Kara Zupkus of Young America's Foundation (YAF) told The Todd Starnes Show on Wednesday that her organization hears from students every day asking how they can push back against the vaccine and mask mandates.
"Especially [from] the students who are attending schools that – in addition to having the vaccine mandate in place – still [require them] to wear masks all day, every day as they're learning from their professors," Zupkus explained.
According to Zupkus, the problem is especially noticeable for students taking foreign language classes.
"A lot of times when you're learning a new language, it's all about learning how to pronounce the word and being able to see your teacher's mouth and understand how to actually speak another language," said Zupkus. "That is just something that these students are not able to do because of these power-hungry administrators who refuse to follow the science."
A September 2021 article in the Indiana-based DePauw University newspaper confirmed that "masks are making learning a language challenging."
The Associated Press reported in October that new technology at a school in Starkville, Mississippi, allows teachers to "clearly project through masks, offering all students a learning environment free of miscommunication."
"It is a challenge to teach a foreign language with a mask mandate," wrote DePauw reporter Vanessa Torres. "[Instructors] are concerned about the students' abilities to absorb and learn the language."
