When fourth year student Kamil Bachouchi walked into his class at Wilfrid Laurier with lettuce on his face, he knew he’d get lots of looks. Maybe even some chuckles or sighs.
What he didn’t expect was for this stunt to break through the four walls of his classroom, (and his personal Twitter), and spread wildly across social media.
Interestingly, this isn’t Bachouchi’s first rodeo with faux masks.
In fact, the philosophy student has done this many times, from wearing a hazmat suit, plastic container, snorkeling mask, and even fruit.
Bachouchi says he’s sending a message to his school, that he does not want his mouth covered.
“I wear a different mask every week to bring attention to the university’s mask mandate. We want the school to respect our personal autonomy,” he told Now Toronto on Jan 18.
According to Wildfrid Laurier’s website, masks are required for “any indoor activity that is part of academic course delivery, including, but not limited to: lectures, tutorials, seminars, teaching laboratories, tests and exams and other forms of academic course instruction.”
The university also says they are following provincial recommendations. They even believe that Laurier community members should consider wearing a mask in all indoor settings on campus, to prevent the spread of viruses.
But Bachouchi isn’t convinced.
“I have seen conflicting data from university studies, immunology laboratories internationally, and the CDC themselves. There is nothing nearing a consensus on this matter, so I’m simply going to stick to my beliefs, just like everyone else does,” he shared.
“Personal freedoms and rights should be respected no matter what. I’m not harming anyone, and neither is any other person that chooses to exercise their personal autonomy and right to choose.”
