State senator, UofSC professor ask SC Supreme Court to weigh in on mask mandate at the university

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO)– A University of South Carolina professor is petitioning the South Carolina Supreme Court over the university rescinding its mask mandate. Senator Dick Harpootlian filed documents Thursday for astrophysics Professor Richard Creswick.

Creswick is seeking clarification on a one year rule in the state budget that Attorney General Alan Wilson says prevents UofSC from requiring everyone to wear masks indoors. He also cited the Delta variant for the need of masks.

The university rescinded its mask mandate indoors after the attorney general said it was in violation of the rule in the state budget. UofSC students start classes on August 19.

The full filing from Senator Harpootlian can be found by clicking the link below:

Creswick V. USC, No. 2021 000833 Rule 245(c) Notice And Petition For Original Jurisdiction[1]

Attorney General Wilson’s office released a statement in response to the filing. Wilson says “We reiterate what we wrote to Sen. Harpootlian. If the legislature’s intent was what he says it was, he’ll have no trouble getting his fellow lawmakers to pass something clarifying that. This is a political question for the state legislature to address, not the Supreme Court.”