Salt Lake Community College announced Friday that the college will require students to receive a COVID-19 vaccination in order to register for classes in the upcoming spring semester.
SLCC President Deneece Huftalin made the announcement in an email sent to the college community.
“Given the increasing number of cases due to the delta variant, we have made a decision to adopt a vaccination requirement for all SLCC students beginning Spring Semester 2022,” Huftalin wrote.
This comes shortly after the FDA’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine and follows other state universities that have mandated vaccination, including the University of Utah, Weber State University, Utah State University and Utah Valley University.
“I just worry that some folks that are choosing not to be vaccinated are really putting others at risk. That doesn’t seem fair to me,” Huftalin said when reached out to for a comment. “We just want to make this as easy as possible for students, and we really hope that students will step up and get vaccinated to help our community be safer and healthier.”
The announcement email stated that exemptions may be granted for “medical, religious and personal reasons.” All details regarding the process for vaccination documentation and exemptions will be communicated during the registration process.
SLCC offers free vaccine clinics at four of its campuses. Students can find information about scheduling and locations on SLCC’s blog.
https://trackbill.com/bill/utah-house-bill-233-education-immunization-modifications/1997300/
By law exemptions to vaccine mandates have to be offered and honored at Utah colleges. Here is a link to HB 233. Also, I would recommend that if you are transferring to a four year university that you schedule an appointment with an advisor at the new institution. Both UVU and UofU have an exemption in place for the vaccine that support student’s choice to not be vaccinated. I have met with advisors at both institutions who have assured me all exemptions are honored through the adherence to the law. I have prepared and made all necessary arrangements to transfer should SLCC not uphold my right to an exemption under the law. I suggest those desiring an exemption do the same.
It’s not a vaccine. It’s an experimental genetic therapy. Just because you polluted your body with this gene therapy doesn’t give you the authority to force others to do the same solely to achieve higher education. You believe that this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. If so how do you explain the results from Israel. You can’t. Saying this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated is a lie just as claiming unvaccinated individuals are the only ones having severe effects or dying from Covid. Your Dogma is so embedded that you are requiring online students to be vaccinated. That is insane and dictatorial. I don’t believe you have a degree in Biology or Medical Science. You don’t know anything about “ADE” or the long-term effects from this injection. Actually, not one person on this planet knows the long-term effects from this injection, much less you.
Yet like a dictator you are mandating that students submit to your demands. The chances of having a severe reaction from Covid are near zero. Especially in the young. “I just worry that some folks that are choosing not to be vaccinated are really putting others at risk. That doesn’t seem fair to me,” is your statement. It rings hollow from the truth, is fear based on lies, discards the truth of severe injuries being inflicted from receiving the injection and reveals your shallow knowledge of the situation. It also tramples the rights of individuals in our free society. It should be considered a crime. In case you’re wondering I have had many vaccines. Some received as a child. Many received during my military service. My last vaccine after military service was for yellow fever. It was not required to keep my employment but only to be able to travel to various foreign countries. I also have a degree in Biology from the University of California. As stated, I have had numerous vaccines injected into my body. I will never put this Covid experimental genetic therapy in my body. This does not make me any bigger a threat than those who have been vaccinated because the vaccinated are also spreading the Covid, the “beneficial” effects from injection do not last and will require limitless future “boosters”. Covid is almost completely non-lethal. You should know that most Covid deaths are comorbidities and almost never solely from Covid. So, you should know that every single healthy student is at no risk. You do not know the long-term effects from injecting a foreign mRNA directly into your blood stream. Stop living in fear and use some common sense. Mandating those who are only taking courses online says it all about your dogma and fear. I can’t believe you have such little common sense that you believe Covid will reach out and infect you from a computer screen. More likely you are one of those who believe everyone in the country should be receiving this genetic therapy and this is your chance to, “do your part” and force citizens to take it. Do not illegally mandate this injection and cause unknown harm to so many for no reason. I again refer you to the results from Israel. If they lie about who is getting infected ( the vaccinated vs the unvaccinated) what else is falsified such as who is really having severe reactions. We don’t know. What we know is our chances of dying from Covid is near zero. How will you reconcile with yourself years from now when your former students will be suffering from now unknown negative long-term effects from a mandate you implemented that was completely unnecessary? What excuse will you come up with to tell yourself that you had nothing to do with it?
Will I need to get the vaccine if I’m only doing online classes and not in person classes?
No, the vaccine is only required for students taking in-person classes.
This is not true I just got a message saying online students need to be vaccinated.
I read on the SLCC website that EVERYONE will need to be vaccinated if you are applying for Spring 2022
unless you are coming straight out of High School. They will be requesting vaccination proof at the time of selecting your classes.
“All details regarding the process for vaccination documentation and exemptions will be communicated during the registration process.”
So we will have to wait until then to register for “exemptions [that] may be granted” and to figure out whether we will be *allowed* to register for Spring Semester? Then, whether we take the vaccine or not, we will have to “show our papers” to be allowed to register for classes?
The last time I had to show “papers” was when I was stationed in West Germany and got authorization to visit East Berlin on a weekend pass. Passing through East Germany to get to Berlin, my group had to stop at multiple checkpoints to turn over our “papers” to the East German guards for examination and clearance. This is the last thing I expected to find in my home state, let alone my home nation.
I don’t trust this vaccine. It’s been pushed too fast for proper testing. What’s more is the amount of propa . . . er, advertising I’ve seen pushed at me makes me even more suspicious. I haven’t seen this much push for a product since the last time I was at a Time Share property seminar. I’ve learned if someone is trying this hard to get you to buy into a product, it’s not the product they’re actually pushing.
If someone want to take the vaccine, that’s their choice. Their body; their choice.
I suspect that I will not be allowed to attend Spring Semester.
I doubt this comment will be read or considered. I would LOVE to get the vaccine and get on with my life and protect all those around me….if it actually did that….Is it crazy to ask some questions that won’t be answered before making a decision that is not my decision anymore? How can I, in good conscience, get it with the research I was told do before making a decision about my health? Why are major scientists, doctors, professors, FDA, & CDC members leaving over this? I need to just ignore that right? Trust some scientists but not others? The discrimination and division is the answer to positivity and productivity for our community. Sorry for the multitudes that paid for college to get this unknown ultimatum. From what I understand, most, if not all, exemptions are getting denied-religion, personal choice, and medical diagnosis are no longer relevant-how do you determine if someone’s choice to not get it is important verses another’s? Who is even making that decision that knows my health better than I do? No doctor will sign anything for FEAR of losing their license. Also, there has never really been an effective vaccine against the flu or coronavirus but suddenly pharmaceutical companies that have never been reliable before have found a solution? Also, this one is also proving to be ineffective per other countries and the most vaccinated states. Also, official websites VAERS and VigiAccess are showing that this vaccine has enough evidence that shows me this is still a very experimental injection and not safe-I really don’t care what initials you have. I wouldn’t be surprised if this comment is taken down and that should concern everyone too. So if a student wants to forget/risk their long term health, fertility, and overall health possibly right now to pursue their college degree and career and forget valuable ethics lessons taught in your college, then of course, that’s the better interest, right? I will not be on the wrong side of history based on popular ‘opinion’. Let’s not mention all the illegals coming in daily that will not be required to take it plus ALOT of those mandating it (all the immunization companies, CDC, FDA, UPS, and Government). Does that mean nothing? We are told to do our research and then ignore it if it does not conform to our leader’s opinions. I could go on but my point is, this is not the solution and you will have alot of drop outs unfortunately. The people that are not getting vaccinated are not vaccinated because they have decided already they will do everything not to be because of their research. I have kids to raise with better standards than this. Thanks for the giant waste of time and money for an agreement I did not make coming in to your college.
I believe I speak for most people attending SLCC, you can’t mandate a vaccine that is ineffective. Even if it was effective, you’re still taking away our freedoms and liberties. Especially when I have already had the virus and now I have natural antibodies which are more effective than the “vaccine.” I don’t plan on ever getting the jab and sincerely hope these colleges lose a lot of money from mandated a useless product.
By the spring semester I will have completed nearly all of my classes for my degree. Will I be able to receive a exemption or be forced to decide between finishing a degree I have sunken thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours into and getting a experimental vaccine?
I stand with anyone who is naturally feeling reluctant about these new vaccine requirements. While I certainly believe the vaccine can be and is beneficial to many I am somewhat perturbed by the fact that this otherwise personal, medical decision that by no means should be taken lightly is almost being forced upon me and many others in order to continue our pursuit of knowledge and education.
My decision to get vaccinated is something I must carefully consider and I must admit that this requirement fills me with more reluctance than I previously had. I am still debating if and when I will get it, but I just feel like this is kind of out of character for a school that is otherwise so accepting and understanding. I understand that this issue is a medical topic, but that does not mean that it isn’t debatable. Certainly, many can understand the reluctance of myself and many others. I’d like to say that I am doing and will continue to do my research, but I would like to make this decision on my own terms. The fact that I feel like my pursuit of knowledge is at risk despite the fact that I have a 4.0 GPA and am enjoying every second of the valuable time spent here at SLCC fills me with great fear and sadness…
In regards to my personal experience, I simply do not understand why this is necessary. I am an online student and have been since I started pursuing academics here at SLCC, I have been on campus one time in two years and have done my best to socially distance myself and wear a face covering out of the consideration for others. If necessary I would gladly submit to regular testing, I would also be willing to test myself and provide proof of negative before coming on campus. Given that many people have contracted the virus or are indeed vaccinated, we are beginning to pull ourselves out of this crisis. I don’t see why proof of negative wouldn’t provide the same functional purpose as the vaccine in regards to reducing the spread of COVID-19. I admit, negative tests are certainly not as timely, and are far from fool-proof, there is certainly more risk involved with a negative test than a vaccine. But for someone who visits the campus as little as myself, does this not seem like a viable option for myself and many others who are pursuing academics in a similar fashion? I ask you to please take into consideration other options regarding this requirement, there can be an adequate balance between public health and safety and personal choice. I hope that we can come together and have some productive discussions regarding both the vaccine and the potential requirements surrounding it. I just feel like this line is a hard one to draw on an issue that certainly shouldn’t be as polarizing as it has become, but definitely is to a number of people. I look forward to continuing my academic career at SLCC and I am hopeful that we can continue to promote knowledge and understanding on terms that are fair and beneficial to all. – Charles.
Either the vaccine is effective, or it is not.
If the vaccine were effective, then vaccinated students would not need to worry about the vaccination status of fellow students, teachers, or faculty because their acquired immunity should protect them from infection.
If the vaccine is not effective, as Huftalin implies by stating that those “choosing not to be vaccinated” are “putting *others* at risk,” then they are mandating an unproductive solution.
Why mandate a vaccine that they do not have faith in protecting those that have already received it?
Yeah I don’t understand how they make those of us who chose to not be vaccinated look so selfish. What about the unknown risks of the vaccine? I will be dropping out of college before I get vaccinated, especially because I’ve been online 100% for the last year. This obviously isn’t about people’s safety, it’s about conforming and control. Taking classes over the computer doesn’t put anybody at risk.
If we are strictly doing online classes does this apply to us? I have had COVID-19 and believe in my bodies immune system and the science backs it up: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-27/previous-covid-prevents-delta-infection-better-than-pfizer-shot
I can provide my positive test from last year but do not want to get vaccinated for something I already have.
Hey Erika, Morgan here, editor in chief of The Globe.
I didn’t see an exception for people taking purely online classes. For those questions, contact Erika Shubin. She is the Public Relations Director for President Huftalin. Here is her email and phone number:
Erika Shubin
erika.shubin@slcc.edu
801-957-4007
Actually, a more appropriate person for you to contact would be Laney Marsella
Phone: 801-957-4244
Email: laney.marsella@slcc.edu
President Huftalin said, “I just worry that some folks that are choosing not to be vaccinated are really putting others at risk. That doesn’t seem fair to me.” If someone is vaccinated, how are they at risk? I choose to not get vaccinated and it seems that I’m at risk, not those who are vaccinated. I’m being told that I can’t finish my certification because I choose to not get vaccinated. Do I have the option to take my classes online? It sounds like I can’t even register for classes if I’m not vaccinated. I hope the president can come up with some clear answers. My future is at stake.
Hey Tori,
A few things to consider: First, each individual contribute to the collective health of that community, and the more unvaccinated people there are, the higher chance this virus has to spread, and the more a virus spreads, the more breakthrough cases against people who are vaccinated will occur. Secondly, there are people that go to the college that can’t get vaccinated against COVID-19. The first example that comes to mind is the daycare at the South City campus. Others may be allergic to vaccinations as well., and not getting vaccinated when you have that capability will put those people at risk.
In President Huftalin’s email, she said she is considering exceptions for medical, religious, or personal reasons, though no official statement on that matter has been made. For more answers on exceptions to being vaccinated, contact Laney Marcella 801-957-4244 or laney.marsella@slcc.edu
Morgan, you along with Huftalin, Fauci, and Biden seem to be disregarding the lived experience of the millions of us who have already contracted the virus, had symptoms ranging from nothing noticeable to a bad cold or flu, recovered, and now benefit from natural antibodies as good, if not better than those resulting from vaccination.
Many of us choose not to take the vaccine for the same reason we don’t get a flu shot after already recovering from the flu, but still emphatically support the option but not the mandate for others to receive the vaccine if they want to. I supported and encouraged my own father, an elderly man with COPD from decades of smoking, when he got vaccinated.
No amount of vaccination will eradicate common cold and flu virus that have always and will continue to mutate and adapt to our immune systems. A more effective strategy would be to prioritize vaccination for the most susceptible, as we have done, rather than mandate everyone else use up this resource regardless of previous infection and immune response.
Many of us are eagerly awaiting the appearance of the promised exemption forms.
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