A remotely based student claimed Tuesday he is barred from taking online classes at Rutgers University because he has not been vaccinated.
Rutgers, the first university in the U.S. to mandate vaccination for students, is threatening to disconnect email access and deny campus housing for all students who don’t comply with its vaccination mandate, Politco reports.
Some colleges used similar tactics last year to get students to follow testing procedures or risk exclusion.
Nolte: "Those who choose not to get vaccinated are almost no threat to those of us who are vaccinated, and yet they are the ongoing targets of the left’s rising bigotry, hate, and social exclusion." https://t.co/mWkbSMOPaM
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 27, 2021
Logan Hollar, 22, told NJ.com he largely ignored the school’s coronavirus mandate “because all my classes were remote” from his Sandyston home, a distance of some 70 miles from the university’s principle campus in New Brunswick.
But he was locked out of his Rutgers email and related accounts when he went to pay his tuition at the end of last month — and was told he needed to be vaccinated even though he has no plans to attend in person, according to the report.
“I’ll probably have to transfer to a different university,” Hollar told NJ.com, revealing at least one other student to his knowledge is in the same position.
“I find it concerning for the vaccine to be pushed by the university rather than my doctor,” he told the outlet.
As Breitbart News reported, Rutgers flagged its policy on vaccinations back in March when it mandated all students get the coronavirus vaccine before returning to campus for in-person classes in the fall.
“We are committed to health and safety for all members of our community, and adding COVID-19 vaccination to our student immunization requirements will help provide a safer and more robust college experience for our students,” said Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway at the time.
Hollar acknowledged the right of people to choose whether or not they will be vaccinated, but still protested the outcome with university authorities.
“If someone wants to be vaccinated, that’s fine with me, but I don’t think they should be pushed,” he insisted, saying that he doesn’t find COVID to be “scary because he is healthy and “not in an at-risk age group.”
“I don’t care if I have access to campus. I don’t need to be there. They could ban me. I just want to be left alone,” Hollar said.
Democrats in California are bailing on a plan to require proof of coronavirus vaccine to enter indoor businesses or have negative test results. https://t.co/ImuD6MOCIF
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) September 1, 2021
No response has been made public by Rutgers as to the allegation vaccinated students have been barred – on campus or remotely, although one representative spoke to the outlet.
Rutgers’ spokeswoman Dory Devlin maintained the university has “provided comprehensive information and direction to students to meet vaccine requirements through several communications channels.”
She noted the university differentiates between a “fully online degree-granting program” and “classes that are fully remote” but part of a course where other students are on campus, as in Hollar’s case.
Devlin told the site that staff “continue to work” helping students apply for waiver requests for medical or religious reasons — while offering they “should expect a two-to four-week turnaround, during which time they will not have access to university systems.”
“Once it is processed and verified, students are allowed access to university systems,” she said.
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