NUDM will require masks in the tent, leaders announce Friday

Northwestern University Dance Marathon announced Friday afternoon it will require masks in the tent this evening.

Isabel Funk, Campus Editor
March 4, 2022

Northwestern University Dance Marathon will require masks in the tent, leaders announced in a Friday email to dancers.

NUDM, an event where students dance for 30 hours in a tent on Norris East Lawn to fundraise for local organizations, begins Friday evening. The event has not been held in-person since 2019.

Following NU’s Feb. 24 announcement that masking would be optional in most public spaces, including Norris University Center, NUDM leaders discussed with University administration and determined the event would follow Norris guidelines and be considered a mask-optional space.

However, after further conversations, NUDM leadership announced that the tent, as an enclosed space, falls under the University category of “indoor campus events during which masks will be required more broadly.”

Spaces within Norris like changing rooms and bathrooms will remain mask-optional. The University reported a decrease in COVID-19 positive cases this week with 62 new confirmed cases compared to last week’s 152.

This year, NUDM is fundraising for Chicago Youth Programs, which provides long-term academic, emotional and mental support to young people in low-income neighborhoods in Chicago.

“We know that this change is last minute, but this does not change how excited we are to celebrate, fundraise and dance with you all and for Chicago Youth Programs,” the email stated.

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Twitter: @isabeldfunk

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