Two Fridays ago on Aug. 21, Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen sent an email to the Iowa State community informing us of a new COVID-19 safety policy. This new policy mandates that any students participating in a social gathering comply with a face mask and social distancing mandate. 

The email goes on to explain that the university will enforce this policy through the Student Code of Conduct with consequences that include suspension.

The editorial board disagrees.

The university isn’t going to punish any students for ignoring masks and social distancing off campus. That is not to say you shouldn’t wear a mask and social distance, but rather a rebuke of the university threatening students rather than admit its fault in the current state of the pandemic in Ames.

To be clear, the university might have the power to punish students for not wearing masks or social distancing at off-campus social gatherings. The Student Code of Conduct provides the university with jurisdiction over “student conduct that occurs off campus… that is detrimental to the educational mission or interests of the university.”

Which brings us to the questions many students and staff members are asking. Why would President Wintersteen send such an email? Also, how inappropriate was the timing of it all?

Why send an email threatening irresponsible students almost a week after “801 day?” Certainly if the goal was to scare students into submission, an email before festivities would have made more sense, right? There were few people, including administrators, who were surprised at what occurred during these parties. 

Then there’s the fact the email came out the day after tuition was due. Admittedly, this might be encroaching on conspiracy, but it’s no secret the university is under a budget crunch, and securing much-needed tuition funds before issuing such a serious threat is at the very least logical.

The Iowa Board of Regents cut more than $65 million from Iowa’s three public universities, so the university is definitely feeling a financial strain. 

These points all ignore the glaringly obvious question the email certainly failed to address in its short and vague message.

How is the university going to enforce this policy? 

The editorial board reached out to the Office of University Counsel in regards to how the policy would be enforced as well as direction for students to maintain compliance with the policy, but was provided only with links to the Student Code of Conduct and the aforementioned COVID-19 policy.

So, was the university just covering itself legally? Did a week of students ignoring the university’s instructions regarding COVID-19 push President Wintersteen to craft a poorly fabricated threat to students?

Is money really that much more important than student health?

These are questions you’ll have to answer for yourself. Don’t confuse President Wintersteen’s email with an honest attempt at managing the coronavirus pandemic at Iowa State.

The university had all summer to prepare, to craft policy and to put itself and students in a position to succeed come the fall semester, and many staff members did work hard to accomplish this.

This doesn’t change the fact that the university as a whole dropped the metaphorical ball and as the numbers show, Iowa State is now the center of the pandemic. 

We all want Iowa State to succeed in keeping COVID-19 under control. We want students and faculty to remain safe and healthy. Vague emails, however, aren’t what will solve the problem.

Until we see real, decisive action from the university, the problem is only going to get worse.