Written by Ariel Hochman ||
48 Students have been deregistered from the Suny Broome school this semester for not complying with the covid vaccine mandate SUNY schools implicated. Students had to be fully vaccinated by September 27th, with a 10 day grace period allowing flexibility to those who needed more time.
“Students procrastinate a lot of times… the deadline gets closer, SUNY did put out a 10 day extension to allow schools to work with students on an individual basis,” says Nick Brey, Director of Campus Safety & Security. Students had the option to register for online classes if they knew they were not interested in getting vaccinated.
Students are still currently being asked to receive their weekly covid testing to regulate data and wear their masks until further notice. According to Broome County COVID-19 Dashboard, as of 10/16, there are 766 active Coronavirus cases, 55 new cases, and 80 of whom are hospitalized. Brey explained, “unfortunately this area’s COVID numbers are continuing to be pretty high, our risk level is still pretty high.” And that the covid testing for students, is a “necessary evil” to maintain safety of health of staff and students. Although the protection the vaccine warrants is high it does not fully protect individuals from contracting COVID-19. “That’s the whole thing, as much as it’s a hassle, nobody likes doing it, the reality is it’s just a way to keep things safe… we don’t want to get back to where things were last year” he said.
Brey was confident that all professors at SUNY Broome are being reasonable and understanding about students needing to miss class due to sickness. Any person with symptoms of COVID or sickness should not force themselves to go to class due to fear of being penalized. Brey explained that the instructors are being flexible and giving students opportunities to make-up work if sick.
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