The Shoemaker Bugle

By Monse Juarez

The decision has been made by several colleges and universities across the country: students will be required to get the Covid-19 vaccine. Some exemptions from this requirement include religious and medical reasons. Aside from the exemptions, there has been pushback by Republicans and even from parents of students. However, the majority of students have not tried to fight the decision at which colleges have arrived. It is clear that different groups have formed their own opinions about the Covid-19 vaccine, however the real question is: Should colleges require students to be vaccinated?

To answer this question, society must first consider if it is actually legal for colleges to set this requirement. According to Harvard Law Professor, Glenn Cohen, colleges aren’t exactly breaking any laws. On the other hand, there aren’t any laws that explicitly say it is allowed. The Covid-19 vaccination roll-out for college students has been controversial for this very reason. The law doesn’t explicitly forbid or allow college institutions from setting vaccination requirements. In reality, the pushback comes from individual states that have decided to ban Covid-19 regulations like masks and vaccinations.

Clearly, Covid-19 vaccinations are needed to make sure that people are safe. So in reality the Covid-19 vaccination requirement that has been implemented by several colleges across the country, is not exactly illegal. Some colleges already require that students receive flu shots, and all public schools require vaccinations for things like MMR and chickenpox. So the Covid-19 vaccination requirement is actually not as far-fetched as some may believe.