With lowest vaccination rate of the CSUs, CSUN students have mixed opinions on mandate.
By Julio Castaneda, Grace Da Rocha & Noemi Rodriguez
When sophomore Anthony Perez went to register for his classes at the California State University, Northridge, he was shocked. CSUN had just announced their new vaccine mandate which would be put into effect starting in fall 2021. Perez had never imagined that this could be what stands between him and his ability to take classes.
CSUN currently requires all students with on-campus classes to be either fully vaccinated or provide proof of a negative COVID test as well as complete the Daily Health Screening before stepping onto university grounds. Of the almost 20,000 students registered for in-person classes, 92% have self-reported that they are vaccinated. Roughly 406 students out of CSUN’s entire student population were partially vaccinated with one shot as of Oct. 29, according to the CSUN Director of Media Relations Carmen Ramos Chandler.
CSUN has the third worst vaccination rate of the CSU system though, with only 70% of the entire student population having received one of the vaccines. The responses to CSUN’s vaccine mandate have varied, but some students have found comfort in the mandate.
Students in Support of CSUN’s Vaccine Mandate
Brian Boull’t
Music, Undergraduate Senior
Boull’t believes the vaccine mandate makes students feel safer, and will be helpful in easing the worries students may feel when returning to in-person classes during the spring semester. However, he doesn’t see much enforcement of the vaccine mandate and thinks it is unrealistic for the administration to monitor every student’s vaccination status.
“While the vaccine mandate was effective for class registration, there has been no real enforcement of vaccines in class. Aside from entering facilities like the Student Recreation Center and the Soraya, I have never been asked for my vaccine card when I enter the classroom and there is no policing of the COVID screening survey.”
Kyla Leynes
Sociology, Graduate Student
Leynes supports the vaccine mandate and feels like it may have helped in increasing vaccination rates in the area. It has also eased some of her worries since she knows that most students around her are vaccinated. However, she also argues that CSUN should not rush into getting all of its students back on campus, especially with new variants of the COVID-19 virus being discovered.
“Because, like, yes they’re requiring vaccines, but with variants and things going around I feel like we shouldn’t be relying wholeheartedly on the vaccine, if that makes sense? Like, you’re requiring vaccines, but you’re pushing the limits on social distancing and max capacities in buildings… which I feel isn’t a smart and safe decision.”
Margot Rowe
Broadcast Journalism & Theater Arts, Undergraduate Senior
Rowe doesn’t see much of a difference at CSUN with the vaccine mandate in place. It’s quieter and more people are wearing masks, according to Rowe. She has high-risk family members, and said she feels relieved to know that she attends a university where she knows the majority of her classmates and professors are vaccinated.
“I’m willing to do what’s necessary to protect my family and resume my education on campus.”
Other students aren’t as welcoming of the mandate, citing reasons like their religious beliefs and right to make choices regarding their own bodies.
Students Against CSUN’s Vaccine Mandate
Julia Dilacar
Journalism, Undergraduate Sophomore
Although the vaccine mandate hasn’t affected her much personally, Dilacar argues that students should have the option to choose whether or not they get the vaccine.
“It’s our free will and right. No one should enforce or make anyone do or get injected with anything that makes them uncomfortable.”
Ambar Rodriguez
Art, Undergraduate Junior
Rodriguez is frustrated with the vaccine mandate. She had no problem preparing for the fall 2021 semester at first, but registering for classes and planning ahead for the spring became more difficult once the mandate was put in place. One of the reasons she ultimately decided to get the vaccine was the prospect of her not getting to enroll in courses for the spring semester, according to Rodriguez.
“This mandate required everyone to be vaccinated even… the people who had COVID [and] their body build up antibodies and they still need to get vaccinated. I had to [get vaccinated] because if I [am not] vaccinated, I can’t continue my education… that is unreasonable”
Anthony Perez
Journalism, Undergraduate Sophomore
“As students, we have [the] right to get a free education, and like, without getting told what to do. Educators keep telling me to get the vaccine just so I can go on campus, and as of right now, I’m thinking I have to get it to continue my education.”
Perez believes the vaccine mandate may be causing division among society. He thinks that, as American citizens, the people are losing their right to bodily autonomy with a vaccine mandate.
With an average age of 23.8 for their student population, some may say that it is no surprise that the vaccination rate at CSUN is so low. Scientists and media outlets initially reported that children and young adults between the ages of 18 and 40 were less likely to experience severe cases of the COVID-19 virus, filling many college-aged students with confidence that their body would simply fight the virus off on its own.
That, combined with various other reasons, may be driving the vaccine hesitancy among college-aged students and affecting how they view a mandate.
According to our respondents, it seems that many are in favor of the vaccine so long as it serves to protect themselves and their peers.
Students will have to self-report as vaccinated to some degree or exempt due to religious or medical reasons in order to return to campus for the spring semester.
Although this presents no trouble for the 70% of vaccinated students at CSUN, the transition back to on-campus classes means that many others will have to make a decision between getting the vaccine or possibly forgoing the next semester.
