After SC Supreme Court ruling, USC will require masks in campus buildings

It’s official: The University of South Carolina will require face masks in campus buildings.

USC’s last-minute rule change comes just hours after the S.C. Supreme Court ruled USC and other colleges in the state could require masks on campus.

“I will require the use of face coverings in our buildings, effective immediately, as an effective strategy in slowing the spread of the COVID-19 virus,” USC interim President Harris Pastides said in a news release. “Ultimately, it is the responsibility of all members of our Gamecock community to help protect ourselves and others by adopting sound public health practices as we continue our efforts to safeguard our campus against this still-evolving health concern.”

Earlier this summer, Pastides — who holds both master’s and doctorate degrees in epidemiology from Yale University — announced the university was planning to require masks inside buildings during fall semester.

Pastides’ planned rule was in line with recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Several days after Pastides announced the planned rule, S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson sent USC a letter that said the university’s proposed mask rule violated a one-year state law, termed a proviso, that was rolled into the state budget.

After Wilson’s letter, USC walked back its rule. Then, a USC professor represented by S.C. Sen. Dick Harpootlian, a Democrat whose district includes USC, filed legal action with the state Supreme Court asking it to weigh in on whether USC’s planned mask rule violated the proviso.

Tuesday afternoon, the Supreme Court affirmed the university’s right to mandate masks inside campus buildings.

Classes at USC begin Thursday.

This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 7:18 PM.