Vaishnavi Krishnan and Divya Ramamoorthy, co-founders of Masks of Michigan, describe the mission behind their influential initiative to encourage mask-wearing on campus.
Interview conducted by Keara Kotten
#UMSocial Intern and University Of Michigan Class of 2022
Q: Thank you both for joining me today on the Welcome HoMe podcast series. Can you both introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about Masks of Michigan?
Vaishnavi: Hi, I’m Vaishnavi! I’m a rising sophomore and I’m studying evolutionary anthropology and I’m one of the co-founders of Masks of Michigan.
Divya: Hi, I’m Divya. I’m also a rising sophomore. I’m studying computer science. And we’re super excited to talk about Masks of Michigan today!
Q: We’re so excited to have you, and for you to share this message with all the students coming back to campus this fall! So, can you tell us about the organization, how you both got involved, and what its mission is?
Divya: Yeah, so we started working on Masks of Michigan at the end of May as part of the COVID-19 Campus-Wide Challenge through U-M’s College of Engineering. At that time, there was a lot of uncertainty about what our fall semester would look like. We thought that this challenge would be a great way to innovate and make a difference on campus during this really difficult, unprecedented time.
Vaishnavi Krishnan
So when we were thinking of various issues that might arise when students are back on campus, specifically related to co-curricular activities, we saw that mask wearing was a consistent problem. It was really prevalent across all aspects of student life. And we also saw that it was a problem in our own communities. Getting everyone to wear masks is difficult. So we definitely know that it’ll be a problem on campus as well, if not everyone cooperates.
Vaishnavi: Our goal is to create a social pressure for students to wear a mask, so students feel less out of place when they wear a mask because everyone else around them is also wearing a mask, rather than feeling out of place if they do wear a mask. One of the two ways that we hope to do so is through our Instagram account, @MasksofMichigan, which launched in early June. The second is involving influential student groups, which we are planning to do more with in the next couple of weeks, to get our message across and have as safe a fall semester as we can.
Q: As students who will both be on campus, what are some of your concerns for arriving back in Ann Arbor this fall?
Divya: Next month, there are going to be so many students coming to Ann Arbor from so many different places. And there is definitely this common misconception that college students are less susceptible to COVID-19, but it’s really dangerous to think this way. It’s hard to tell who may or may not have a compromised immune system. And it’s super important to be considerate of everyone. If one person in an in-person class contracts COVID and isn’t careful about who they’re interacting with, things could go downhill really quickly. Additionally, recent studies have suggested that COVID-19 can have harmful long-term effects, even on healthy individuals. So it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Divya Ramamoorthy
Vaishnavi: Wearing a mask is an easy way to be proactive about preventing yourself from contracting COVID. And it has also been proven to be a successful public health intervention in reducing the transmission of the virus. And it’s also important to remember the seriousness of this pandemic because lives have been lost. And so many people’s lives have been permanently altered by these circumstances. That is another reason why we believe that promoting mask wearing among students is so important. We believe that campus will be much safer with everyone understanding the importance of masks and wearing them diligently.
Q: So obviously, there are a lot of public health concerns about coming back to campus and how to manage these. How has Masks of Michigan started to address some of these concerns?
Vaishnavi: When we started this initiative, we decided to focus on mask wearing. Even though other public health guidelines, such as social distancing, are incredibly important, we believe that we could have the greatest impact on making our campus safer by getting students to wear masks. We also thought that it would serve as an example to students across the country of how Wolverines can come together as a community, because we call ourselves leaders and best, so we need to make smart decisions about mask wearing and embracing public health guidelines.
Divya: Our Instagram account was inspired by the popular social media account: @humansofny to showcase members of the U-M community wearing masks. We feature Wolverines and student organizations wearing their masks with captions elaborating on who they’re wearing a mask for and why they’re wearing one to convey our message that masks are necessary. Since our launch in early June, we’ve gained a pretty good following and we’ve enjoyed collaborating with other Instagram accounts related to U-M and public health.
Vaishnavi: And we believe that students who already wear masks will come across our account and seeing other fellow Wolverines wearing a mask will be positively reinforced in their decision to do so. And thus, mask wearing students will feel empowered to spread our message in their students orgs and friend circles.
We also believe that students who do not wear masks will come across our account and see fellow Wolverines and student orgs wearing masks, and they will realize that more people around them will be wearing masks than not wearing masks. Therefore, they will stick out if they do not wear one. And as a result, they will feel compelled to wear a mask to feel a part of the Michigan community.
Q: With being cautious, wearing our masks, and following these guidelines that public health experts and U-M have put in place, what are some of the things that we can still do when we get onto campus to socialize and see each other?
Divya: Yeah. We definitely are not trying to be the “mask police.” We consider ourselves as more of a resource. We are students too, and like everyone else, we want to enjoy being at college. But, as rising sophomores, we didn’t get to fully complete our freshman year on campus and had to leave the dorms. So we understand that, as students, we have a big responsibility to follow public health guidelines if we want to make the most of this semester. If not, COVID-19 can become an even bigger problem in Ann Arbor, which will lead to students and staff falling sick, the university most likely switching to fully online, housing issues, and an overall bad situation.
Vaishnavi: But thankfully, I do believe that we can do our part as students by being proactive and following simple public health guidelines like wearing a mask. And from what the CDC has said, the general guidelines are to wear a mask for when you cannot properly social distance or when you are near other people, especially indoors. And also, making sure that the mask is worn properly. So if we’re able to follow these, we can be a lot safer in doing the things that we’d like to do on campus.
Q: What are some of the things that you guys hope to see from the U-M community?
Divya: We really hope to see everyone happy to be back on campus since it has been a pretty long five months. And we hope to see freshmen excited to be on campus for the first time and enjoying life in Ann Arbor, even though it’ll be really different.
That being said, we do want to see COVID being taken very seriously and we hope that everyone can come together to be smart about limiting large social gatherings, following distancing procedures and wearing masks.
“We all have a great responsibility to take this seriously. And we know that everyone can come together and make smart decisions about everything.”
Q: What advice do you have to offer for incoming freshmen as they start their semester off to something that’s completely unexpected and new?
Vaishnavi: For the freshmen, we wish that your first semester of college did not have to be under such unusual circumstances. And we know that there were probably a lot of things that you were looking forward to doing in college that may have to happen differently now. But, you will still be able to do those things—like making friends through housing, student orgs and your classes—even if some of it is online. And things will start to pick up soon and you will most definitely get the full college experience because you have four entire years ahead of you.
“And even though this first term might be a little different and not what you expected, you’re a Wolverine and you have this community with you for the rest of your life.”
Divya: Definitely. And Masks of Michigan also hopes to serve as a source of community for you with our Instagram page. We want our posts to allow you to connect with other Wolverines and be introduced to some of U-M’s really exciting student orgs and groups. We know that you’ll still be able to find your Michigan family and that your freshman year will definitely be one to remember.
Q: What are some ways that we can make the most of this semester despite these challenges and different circumstances that we have to face? And what are some things that you both are excited for this year?
Divya: Yeah, this semester will definitely be nothing like we imagined, but I’m still really looking forward to being back in Ann Arbor. I’m excited to explore more of Michigan’s nature and also just enjoy a somewhat slower pace of life by staying indoors more. It’ll be fun to stay in and cook meals with roommates. And I’m excited to strengthen existing friendships and make the most of this unique situation.
Vaishnavi: Yeah, definitely. What we are living through today is unprecedented. So I think we can also take the time to do things that we feel like we usually don’t have time for—whether it’s working out, learning something new, or finding our life goals. Because before we know it, things are going to go back to a new normal and our lives will become really busy again.
Q: If there are any final words that you have, go for it.
Divya: Yeah, I guess just that those of us who are deciding to come back to campus are taking a risk in making that decision. And I hope that it’ll be worth it for all of us. If everybody agrees to wear masks and follow distancing procedures, that’ll make all of our experiences in Ann Arbor just so much better and help us stay there for longer and enjoy life in college for longer.
Overall, this situation is super unfortunate, but I think it’s a privilege for us to be able to make the most of it and come back to school. It’s very important that we all recognize that and do our part to make campus healthier and safer for everyone.
Vaishnavi: Also just a quick shameless plug, do follow us on @MasksofMichigan on Instagram! You can DM us to be featured, whether you’re a student or a student org, and you can showcase why you choose to wear a mask or who you are wearing a mask for. Help us build this community of Wolverines wearing masks, so that we can have a safe fall semester.
Awesome! Thank you both so much for sharing this message and for being a part of this podcast. It’s been really great speaking with both of you.
Vaishnavi: Thank you so much for having us.
Divya: Yeah, thank you so much.
