, here are some quick suggestions to aid your (potential) winter blues: go on a walk (by yourself or with a friend), get a hot drink from the pub/bookstore/or make one yourself, watch a YouTube tutorial, call your grandparent/relative/friend/ex/old boss/parent/high school crush/local congressperson/sibling/whoever, go to therapy (if you have the means/call the counseling center), or make a fort or something. Times are tough and self-care is hard. 

Anyway, yeah, you may have heard of toxic masculinity, but have you heard of toxic MASK-ulinity? It might just be that feeling that you get when you see a fellow student in the pub, measly buff slipping below their nose, or perhaps their mouth as well, or even just chilling around their neck like it’s 2019 without a care (or a pandemic) in the world. Buffs are not functional PPE; they do not protect anyone else from the droplets that fly from their lips with each “sah dude” (sorry for the generalizations, but I speak my truths). 

There are several places to get masks that work! The student help desk has masks available should you need a free one. If you’re looking to buy one (support small if you can!) there are also masks available at Walgreens, Walmart, gas stations, dollar store, online stores, Instagram, Etsy, SLU’s very own @hotgirlmasks (for people of all identities), and probably several of your relatives or family friends, or perhaps a friend’s relatives or friends. Masks (real ones) are everywhere, and it is time to ride that wave all the way through vaccination season and into (hopefully) new times. 

The CDC recommends a 3-layer cotton mask, that fits snugly around the sides of the face with no gaps, preferably with a nose wire for a better fit. Masks should be worn over all respiratory system entry/exit points (mouth and nose). 

Wearing a mask is not about the wearer; it honestly offers little protection to them, with about a 70% transmission rate for the masked individual who is exposed (unless a medical grade N-95). However, it protects those around them immensely, when a carrier is wearing a mask, that transmission rate decreases to 5%. These numbers do not apply to buffs, which have been found to disperse droplets. 

We all want to remain on campus and bask in the glory of phase two, but that means doing our part each day to protect the community around us. Should you need a free, super cool mask, the lucky first 5 folks to DM @sludub can have one of our stellar Trojan face masks we received from The Advocates for Youth Condom Collective. 

And on that note of being safe and protected around campus, you may have noticed some little bags in your local residence or building marked “rubber from a dubber”. In an effort to better distribute our plethora of condoms, we have made several drop sites around campus! Should you need any/notice a bag running low/want to learn about other resources we have at The Dub such as plan b gift cards and pregnancy tests, hit us up on Instagram @sludub or on presence or shoot a house member an email!