University of Central Missouri Extends Mask Mandate

The University of Central Missouri extended its indoor mask mandate for all faculty, students, staff, and visitors through at least Monday, November 1, 2021, according to a statement on the UCM website.

The University chose to continue the policy of requiring face coverings inside university facilities regardless of vaccine status with the goal of continuing to stop the spread of COVID-19. UCM made the decision to continue requiring the University community to mask up indoors on August 9 based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The University's efforts have paid off as well. As of last Friday, October 8, there were only six known active cases of COVID-19 among students, and none among University faculty and staff. Overall, among faculty, staff, and students the University has had 1,113 cases, including the current six active cases, in 2021.

The statement from UCM regarding the mask mandate notes some positive news regarding the spread of the coronavirus and the delta variant of the disease in both Johnson County and the University community and credits those in the UCM community for the University's low positive COVID-19 count:

The number of known active cases of COVID-19 among students and employees has remained relatively low over the last few weeks, the risk of community transmission in Johnson County, Missouri is now reported as “substantial” instead of “high”, and hospitalizations in the county have begun to drop. The efforts our faculty, staff and students are taking to get vaccinated for COVID-19, wear face coverings, and engage in other health-conscious measures are having a positive impact. These positive trends are encouraging, and we will continue to monitor them closely over the next two weeks.

30 famous people you might not know were college athletes

Stacker dug deep to find 30 celebrities who were previously college athletes. There are musicians, politicians, actors, writers, and reality TV stars. For some, an athletic career was a real, promising possibility that ultimately faded away due to injury or an alternate calling. Others scrapped their way onto a team and simply played for fun and the love of the sport. Read on to find out if your favorite actor, singer, or politician once sported a university jersey.