During the fall semester, all NC State students, faculty, staff and visitors are required to wear masks in all university buildings. In order to encourage people to wear masks on campus, Wolfpack Outfitters is selling NC State-themed face masks and $5 from each purchase will be donated directly to the NC State Student Emergency Fund.
The Student Emergency Fund can help students with a variety of problems, from paying rent to affording food, especially in the wake of widespread job losses due to the pandemic. Along with individual donations, the fund is currently at over $1.2 million. As of late March, the emergency fund had already been able to help over 2,000 students in need. According to Jeff Halliburton, director of Wolfpack Outfitters, about 7,000 mask packages have been purchased so far, making at least a $35,000 contribution to the fund.
Masks can currently be preordered from the Wolfpack Outfitters website. The two options to choose from are a three-pack of reusable masks for $14.99 or a six-pack of disposable masks for $15.99. In-store pickup and in-store shopping will be available as soon as the store receives the masks in the coming weeks. Online orders are expected to be shipped to students by the end of June or early July.
“A lot of people have an affinity for NC State, and by being able to offer a branded Wolfpack mask into the market, we hope that encourages additional mask use,” Halliburton said. “If someone is more likely to wear a mask because they got a Wolfpack mask and can share their favorite university, I think that’s just an additional positive benefit.”
Halliburton also said Wolfpack Outfitters chose to produce and offer reusable, washable masks along with disposable ones in order to increase sustainability and reduce waste.
Maya Tucker, a third-year studying political science and statistics, has already preordered masks from Wolfpack Outfitters.
“When you walk around NC State, you always see a familiar face or a friend. I think we are going to really realize how big NC State actually is because there’s going to be a sense of anonymity with the masks, so I feel like we are going to have some unfortunate disconnect between people,” Tucker said.
The University has announced a multitude of changes which will be made to campus in the fall semester in an effort to promote health and safety during the pandemic, the mask requirement being one of many.
Despite the remaining uncertainty about the upcoming semester, Tucker is optimistic about the return to campus and has been pleased with the administration’s communication with students.
“NC State has done a great job handling the situation; they keep us really informed about everything,” Tucker said. “Masks or not, we all still get to go to NC State.”
