CSULB Student Fights Vaccine Mandate
As schools nationwide have continued to mandate the experimental COVID-19 vaccine to return to campus, students are finding a way to fight back.
A student at California State University, Long Beach, who would like to remain anonymous, recently found himself facing a COVID-19 vaccine mandate to return to campus in the fall. He has previously been diagnosed with a neurological condition caused by previous vaccines, so he clearly qualified for a medical exemption based on the school’s policies. Despite qualifying for and receiving a medical exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine, he was demoted to second-class citizen status on campus for following medical advice from his physicians and refusing the vaccine.
The student shared with TPUSA what he was told by CSULB following his exemption: “I am now being told that I cannot live with another unvaccinated individual (which I would prefer given the [potential] shedding effects of the vaccine), and I will have to inform my roommate that I am unvaccinated, a clear violation of my rights. On top of this, both I and said roommate will have to sign a waiver of liability because I am unvaccinated, something no other student has to do, despite the ability of any student to get COVID-19 from dorm life.”
After inquiring about these specific rules and regulations for returning to campus, he was told these were not school policies but the opinions of faculty members at CSULB about his particular case. Simply put, leaders at the school are actively attempting to create a negative experience on campus for the student based on his unvaccinated status–preventing him from enjoying the positive aspects of residential life on campus due to his medical condition.
As more information was revealed and the situation unfolded, the student made a simple decision to make one phone call to the university inquiring about these policies–and just one call led to every policy forced upon him to be reversed.
This CSULB student is living proof that standing up for your values and personal situation always makes a difference, even if it takes time to change the minds of others.
As many of you face vaccine mandates at your universities, remember that you have more power as a college student than you know. Pushing back against outrageous rules and regulations on campus can yield change in your community, and being bold enough to stand for what’s right will inspire others to do the same.
