MUNCIE — Gabe Cochard wants students, faculty and staff at Ball State University to mask up during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cochard, a nursing student from Greenfield who will graduate in 2021, is featured on a 60-foot tall banner on the side of the 10-story Teachers College Building at the university's busiest intersection.
The banner was installed last school year as part of the university's "We Fly" campaign, but with Cochard's permission, the university added a face mask in recent weeks as part of the Cardinals Care campaign. The mask decal was installed Aug. 13.
"As a nursing major, I understand the science behind mask wearing, hand washing, physical distancing, and all the other best practices for preventing the spread of the coronavirus," Cochard said in a post on the Ball State University Magazine website.
Cochard urges his peers to follow the university's safety protocols both on and off campus.
"My parents are older, and I wear a mask to protect them," Cochard said. "I worry and care about them enough to take this seriously."
