By Camille Furst
Former Editor-in-Chief
The College has told students that failure to upload proof of Covid-19 vaccination without an approved exemption by Aug. 9 will result in being deregistered from classes, according to an email sent to students who haven't submitted their vaccination record or been officially exempt.
The College’s Associate Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Brand Management, Dave Muha, confirmed the authenticity of the email to The Signal.
The email was sent “to about 3,000 students” who haven’t uploaded proof of vaccination to the Online Wellness Link (OWL), Muha said. The amount of people who haven’t uploaded proof of vaccination as of July 28 represents about 42% of the student population.
Since the email was sent, “literally hundreds of students have since completed the verification process,” Muha said.
The email said that students must submit proof of vaccination, such as a vaccination card, to OWL before Aug. 9. Students who don’t upload proof by then, and have not received an approved exemption, will be deregistered from classes.
“Once you have been deregistered, your seat will be released and open to other students, so you may not be able to get back in the courses you selected at a later date,” the email said.
The email also contained a link to a survey for students to respond with their plans for uploading proof of vaccination.
As of Friday, 166 students responded to the survey. About 55% said that they are fully vaccinated and will upload proof by the Aug. 9 deadline. About 36% of students responded that they intend to or are in the process of getting vaccinated.
Muha is hopeful that the vaccination rate on campus will be at about 93%, with the remaining 7% approved for exemption.
“What students need to understand is the College is serious about not having students on campus this fall who are unvaccinated and are without an exemption,” Muha said. “Put differently, there will be two types of students on campus this fall: those who have been fully vaccinated and those who have applied for and received an exemption.”
Masking on campus is not currently required for vaccinated students on campus, Muha said. However, he highlighted that the virus has been “constantly changing.” Muha said the College has worked to make its policies malleable to those changes.
He cited changes to the CDC’s updated guidance on masking for vaccinated individuals that were released earlier this week.
Gov. Phil Murphy said on Wednesday that he has “strongly recommended” masking, regardless of vaccination status, in indoor spaces where “there is an increased risk.”
He stopped short, however, of reinstating a mask mandate.
“Fortunately, our numbers are a fraction of those in many other states, most of which have significantly lower vaccination rates,” Murphy and New Jersey Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said in the statement. “Should our numbers reach those levels, we reserve the right to take more drastic action, including a statewide mask mandate.”
Muha said that the College’s guidance is subject to change as well. Currently, the College only requires unvaccinated students with an exemption to wear masks in indoor spaces.
He said that it’s “quite possible that how it looks today will not be the same as how it looks [at] the beginning of September when classes start,” but ensured that the College is continuing to “follow closely to the guidance and adhere to that.”
