Colleges cling to COVID-19 mask and vaccine mandates as school year begins

Washington Examiner ^ | August 31, 2022 | Jeremiah Poff

[conservative98]

A handful of colleges around the country are clinging to COVID-19-related protocols, including mask mandates for indoor areas and vaccine mandates for students and staff.

Pandemic-related restrictions on some college campuses persist as most public health guidelines have relaxed and mask and vaccine mandates have receded from most areas of daily life.

But in some cases, the mandates are going beyond COVID-19. At the University of California, Berkeley, students are mandated to get vaccinated against coronavirus, as well as the flu. The university's guidance says students who are not vaccinated against the flu will be required to wear a mask during flu season.

The most common remaining COVID-19 requirement is that all students be vaccinated. Thousands of college students nationwide are facing vaccination requirements extending from the entire University of California and California State University systems to the campuses of Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, the University of Illinois, and others.

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Wearing a mask is "currently optional" at the University of California, San Diego, according to the university's website, which also says masks are "required" in a number of areas, including within residential buildings and "indoor classroom/instructional settings, clinical areas, and on ... university transportation."

The only places in residential buildings where students are not required to wear a mask are in the shower and in their "personal bedrooms."

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In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Kara Zupkus, a spokeswoman for Young Americas Foundation, a conservative student activist organization, said that university administrators should "wake up and actually follow the science."

"Continuing to push fearful narratives through COVID hysteria does a disservice to university students trying to have a normal college experience," Zupkus said. "Colleges should trust students to make their own educated decisions regarding masking and vaccines––rather than enforcing liberals’ worldview on their everyday lives."

[bobcat62]

Here’s one for you:

I know of one student in NYC. His new dorm roommate from China shows up with the Coof.

The school’s response: The roommate can stay in his room. If he needs a covid test, go find an NYC testing location on the street.

The school won’t do anything else, all for 80 grand a year.

[consult]

First of all, I am a scientist. Science and medicine are my life. These colleges, universities and government agencies like the CDC will soon fall on their faces as they push this false idea that masks work and a 2+ year old vaccine against a virus that mutated a year ago is going to work. They have lost credibility in their fake science. Learned a lot about how universities are pushing fake “science” the past few years. Making me seriously wonder if all the “science” about climate changes is also fake and driven by pure wishful thinking regarding ways to protect us and make the world better....just in case. They needs some push back. Modelling and observational studies are not adequate proof. I realize one cannot do a real study on climate change, but just about every model created up until this point has been proven to be wrong.

[Jane Long]

Climate change is their mechanism to control the populace with carbon credit ratings.

It has nothing to do with actual climate “protections”.

Thank you for speaking the truth about these horrid mandates.

[M1903A1]

My observation of one major Chicago-area university is that, while they officially still require vaccination and masks, their announcements and public statements now emphasize masks in classrooms and other enclosed spaces, while the vax has been quietly rolled off the front page. No more vaxpass apps since the end of spring. And while mask obedience in class is being observed (the instructors say “it’s policy”, but seem tired of it too), I see students unmasked in other indoor spaces all the time, with nobody saying a word about it.

The true madness of it is that Emperor Flintstone (aka Gov Pritzker) ended his own vax mandate order for colleges and universities over the summer.

[ElkGroveDan]

U of A is full of liberal wokeness. ASU might be a better choice instead.

ASU is as bad or worse. She's happy at GCU now. On track to graduate in 3 years (total).

[cgbg]

The kids are learning to get on the trains to the camps as ordered—when the time comes—and the parents are paying for the privilege!

[Irenic]

Sad.