After a student refused wearing a mask to class, a University of Georgia professor resigned.
Irwin Bernstein, a psychologist, quit just minutes after he started his seminar.
The University of Georgia doesn't require the wearing of face masks on campus.
10 Things in Politics: Get the latest news in politics and economics Loading... Click Sign up to receive marketing emails and other offers from Insider.
A University of Georgia professor, aged 88, announced his retirement after a student refused to use her face mask correctly.
Professor Irwin Bernstein informed the University of Georgia's Red & Black newspaper that one of his students showed up to class on the second day of school wearing no mask. The student was not able to properly wear the mask she received from a peer when she was given it by a friend. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said that it was difficult for her to breathe while wearing the mask over her nose.
Bernstein had repeatedly asked her to correctly wear the mask, he said to the Red & Black. He said that the student had ignored all of his requests.
Bernstein, a psychologist, stated that while I had sacrificed my life in order to defend my country, I wasn't willing to take the same risk to teach a class with unmasked students during this Pandemic.
One student of Bernstein said that the professor had instructed students to wear masks during his first psychology seminar on August 18. A message was posted at the front of class: "No mask, No class."
Bernstein explained to the student that he has Type 2 diabetes and other health issues that could make him more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 symptoms.
Bernstein resigned after the student continued to wear her mask in error.
"That's all. According to a student quoted by the newspaper, he stated that he was now retired.
The student stated, "We watched him pack all his papers into his bag before he walked out of the classroom."
The University of Georgia doesn't require the wearing of face masks in campus buildings. Bernstein was aware that two of his students had been diagnosed with the coronavirus and he imposed his own rules inside the classroom. The Red & Blue reported.
He said that resignation was an all-or-nothing decision. "I felt some relief because I was becoming more worried as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded over the past weeks."
